Haddam Neck Fair

We had great weather this weekend for the Haddam Neck Fair. The rain on Friday night took us by surprise, which resulted in some very wet paperwork. Thankfully Abby was showing cows and so had our old hair dryer with which to dry them. It was a good example of why I always tell 4H-ers, "Never give the superintendants your original health papers"!

Everyone showed well this weekend. Abby placed fifth in dairy cow showmanship. The judge was critical of her cow's long hair. Abby politely explained that she was leasing the cow and the owner did not want the cow clipped to nearly bald. The judge actually said, "I don't care. If you want to place higher you'll clip it short." So much for teaching the meaning behind the four H's of 4H!!

Hannah placed first in chicken showmanship. She wished she'd had some more competition, but was happy with the placing. She also placed 4th in her goat showmanship class. Two of her chickens received top prizes. "Rock Star", her Polish Crested was Reserve Junior Champion and one of her Mille Fleur hens was Junior Champion.

Hannah and Samantha had an opportunity to show sheep this weekend and both placed first in their showmanship classes. They also showed some sheep in the breed classes. And, NO! we are not getting sheep!

So Abby showed 2 species, Hannah showed 3, Rachel showed 1, and Samantha showed 2. Nathalie did a great job of keeping us fed and clean. She even made us a lovely chocolate cake!

Next weekend is Ledyard Fair.

Dairy Cows and Abby

Abby loves showing cows. She absolutely loves "Lovely".

Hmmm... I hear a sucking sound not so far off... must be that vortex...

Dairy Show today

Yes it is only 6:30 AM and I have just returned from dropping Abby, Matt and Nan off at the fairgrounds to feed, etc. the cows and get ready for the show which starts at 9AM!

I have returned home to pick up whatever kids are left here, who were caring for our animals while I was gone. Now I will be heading back to the fairgrounds to watch Abby show the cow, see what ribbons Hannah's chickens won, participate in the pie eating contest, watermelon eating contest, nail driving contest, and see what the judges thought of our exhibit hall entries.

Only to do it all again tomorrow...