This morning as is my usual practice I went to my e-mail and first read the Upper Room Reflection for the day. Often this short devotion seems aimed directly at me and my needs. Today was a case of this. The devotion reminded me of a bible verse I have posted on my refrigerator and that I have been trying to live by since 1998 when I began to work of our church and things where in a struggle there. I began praying it and claiming in as a verse for the church. Over time I claimed it as my own. The verse is Jeremiah 29:11. It is highlighted in my bible. Probably I have written about in in past posts on this BLOG.
"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope."
This is where my refrigerator magnet ends. But as I read it today I realize that I need to go on to verse 12-14.
"Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you up from all the nations, and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you in exile."
Jeremiah is speaking in these verses to the Israelite people who have been taken out of Jerusalem and into captivity by the Babylonians I believe, He is giving them hope that they have not been abandoned by their God. That God indeed does have a plan for them and it is a plan for their good. Jeremiah is also calling the people back to God. Calling them to turn to God and seek him. I believe God does no less for his people today. That he does no less for me. The Israelite people felt abandoned by their God. Yes, I at times also feel abandoned. Yet God does not; he can not abandon his people or me. I need to remember this no matter how dark my nights get. I need to remember Jeremiah 29:11 it daily. I need to not just walk by as it sits on my refrigerator.
Ah....but what does all this have to do with the title of this post. Not really anything. My ADD kicked in and I got sidetracked from where I began. At the bottom of the daily reflections devotion are a series of weekly suggestions for other helps in daily living with faith and God. Among the helps this week was a link to an article on Meditation for Distress, Disease or Pain by Robert Corin Morris. Having a lot of all three of these things in my life at the moment it caught my attention. I read it thought maybe this is something that could help me get through the coming days and months. I don't want to forget where it is so the best place to put it is here. The title of the BLOG post has a link to the article as does it's mention here. So hopefully I will remember it is here when I need it!
Showing posts with label County Fair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label County Fair. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
ANIMALS OF ALL KINDS
What county fair would be complete without animals? We have all kinds at our fair. Some are there to be in competition. Some are there to help their handlers as they compete with others in how they have trained their animals. And some are there simply to be displayed so people can learn about them.
A great deal of care is taken with all the animals that are at the fair. Some are there all week long and others, like the pets come in just for their specific competition day.
Here are some pictures of what can be seen at our fair. It is a very small representation as I don't want to bore anyone to death here and I would like you to come back and visit again.
We have lots of cows and cattle at our fair. They are among my favorite animals to visit with. I love their eyes. Last year it was decided that we should have a milking parlor where fair goers could come and learn where the milk they drink comes from. Yes
you would be amazed how many people don't stop to think that milk is not simply produced at a bottling plant and then shipped to their local store. this picture shows the use of milking machines, but several times during the day they bring in a couple of cows and let the public attempt to milk them the old fashioned way. That is alway fun to watch. You just don't want to sit too close....if you know what I mean.
I think the goats are my favorite animal at the fair. Of course I am somewhat biased as when my kids, no pun intended for those who know about goats, were in 4-H they worked with goats. No we did not keep any in our suburban backyard, but friends
from 4-H who had small farms let our kids work and learn with theirs. They are amazingly smart animals and very very friendly. When you go down to the goat barn all you have to do is look into their pen and they will come right over to you wanting to nuzzle. When we worked with goats they were all dairy goats. Now however they have branched out and there are meat goat clubs. I am happy to have been only with dairy goats.
When you visit the "livestock" barns there will be animals belonging to 4-Her's as well as regular adult farmers. But the pet shows are limited to 4-Her's. There isa regular pet show for all types of pets and then also special handling and agility shows for dogs and their owners. I love watching the dogs go through their paces with their handlers on the agility course. Some are a
mazing and very focused on the task at hand. Others....well lets just say to the chagrin of their handlers they get caught up in just being dogs and getting sidetracked when an interesting scent in the straw catches their attention. That would have been Mr. Snuggles, our dog. But then he was a beagle and I don't remember seeing any beagles in this competition. If there was a smell he just had to follow it.....
Right outside the 4-H building the department of natural resources from MD and a private
animal rescue group had a display of various raptors and birds of prey. They had various types of hawks, falcons and owls. I fell in love with a cute little screech owl. He was only about 6 inches tall, but the lighting was not good where they had him and so I had to settle for picture of this barn owl. There was a lot of information here not only on the birds themselves but also what needed to be done to protect them.
This is only a small selection of the animals at our fair. Of course there were chickens, ducks, roosters, sheep, pigs, horses and bunnies. All those things that go into making a fair a fair.
A great deal of care is taken with all the animals that are at the fair. Some are there all week long and others, like the pets come in just for their specific competition day. Here are some pictures of what can be seen at our fair. It is a very small representation as I don't want to bore anyone to death here and I would like you to come back and visit again.
We have lots of cows and cattle at our fair. They are among my favorite animals to visit with. I love their eyes. Last year it was decided that we should have a milking parlor where fair goers could come and learn where the milk they drink comes from. Yes
you would be amazed how many people don't stop to think that milk is not simply produced at a bottling plant and then shipped to their local store. this picture shows the use of milking machines, but several times during the day they bring in a couple of cows and let the public attempt to milk them the old fashioned way. That is alway fun to watch. You just don't want to sit too close....if you know what I mean.I think the goats are my favorite animal at the fair. Of course I am somewhat biased as when my kids, no pun intended for those who know about goats, were in 4-H they worked with goats. No we did not keep any in our suburban backyard, but friends
from 4-H who had small farms let our kids work and learn with theirs. They are amazingly smart animals and very very friendly. When you go down to the goat barn all you have to do is look into their pen and they will come right over to you wanting to nuzzle. When we worked with goats they were all dairy goats. Now however they have branched out and there are meat goat clubs. I am happy to have been only with dairy goats.When you visit the "livestock" barns there will be animals belonging to 4-Her's as well as regular adult farmers. But the pet shows are limited to 4-Her's. There isa regular pet show for all types of pets and then also special handling and agility shows for dogs and their owners. I love watching the dogs go through their paces with their handlers on the agility course. Some are a
mazing and very focused on the task at hand. Others....well lets just say to the chagrin of their handlers they get caught up in just being dogs and getting sidetracked when an interesting scent in the straw catches their attention. That would have been Mr. Snuggles, our dog. But then he was a beagle and I don't remember seeing any beagles in this competition. If there was a smell he just had to follow it.....Right outside the 4-H building the department of natural resources from MD and a private
animal rescue group had a display of various raptors and birds of prey. They had various types of hawks, falcons and owls. I fell in love with a cute little screech owl. He was only about 6 inches tall, but the lighting was not good where they had him and so I had to settle for picture of this barn owl. There was a lot of information here not only on the birds themselves but also what needed to be done to protect them. This is only a small selection of the animals at our fair. Of course there were chickens, ducks, roosters, sheep, pigs, horses and bunnies. All those things that go into making a fair a fair.
Monday, August 18, 2008
SOME ENTRIES AND AWARDS
Time for a bit of bragging.....I did very well with my entries at the fair this year. Here are a few of the items I entered. I won't bore anyone with all 34 items I entered. Of course I'm showing you the ones the judges liked and chose to give first or second place ribbons to. Yes there were items that got lower placings. A few only received Honorable Mentioned or nothing at all.
All of these projects were entered in the Home Arts building. I entered in five of the departments there. I forget how many departments there are in the whole building I think around 12 and thats with not breaking down the Baked Goods area into its various areas like cakes, cookies, breads, etc.
The first picture though of a quilt was actually entered in
the Dolls, Toys and Miniatures department. It is a doll house scale quilt for a twin size bed. Doll house scale means that 1 inch on the quilt equates to 1 foot in real life. The quilt measures approximately 5 inches wide by 7 inches tall. I entered three other items in this department and received a second blue ribbon and two red ones (2nd place).
The second picture is probably the item and ribbon I was most proud of. I have never been able to get the hang of crocheting. I've tried multiple times and it just has never worked for me. I decided three weeks ago it was time I just
hunkered down and figured it out. So with the help of Crocheting for Dummies from the library I kept at it till I came up with this table mat. Eventually it will be one of four and be renamed a placemat. I decided to enter it and see what happened and low and behold I got a blue ribbon. It was in the beginner project category, but hey a blue is a blue! I think the fact that I used a yarn called Peaches and Cream (or is it Sugar and Cream???) helped. It's a very firm yarn and so when crocheted there is no give and it doesn't stretch. While sitting at the information booth in the 4-H building during the week I did get two more completed except for the fringe so one more to go and I have placemats!
The third picture here is of one of my baby quilts. The ribbon doesn't show in the picture since the quilt was lying flat on a table, but it was a blue. This
blue totally blew me away! I never dreamed I would get any ribbon at all on a baby quilt since that is the category where about 30 people enter. They are just so easy and quick to make. The judges wrote a comment on the back of the tag that they really liked the fabric color choices and placements. I've done a lot of baby quilts using the Winnie the Pooh fabric that is the focal point of the quilt. I will be so sad when the fabric is gone. IT is one of the few fabrics that I purchased a lot of when I found it cause I loved it! And I'm really glad I did.
My final picture is of two items a baby bib and a Christmas stocking that I entered in the
Accessories Department. Notice the white ribbon on the stocking this is one of my Honorable Mentioned ribbons. The interesting thing about this is that I entered the same type of Christmas Stocking in the Arts and Crafts Building. The only difference was that I used green pre-quilted fabric for that one and it received a blue ribbon! Just goes to show that judging is not an exact science and everything depend on what items you are competing against and what the judges like! Does that bother me? Heck no! It's just a county fair and really all the ribbon gives me as a warm fuzzy feeling and some bragging rights.
As for those bragging rights I am done for now! Aren't you glad????? Tomorrow come back to see some animals! What is a fair without animals?
All of these projects were entered in the Home Arts building. I entered in five of the departments there. I forget how many departments there are in the whole building I think around 12 and thats with not breaking down the Baked Goods area into its various areas like cakes, cookies, breads, etc.
The first picture though of a quilt was actually entered in
the Dolls, Toys and Miniatures department. It is a doll house scale quilt for a twin size bed. Doll house scale means that 1 inch on the quilt equates to 1 foot in real life. The quilt measures approximately 5 inches wide by 7 inches tall. I entered three other items in this department and received a second blue ribbon and two red ones (2nd place).The second picture is probably the item and ribbon I was most proud of. I have never been able to get the hang of crocheting. I've tried multiple times and it just has never worked for me. I decided three weeks ago it was time I just
hunkered down and figured it out. So with the help of Crocheting for Dummies from the library I kept at it till I came up with this table mat. Eventually it will be one of four and be renamed a placemat. I decided to enter it and see what happened and low and behold I got a blue ribbon. It was in the beginner project category, but hey a blue is a blue! I think the fact that I used a yarn called Peaches and Cream (or is it Sugar and Cream???) helped. It's a very firm yarn and so when crocheted there is no give and it doesn't stretch. While sitting at the information booth in the 4-H building during the week I did get two more completed except for the fringe so one more to go and I have placemats!The third picture here is of one of my baby quilts. The ribbon doesn't show in the picture since the quilt was lying flat on a table, but it was a blue. This
blue totally blew me away! I never dreamed I would get any ribbon at all on a baby quilt since that is the category where about 30 people enter. They are just so easy and quick to make. The judges wrote a comment on the back of the tag that they really liked the fabric color choices and placements. I've done a lot of baby quilts using the Winnie the Pooh fabric that is the focal point of the quilt. I will be so sad when the fabric is gone. IT is one of the few fabrics that I purchased a lot of when I found it cause I loved it! And I'm really glad I did.My final picture is of two items a baby bib and a Christmas stocking that I entered in the
Accessories Department. Notice the white ribbon on the stocking this is one of my Honorable Mentioned ribbons. The interesting thing about this is that I entered the same type of Christmas Stocking in the Arts and Crafts Building. The only difference was that I used green pre-quilted fabric for that one and it received a blue ribbon! Just goes to show that judging is not an exact science and everything depend on what items you are competing against and what the judges like! Does that bother me? Heck no! It's just a county fair and really all the ribbon gives me as a warm fuzzy feeling and some bragging rights. As for those bragging rights I am done for now! Aren't you glad????? Tomorrow come back to see some animals! What is a fair without animals?
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
RODEO AT THE FAIR
Sunday afternoon we had fun at the fair. No volunteering or work that day just plain fun! It was a beautiful day outside and we decided to enjoy it by watching the J Bar W Ranch's Battle of the Beast. It was basically an afternoon of bull riding and barrel racing with a little additional fun in the form of Bull Hockey and Ram Busting.
I have a few pictures here to share with you. The first is one of the gals in the barrel riding
competition. There were 6 or 7 competing for the fasted time riding their horse in a clover leaf pattern around three barrels. These were some tight turns they had to make on their horses. I think the winner ran the course in 13.75 seconds. You can see here the horse really hugging the barrel as he went around it. They are allowed to bump the barrel, but can not knock it over. Also they must go around the barrels in the correct direction for it to count.
Next are a few of the cowboys riding the bulls. They needed to stay on the bull for 8 seconds to score any points and also they are holding on with one hand. The other hand must remain free and cannot touch anything in those 8 seconds. All this while the bull is letting them know they are not very happy about having someone on their back. There was one bull however who didn't seem to care one way or the other. His rider stayed on for 8 secs with no problems whatsoever, but it was not a good thing. Since the bull was so calm the rider did not score many points. Rider is scored based on his ride and bull is scored based on his bucking and causing the rider problems.
So those were the professional competitions. You may ask what Bull Hockey is???? I could just say it is not something you would ever find me wanting to play!!!!! Basically barrels are put up at the two ends of the arena. These are the goals. There are two teams of two players each.
These teams are competing against each other and score points by getting the puck through the goal line between the barrels. The catch is the puck is a bull. The players are on foot and need to entice the bull to go though their respective goals. Things got pretty interesting at times and there was a fair amount of climbing of fences when the players themselves were chased by the bull.
N
ow this last event that I have pictures of is something I might consider doing. Unfortunately it is for children only. Ram busting is sort of like bronco busting except as the name says the kids are riding a ram rather than a horse. It was a really cute event. The kids had to stay on the back of the ram for 4 seconds I think it was. The ram just troted around, but because of its wool I think it is a pretty slippery ride and several of the kids just slid right off as soon as the ram began to move. A few however hung on for dear life seemingly having the time of their life. This little boy was only three years old and is the son of one of the rodeo cowboys. Evidently this event is considered to be the first training event for future cowboys. It looked like even at three he already had had a lot of practice. The other kids who rode were just ordinary kids. The tended to lie down across the length of the rams back and with their arms tightly wrapped around it's neck. To cute! They also had helmets on for safety.
Well tomorrow I will have some more fair pictures to show you. It really is a fun week.
I have a few pictures here to share with you. The first is one of the gals in the barrel riding
competition. There were 6 or 7 competing for the fasted time riding their horse in a clover leaf pattern around three barrels. These were some tight turns they had to make on their horses. I think the winner ran the course in 13.75 seconds. You can see here the horse really hugging the barrel as he went around it. They are allowed to bump the barrel, but can not knock it over. Also they must go around the barrels in the correct direction for it to count. 
Next are a few of the cowboys riding the bulls. They needed to stay on the bull for 8 seconds to score any points and also they are holding on with one hand. The other hand must remain free and cannot touch anything in those 8 seconds. All this while the bull is letting them know they are not very happy about having someone on their back. There was one bull however who didn't seem to care one way or the other. His rider stayed on for 8 secs with no problems whatsoever, but it was not a good thing. Since the bull was so calm the rider did not score many points. Rider is scored based on his ride and bull is scored based on his bucking and causing the rider problems.So those were the professional competitions. You may ask what Bull Hockey is???? I could just say it is not something you would ever find me wanting to play!!!!! Basically barrels are put up at the two ends of the arena. These are the goals. There are two teams of two players each.
These teams are competing against each other and score points by getting the puck through the goal line between the barrels. The catch is the puck is a bull. The players are on foot and need to entice the bull to go though their respective goals. Things got pretty interesting at times and there was a fair amount of climbing of fences when the players themselves were chased by the bull.N
ow this last event that I have pictures of is something I might consider doing. Unfortunately it is for children only. Ram busting is sort of like bronco busting except as the name says the kids are riding a ram rather than a horse. It was a really cute event. The kids had to stay on the back of the ram for 4 seconds I think it was. The ram just troted around, but because of its wool I think it is a pretty slippery ride and several of the kids just slid right off as soon as the ram began to move. A few however hung on for dear life seemingly having the time of their life. This little boy was only three years old and is the son of one of the rodeo cowboys. Evidently this event is considered to be the first training event for future cowboys. It looked like even at three he already had had a lot of practice. The other kids who rode were just ordinary kids. The tended to lie down across the length of the rams back and with their arms tightly wrapped around it's neck. To cute! They also had helmets on for safety.Well tomorrow I will have some more fair pictures to show you. It really is a fun week.
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