Well, the Adams County Fair starts today.  Some of my family are probably there right now, unloading dairy cows and getting them bedded down.  Thursdays are usually pretty quiet, since there isn’t much going on except the queen contest.

Every year I tell myself that next year I’ll get a bunch of work done in advance so I can take off and just go hang out at the fair all week, without worrying about people calling or work waiting on me.  And every year I end up with deadlines right in the middle of it, so when I do go I can’t really relax and enjoy it.

This year I almost got it right, so I’m looking forward to it.  I’ve got a lot of end-of-month work I set myself up with for some reason, so I can’t go today or tomorrow, but then I’ll be fairly clear after that.  Saturday morning we show the cows, so I’ll be there for that, and then Monday is good too, with goat, poultry, and hog judging, and the mule show.

The mule show is a lot of fun; they do more interesting stuff than just ride around.  For instance, one event is called “Monkey on a Rope.”  Two people (usually an adult and a kid) ride down to where a rope is hanging, and one person (the monkey) climbs off the mule onto the rope.  The other person rides the horse around some barrels and back, and has to get the other person back off the rope onto the mule without touching the ground.  The mule doesn’t want anything to do with some fool swinging around on a rope, so it’s tricky to get them close enough.

Last year the horse arena was mud about a foot deep, but they still had a good time.  They have a lot of interesting events over there in the horse arena, but they’re kind of on their own schedule.  The fair book and the posters may say something starts at 6:30, but it might not get started until well after 7:00 and run past midnight.  That’s one reason I don’t like to have to leave at a certain time when I’m up there.

The dairy show starts at 8:00 Saturday morning, which means they’ll be washing cows at dawn.  I probably won’t get there for that part this year; let the kids who stayed the night do that.  I’ll just watch and take pictures, and keep track of the winners like I usually do.

It’s going to be tough passing up the milkshakes this year, but I think I’m ready.  I already bought some sliced meat to take along to snack on, and I’ll pick up some cheeze and nuts to take along too.  That should do me fine.  This weather is going to be great; most years I’m soaked with sweat just sitting in the dairy barn.