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

Saturday, Sept. 4, 2010

Horses

I focused on the horses this visit, although the horse show is a far cry from what it was a few decades ago.

English riding.

Western riding - there isn't much of it at the fair any more and here it was done in a bit of an English style. Overall, this nearly could have been called The Arabian Horse Show.

But then there were the draft horses. Above: Clydesdales.

I am intrigued by the lively Gypsy Vanner breed of horse. This one became quite cantankerous after the other horses were taken out of their stalls. He tried everything he could think of to escape and, as if out of frustration, knocked over a table outside the stall with his nose. But inside the ring he was like a different animal. As feisty as these horses are, I suspect they have a pleasant disposition and would be fun to be around.

Other sights

Scottish Highland dancing seems popular these days. It didn't stop during the 5 hours we were at the fair.

We didn't see all the events or go into all of the barns this year.

New to us was the duct tape contest. People make all sorts of things with duct tape - jeans, shoes, a purse, vase, photo album, even a 'toaster'.

In the flower section was this arrangement with an interesting plant on the right. We were told it is a cardiocrinum, a plant in the lily family. Why 'cardio'? Apparently it has heart shaped leaves.

Another thing I'd never seen was a mobile bank machine.