The Grangiest of Fairs

No, I am not sitting on my porch. (I don't even have a porch, though you would of course be welcome on it if I did...). I am being initiated into the essence of Centre County at the Grange Fair (and I am babysitting this sign while its owner is otherwise occupied....)

Thanks to my friends Amy and Claire, I found myself in the midst of a large population of Centre Countians, perusing the various sights, sounds, and foods available for our consumption.

Some of those sights (and did I mention smells?)

involved barns full of various animals, like these darling goats.

They were very friendly, and Amy enjoyed getting to know one small goat in particular.

We found the pigs to be fascinating in a "I am horrified

and yet I am mesmerized" kind of a way. I observed that their

"oinking" sounded more like the croaking of frogs who are

suffering from some sort of chest cold.

I have never heard such a thing in my life....

I made friends with this cow who, oddly enough, asked to have his picture taken with me. I think it turned out well. I would send him a copy, except that he was in the "beef cattle" barn (as opposed to the "dairy cattle" barn) which makes me think that his time for picture-gazing is short....

I was not aware of the variety of vegetables/fruits in the world, nor of the variety of ways to judge them.

I would love to know the criteria of what makes a first place vegetable/fruit as opposed to a third place vegetable/fruit, but I'm not sure I will ever find out.

Here we have a first place basket arrangement of said variety of fruit. (Again, not sure of the criteria, but apparently this one had what it takes.)


(I really wish I knew the criteria for why these small blooms received first place....as Claire said, I could have entered a dandelion and maybe it would have won?)

But don't get me wrong: My favorite exhibits were probably the flowers. I took more than a few pictures as I gazed in rapture (but have spared you the excess....)

I will, however, share this one with you because ever since I lived in Princeton, snapdragons have been the state flower of Lauren. I would go to the farmer's market in nearby Trenton and buy a large bunch from one of the farmer's selling his wares there, and he would always give me a second one free of charge. (He was a very discerning man, and understood the necessity of flowers to my soul I think....)



The real reason we went to the Fair, however, was not to be educated about pigs or to wonder about the judging criteria of stuff the earth produces, or even to take pictures of multitudes of flowers.

Our real reason for going to the Fair was to eat. Here is Amy with the fried mozarella cubes that we started with as a first course. Think mozarella sticks but thicker and gooier, coated with the best batter you've ever tasted, fresh out of the hot dripping grease. You're probably only half-correct in your estimation of how good they were, because you cannot fully appreciate what you've never experienced yourself. (Sorry, but that's just the way it goes....)

After what we deemed to be an appropriate amount of time, we had a mid-course lemonade. You know what I mean: the kind of lemonade you can only get at places like a Fair, where the lemons are freshly squeezed, the sugar water they mix it with is full of that crunchy raw sugar, and where the cup has pictures of lemons all over it. Sublime.

Again, we waited what seemed to be an appropriate amount, and then went after the main course. I chose this hot sausage sandwich because I felt that I would leave feeling not quite happy with my fair experience if I chose something else. I think I was correct in my assessment, as I was thoroughly satisfied by it's spicy peppery goodness.

We finished off our evening sharing some monkey bread (which was a good idea, both in that it was delicious, and in that there's no way we could have eaten a whole one on our own).

That was our final treat.

Oh, except for the milkshakes we picked up on our way out....

(Today I am detoxing....only water and lettuce for me!)