Following a Saturday afternoon whim, I finished up a couple of kilometers 'down the road' at the small, but nevertheless very popular, Cobble Hill Fair. Throngs of people, line ups of concessions, tents filled with crafters, demonstrations by the local Fire Department, blacksmith, 4H competitions.....all bathed in the warmth of a sunny, summery Saturday in the country.
Border collies showed off their skills herding a quartet of docile sheep...I was waiting for BABE to show up and perform the shepherding piglet trick
The stalls in the miniature horse barn were about the size of a dog kennel. But then, the miniature equines are just about Newfoundland dog size. Their woolly coats are shaved off to show their pert little bodies, the manes are trimmed, and their whiskers clipped off. One could see, there are actually small horses underneath all that abundant hair.
Girls, girls, girls....it seems that anything to do with horses has slowly moved from a male dominated sport to a female past time. Horses seem to have taken on the role of pretty, well groomed pets to scores of pretty, well groomed girls.
The ancient art of horsemanship as per Alexander the Great, Pluvinel, the Spanish Riding School, the Cadre Noir and all the heroic Cavalries seem to have been forgotten. Not a boy to be found anywhere near a horse. Where have all the knights in shining armor mounted on wild chargers gone? Its the age of horse show amazons....
Pork tenderloin in the making
Portrait at an Exhibition
Marlene Dietrich, eat your heart out....the latest leg fashions are here
Proud Llama gazing at passersby
And another one.....none of them spit, though
Tough to get both ears through the fence
Beef beauty parlour. Here they are washed, combed, blow dried, manicured, oiled, clipped....even their noses are de-drooled before they are lead into the ring for their beauty contest.
Coated white sheep
Coated black sheep
Reading up on barn management in between 4H competitions
Portrait at an Exhibition
Cat woman in the making
Practising wood turning under the watchful eye of a master
The blacksmith at his portable forge
SPCA tent occupant
Face painting tents each had a line up 20 deep
Anything goes
New urban chicken coops a la Martha Stewart. They are are just big enough to put on a balcony or a small back yard, roomy enough for three to four hens, and bingo: fresh eggs for breakfast
Prize winning sunflower
Zucchini man....
...and his cabbage dog
Spider boy....looking for a bat mobile
Empty milk carton
Full milk carton
Horse whisperers
Tresses in the barn
Found anything yet???
Hay waggon
200 grams of dog meat on the paw
The mane event
and the pony event
Lots to see, junk food indulgence fest, smell of dry grass and hay, country sounds and smells, families enjoying the last hot leisurely days of summer before school starts up again.
