The Saanich Fair - September 3, 2011

I always wind up taking a photo of a llama.

This boy is doing something I don't know how to do.

A lone western rider - how times have changed. It was unfortunate that somebody got the bright idea to put gravel down in the riding rings. The dust was horrendous, blowing over the stands and often over that whole end of the fairgrounds. It's not as if they're new at this - this fair has been running for well over 100 years.

Therefore we turned our attention to sheep which were being judged next to the riding rings, but not in line with the dust cloud. As a kid, I had goats but sheep are like a foreign species to me - I've never understood them. It was surprising to see them being led around the ring not with a collar or a halter but just by hand.

They provide a handy surface for laying ribbons.

The sheep do not have a demure little bleat, not these ones anyway. They were very loud. BAAAA, BAA-AAA, BAAAH! It goes on and on. Well, the next time Glenn and I saw our doctor, Glenn was telling him about the sheep and then went into his hilarious imitation of their sound. I was laughing, the doctor was laughing, Glenn was still BAAHing - the staff and other patients must have wondered what was going on.

Regardless of the situation, Glenn found humour. He kept me laughing for 16 years.

I was attracted to green.

Bottom left: A cabbage gone awry? The sign said 'German Filderkraut' - a cabbage grown in Bavaria to make sauerkraut. This one is not fully grown.
Bottom right: The tan coloured fruits are Cape Gooseberries (Physalis peruviana).

This display (above) reminds me of the opening scene of the English TV show Rosemary & Thyme.

Even eggs can win prizes.

I'm not a textile kind of person but paid a little more attention to this area this year.

Some nice needlework.

I do find dyeing interesting though, maybe from reading about Mel's experiences (would put the link here but her blog seems to be undergoing a revamp) with natural dyes. I think these colours are quite pretty. Another display of natural colours were dyed with coffee (med/light brown), Celestial Seasonings Berry Zinger tea (lighter brown), asparagus fronds (soft green), and turmeric (fairly vivid ochre).

The sign for dyeing with onion skins, as seen above, said:
Simmer onion skins for one hour. Remove onion skins and insert wet wool. Wool can be predordanted (whatever that means!) but not necessary. Simmer wool for one hour. Remove wool and rinse.

Even Jell-O can be used for dye.

These bright colours were made with Kool-Aid.

Both Glenn and I were amazed that he was able to make it around the entire fairgrounds. We had a nice time.

Saanich Fair - part 2

Monday September 7, 2009

I had not planned on taking any more photos of llamas and alpacas but couldn't resist this character.

A typically docile and friendly Norwegian Fjord. Pony sized - but called a horse by some because of its muscular build, the Fjord is supposed to be one of the world's oldest horse breeds. I don't know who the little girl is.

That lovely stripe runs right down the back onto the tail.

We watched a jumping event.

In the poultry barn Glenn was intrigued by the pigeons like the one on the bottom right that would puff his chest out so much, his head nearly disappeared. Several neighbouring pigeons got in on the act, and it seemed the longer Glenn watched, the more they puffed up!

A dog agility class drew a crowd. Actually, it wasn't a competition; it was just for fun. I had only seen it on TV where dogs race through tunnels, over bridges, across seesaws, etc. I thought tiny dogs, such as the Norwich Terrier in the bottom two photos (the breed of the dog that won in the hilarious movie Best In Show), would be at a disadvantage, but they and older dogs were given lower jumps. Some of the small dogs went like blazes and in some cases, such as weaving around poles, their size worked in their favour. There were some funny moments when a dog got distracted and romped off course, or stopped to smell something interesting.

Nothing like sleeping with a foot in your face.

The End

The Saanich Fair - part 1

Monday September 7, 2009

We've seen geese gathering, young gulls flying away from their rooftop homes, leaves beginning to change... and last weekend it was time for the annual Saanich Fair. This all adds up to the end of summer. It was a great one, but unfortunately the beautiful weather didn't carry on through the long weekend in September. It rained, rained, rained. We took our chances on Monday and luckily the sun managed to break out mid afternoon.

It wasn't a steam engine but it still made a good chugga-chugga-putt-putt sound, which always grabs my attention.

We stayed inside buildings during a few downpours. These onions look good enough to... well, eat.

But I'd rather eat these plums.

I became fascinated with the ribbons.

There has to be one flower picture. Many were wilting by the third day of the fair.

Photo from the glory days in Saanich. Maybe this acreage was called Broadmead Farm but in our neighbourhood we knew it as Rithet's. We kids sometimes played in the fields and I remember hiking and bird-watching there with my Dad. Later, I rode my horse on the trails between Blenkinsop and Royal Oak. In winter my fingers were so cold by the time I got home, they wouldn't function. Funny that I never got proper winter wear. Mainly, I remember the funny 'meep meep' sound of nuthatches which seemed slightly forlorn maybe because I was usually by myself. I'll always be partial to that little bird.

One of the better paintings in the art section.