Weston County Fair Recap

First and foremost, welcome to all the new subscribers! I hope you will enjoy visiting my little farm!! Looking forward to having you here.

I am 9 away from 200!!!!

Ah, fair week!

The week when young and old come together to show what they have done over the past year.  What they have learned, and what skills they have developed.  Kids show their cows, sheep, rabbits, chickens. and pigs off to judges hoping for that coveted grand champion ribbon.  Where young men and women show off their horsemanship skills in the rodeo area hoping to bring home the All Around Champion saddle. 

Opening parade for the jr rodeo

Community comes together to view the colorful and plentiful quilts made during the past several months, sweaters knitted, lap blankets woven, cakes baked, cookies made, pictures taken and framed, and plants grown. 4-H kids worked on their various projects according to their chapter, including making clothes, woodworking, and all kinds of other great skills learned!!  Their hope was to be chosen to go to the state fair which will be held quite soon. 

94 year young Una and her woven blanket

There is a church youth group that does all the food concessions, consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, taco’s, breakfast burrito’s, and nachos.  They expanded their menu this year to include some fried foods, cotton candy, fruit smoothies, pulled pork, and shaved ice.  Yumm!!

Another company brought in bounce house, slides and other inflated fun things for the kids to play on.  We don’t have a carnival as there just is not enough room for one to set up on our fairgrounds.

They have a family night where they do a community BBQ and have lots of fun games for kids and adults to enjoy. 

My group of ladies spends about 2 ½ days at the fair in the community building with all the quilts, and handmade items as we demonstrate spinning, and in some years, weaving for the visitors to see.  Many folks come up to us and comment on how they watched their grandmother, great aunt, or other family member who also spun wool while they were youngsters.  We also get to hear wonderful stories of families that raised sheep in the area and how they loved (or hated) them.   The nostalgia they feel and share with us brings a tear to my eye and a warmth to my heart. This area was a big sheep producing area at one time.  Plus, we get to show a new generation of youngsters that this is how it was done “once upon a time”

If you wish to see our FB page, you can find it here….Warped Women of Weston County

We had a good time, and I got quite a bit of spinning done.  I got another skein of an acrylic fiber spun and plied for a rug project I’ve been contemplating for a while.  And I got more spun for a commission hat a friend wants for another family member for a Christmas present.  The 2 ½ days was productive for me.  And I got to hang out with folks I enjoy spending time with and catching up on their newest life stories.  We did see each other about a month ago, so it’s not like I have not seen them for a long time LOL!

Sadly a few of our out of state members were not able to attend this year, and we all missed you very much!

Hopefully we inspired someone to get out and craft something!

A short farm update for you:

We had a great storm last night (Sunday) They were predicting soft ball size hail and possible tornadoes for us.  Everyone spent the night in the barn where the would be safe from hail that large.  Definitely would be animal killers if the hail was that size.  We did get a whopping good thunderstorm, and the lighting show was amazing to watch. Lost power for a very few moments, which is a good thing since I was in the shower and covered with soap.  The well pump doesn’t work without electricity.  Luckily no tornadoes and the only hail we got was pea sized and we got almost a ½” of rain.  I am hoping that will help the grass perk up some and do some more growing.

 Our old Lucy girl is having a tough week here.  Here is her story Lovely Miss Lucy  She got stuck on her side Saturday night and needed help getting up Sunday morning.  She still gets her wet mash daily and all the green stuff or hay she can eat.  I believe she does not have many teeth left in the back of her mouth.  She does chew cud but you can’t hear the grinding of it.  It’s tough for a sheep to get much nutrition if she can’t break that fiber down to usable levels.  The mash makes up for most of that now since she can slurp it and not have to worry about bringing it back up.  I’m keeping her close to the house by letting her graze on the grass around the house instead of the pasture.  She does not have to work so hard to get something to eat that way.  I think I’ll get some alfalfa cubes and start soaking them down for her too so she can get that into her system.  I’ve had to help her get up twice so far today.  I’m sure she is having arthritis issues also. 

I have to wonder if I am supporting her to help her or to keep myself from having another loss to deal with.  She does get around fine when she is up and moving around.  She’s eating, drinking, peeing and pooping without problem.  She follows me around and is animated in her daily encounters. She does sleep a lot.  She doesn’t act like she is in pain, no teeth grinding or other pain signs, but I know she is stiff when I have to help her get up and get her moving. Course my knees and hips scream at me for the same reasons as hers do.  Where does one draw the line?  Do I keep her going or do I have to let her go.  She shows me she wants to live and I hope that I am not keeping her here for my own selfish reason.  15 years for a sheep is a dang long life for them.

Another decision I really don’t want to have to make.  Another decision that will break my already shattered heart even more.  I know my Rob will be waiting for her on the other side when that time does finally come and he will watch over her until I get there.    

Blessed Be!