Category: Animals

Yesterday we went to the Saratoga County Fair! It was very hot which was a drag, but when we were there a cloudburst led to a 10 minute rain shower which cooled things off nicely. Here’s some of the things we saw at the fair…

You can buy all sorts of farm equipment at these fairs, and the above was considerably smaller (and less expensive) than most. I wanted to sit in the climate-controlled sealed cabin of a $70,000 ditch-digger but it was locked 🙂

While there didn’t seem to be as many animals as we see at the fairs we regularly go to, the quality and presentation of them was particularly nice. The rabbit shown above won first prize in a cavy contest!

I forget the name of the breed, but this is a goat with notably tiny ears. There were several like him at the fair; just a few of the abundance of goats they had on display. In fact there were more goats than horses, cows, sheeps or pigs. It was a very goaty fair!

I fired a bow! Six arrows cost $2, and since I hadn’t done this since a ‘farm holiday’ in 198X, I figured it was time to try again. Although they were clearly giving us beginner bows, I was surprised by how difficult it was to pull back and how even more difficult it was to aim. I’d need a lot of training if I wanted to become a Ranger! (I was firing at the dinosaur target but never hit it…)

I also fired a gun! 14 shots of the air rifle also cost $2, and since I couldn’t ever recall firing a gun I had to try. My aim was far better than with the bow and arrow, and would have been even better had the sights not been off at the start. She adjusted them after my first 4 or 5 shots, and the last few (including the two on the bullseye) were taken with the good sights.

While shooting the bow and gun were academically interesting, I think I’ve scratched that itch for another 40-odd years 😉

Speaking of pro-hunting propaganda, they had an entire room full of taxidermy of local wildlife. This guy is a groundhog, and innocent and cute creature that digs holes in the ground and can often be seen grazing in the grass at the side of the road. Who hunts these?!?!

A typical vendor in the food area. There were dozens like these, all serving overpriced, unhealthy but no-doubt delicious vittles. We ate before the fair, and therefore were able to resist their temptations.

As always we enjoyed the art displays, especially from local schools. Speaking as a pyrographer myself, I had quite a strong reaction to this award winning piece…

Lastly – and by no means least – the rides! The fair had a pretty good midway, but the heat (and rain) meant the rides weren’t too popular with the punters. I reckon at night they’d be going strong, but much of the rest of the fair (like the animal displays) are closed then so we never go at night. It would be nice to live very close to one of these so I could go and see the rides going with all the lights shining.

We also watched a truck pull contest, saw some gigantic horses, gawked at the vendors selling useless/unwanted stuff to passers-by and decided the grizzly bear show would perhaps be more sad than entertaining so gave it a skip.

All in all, a fun day at the fair 🙂