Columbia County Fair took place July 18-22, though here at the farm the build-up began many months ago and built to a fever pitch in the weeks immediately preceding it. Like most families with a lot of animal entries, we camp for the entire week of Fair in the fairgrounds' campground. We had all 9 of our goats at the fair, which simplified their care, rather than someone having to be home for feeding and milking. All the 4-H kids get up by 6:30 to clean animal pens and do their morning chores--in our case, milking is the major one--before assembling at the flagpole at 8:00 for morning announcements.
The fair is always a mad rush, with Roni and I having to sit down the week before and create an elaborate flow chart outlining how to get all kids, animals, tack, and camping gear to where it needs to be at the right time. This year was no exception: Before fair itself, we had to schedule blocks of time for the kids to bathe all of their animals, label everything we were taking with us that would be in the communal barns, help with set-up of animal pens in the barns at the fairgrounds, decorate our clubs' areas, make sure everyone's static entries were submitted, paperwork was done, show clothes were clean and ironed, and the list went on. Then at the fair itself it was all about making sure the kids knew when they had barn duty and in what barn. We have our own 4-H club for goats under the Aardvark Farm name, but our kids belong to another club for their rabbit and poultry projects, so they were almost constantly on duty in one barn or the other, keeping the animals fed and watered and chatting with fair visitors. At least, that's what barn duty is supposed to entail, but the reality is there's a whole helluva lot of card playing that goes on. It's part of the tradition of Fair, and it seems that Speed was the game of choice for the second year in a row.
We had multiple kids showing dairy goats, pygmy goats, and rabbits, plus Keegan showing her chicken and Jaeger getting her first experience in horse showmanship. In the static exhibits the kids had entries in photography, art, baked goods, sewing, and knitting. Keegan and her friend Monroe did a duet in the talent show tryouts but weren't selected for the main event (robbed!), Clayton and Hannah did Fashion Revue so they got to model their sewing projects, and in between all of this everyone had to squeeze in plenty of time for eating greasy and sugary foods.
The week had a gazillion great moments, including our beautiful goats getting some serious love from the goat judge. Jaeger's yearling doe, Magic, and Eli's two year-old doe, Elinor, both did great, but it was their mother, Grace, who stole the show. After winning Grand Champion of all the French Alpines (not hard, since ours were almost the only ones there), she was judged against all the dairy goats of other breeds and again won Grand Champion. Then later she was judged against ALL the goats--meat goats, pygmies, and fiber goats--and won again, crowning her Supreme Champion and Best in Barn. SWEET!
Then Keegan, in her firt year showing at fair, and being younger and smaller than the other competitors, rocked Junior Dairy Goat Showmanship. She was showing Indigo, our most calm and docile doe, but the judges like to have the kids switch goats in the show ring, prove that they can work with a goat besides their own. So Keegan had to deal with this psycho Nubian doe who had nothing on her mind except getting back to her two young kids bawling at her from the barn. The goat made a break for it, but those of us who know and love Keeg could only shake our heads in sympathy for the goat, because Homegirl wasn't about to let go. Attempting to dig in her heels against the powerful doe, Keegan held on fiercely to the collar even as she was dragged around the ring. The judge attempted to help out and the judge almost knocked her on her arse. When it came time to announce her placings, the judge heaped praise on Keegan for refusing to let go, when a lot of other showmen might not have been able to keep hold. For her tenacity, as well as being correctly answering some pretty tough questions from the judge, Keegan won Reserve Champion!
A synopsis of fair would be incomplete without giving a shout-out to The Girls--our network of extra daughters composed of the boys' girlfriends and miscellaneous friends of all the kids. Hannah camped with us all week, and though we would have let her sleep in, she was up at 6:30 every morning cleaning goat pens, milking, and doing whatever was needed. Keila, who visits her mom in St. Helens for summers, also camped with us, did goat barn chores, and worked at the fair as a volunteer for Kiwanis. Overachiever. We also got help from Corissa, Jaeger's horse-riding buddy, and Jackie, Keila's younger sister, both of whom were invaluable in helping us keep ourselves together.
The week was a smash, but it's incredibly exhausting and we're always so delighted when it's over, it's as if that's when our summer leisure can begin. But wait! The kids did so well that Eli and Jaeger qualified for State Fair. Oh, yay...so we get to do this whole circus again at the end of August in Salem. At least we're only taking three goats and two rabbits, plus Eli's photos that qualified, and the cloak Clayton sewed. And I console myself that there's likely to be a far superior selection of greasy, sugary food at the state level.
Columbia County Fair took place July 18-22, though here at the farm the build-up began many months ago and built to a fever pitch in the weeks immediately preceding it. Like most families with a lot of animal entries, we camp for the entire week of Fair in the fairgrounds' campground. We had all 9 of our goats at the fair, which simplified their care, rather than someone having to be home for feeding and milking. All the 4-H kids get up by 6:30 to clean animal pens and do their morning chores--in our case, milking is the major one--before assembling at the flagpole at 8:00 for morning announcements.
The fair is always a mad rush, with Roni and I having to sit down the week before and create an elaborate flow chart outlining how to get all kids, animals, tack, and camping gear to where it needs to be at the right time. This year was no exception: Before fair itself, we had to schedule blocks of time for the kids to bathe all of their animals, label everything we were taking with us that would be in the communal barns, help with set-up of animal pens in the barns at the fairgrounds, decorate our clubs' areas, make sure everyone's static entries were submitted, paperwork was done, show clothes were clean and ironed, and the list went on. Then at the fair itself it was all about making sure the kids knew when they had barn duty and in what barn. We have our own 4-H club for goats under the Aardvark Farm name, but our kids belong to another club for their rabbit and poultry projects, so they were almost constantly on duty in one barn or the other, keeping the animals fed and watered and chatting with fair visitors. At least, that's what barn duty is supposed to entail, but the reality is there's a whole helluva lot of card playing that goes on. It's part of the tradition of Fair, and it seems that Speed was the game of choice for the second year in a row.
We had multiple kids showing dairy goats, pygmy goats, and rabbits, plus Keegan showing her chicken and Jaeger getting her first experience in horse showmanship. In the static exhibits the kids had entries in photography, art, baked goods, sewing, and knitting. Keegan and her friend Monroe did a duet in the talent show tryouts but weren't selected for the main event (robbed!), Clayton and Hannah did Fashion Revue so they got to model their sewing projects, and in between all of this everyone had to squeeze in plenty of time for eating greasy and sugary foods.
The week had a gazillion great moments, including our beautiful goats getting some serious love from the goat judge. Jaeger's yearling doe, Magic, and Eli's two year-old doe, Elinor, both did great, but it was their mother, Grace, who stole the show. After winning Grand Champion of all the French Alpines (not hard, since ours were almost the only ones there), she was judged against all the dairy goats of other breeds and again won Grand Champion. Then later she was judged against ALL the goats--meat goats, pygmies, and fiber goats--and won again, crowning her Supreme Champion and Best in Barn. SWEET!
Then Keegan, in her firt year showing at fair, and being younger and smaller than the other competitors, rocked Junior Dairy Goat Showmanship. She was showing Indigo, our most calm and docile doe, but the judges like to have the kids switch goats in the show ring, prove that they can work with a goat besides their own. So Keegan had to deal with this psycho Nubian doe who had nothing on her mind except getting back to her two young kids bawling at her from the barn. The goat made a break for it, but those of us who know and love Keeg could only shake our heads in sympathy for the goat, because Homegirl wasn't about to let go. Attempting to dig in her heels against the powerful doe, Keegan held on fiercely to the collar even as she was dragged around the ring. The judge attempted to help out and the judge almost knocked her on her arse. When it came time to announce her placings, the judge heaped praise on Keegan for refusing to let go, when a lot of other showmen might not have been able to keep hold. For her tenacity, as well as being correctly answering some pretty tough questions from the judge, Keegan won Reserve Champion!
A synopsis of fair would be incomplete without giving a shout-out to The Girls--our network of extra daughters composed of the boys' girlfriends and miscellaneous friends of all the kids. Hannah camped with us all week, and though we would have let her sleep in, she was up at 6:30 every morning cleaning goat pens, milking, and doing whatever was needed. Keila, who visits her mom in St. Helens for summers, also camped with us, did goat barn chores, and worked at the fair as a volunteer for Kiwanis. Overachiever. We also got help from Corissa, Jaeger's horse-riding buddy, and Jackie, Keila's younger sister, both of whom were invaluable in helping us keep ourselves together.
The week was a smash, but it's incredibly exhausting and we're always so delighted when it's over, it's as if that's when our summer leisure can begin. But wait! The kids did so well that Eli and Jaeger qualified for State Fair. Oh, yay...so we get to do this whole circus again at the end of August in Salem. At least we're only taking three goats and two rabbits, plus Eli's photos that qualified, and the cloak Clayton sewed. And I console myself that there's likely to be a far superior selection of greasy, sugary food at the state level.
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