Franklin County Fair - 4H And Horses

I walked from the Poultry Barn (see yesterday's post) to the 4H and Commercial Barn. I wasn't interested in the commercial displays, but I always enjoy seeing what the local 4H Clubs are doing:

The 4H kids were showing animals also, but they were baby animals like this Holstein calf:

Baby pigs:

And lambs:

And from there I walked to the first of several Horse Barns:

There was judging going on outside, so horses were being led in and out - sometimes willingly, sometimes not:

Like the goats, some horses were actively seeking affection. Jessie, for example:

And Norman also wanted his nose rubbed:

I walked outside, where they were judging Western Riding:

The contestants were circling the pen, speeding up or slowing down at the judges' instructions. Notice the perfectly groomed tail on this horse. These animals are given much loving attention:

More horses with beautiful tails and perfect gaits. But it was time for me to leave. I planned to do my grocery shopping while I was in Malone, so the dogs at home would have to wait a bit longer for me:

Franklin County Fair - Midway And Poultry

From the goat and cattle barns (see yesterday's post), I walked over to the midway. Alas, most people have a much later schedule than I do, and the rides and concession stands were just getting ready. Nonetheless, it was so colorful and fun to look at that I took photos anyway:

Funnel cakes and elephant ears:

Ribbon fries, Chicken tenders, Chili fries, Cheese Fries:

Cotton candy, cold drinks, Sno Kones, Popcorn, Caramel apple slices:

An old fashioned carousel:

And "The Tornado" for a wild ride:

Rock And Roll, a perennial favorite:

My next stop was the poultry barn, another favorite of mine as I've kept poultry for many years. The male peacocks were putting on quite a display:

There were ducks of all kinds and colors:

Royal Palm turkeys and many other varieties:

Golden Pheasants:

Guinea Fowl:

Polish chickens:

Old English Game Bantams:

Silkies:

And just a few cages of Tumbler Pigeons. It's a good thing they didn't have Fantail Pigeons or I might have been tempted to buy some:

Franklin County Fair - Goats And Cattle

It had been several years since I attended the Franklin County Fair in Malone, New York, so one morning I drove there to take a look. I began in the Goat Barn, which pleased me greatly because when I used to raise goats, few fairs showed them at all. Now they've become so popular that there is a designated Goat Barn:

Alpine goats, the kind I used to raise:

Nubian goats, with the floppy ears. Goats are so friendly that it was difficult to snap photos. They were quickly up in my face, begging for attention and I had to take my pictures quickly, before they got to me:

I was a little late snapping this photo of the friendly Nubians:

Happy youngsters:

Next I went into the cattle barns. I had read that the barns had been emptied on Wednesday and they'd begun showing "Colored Breeds" on Thursday. Since there were no Holsteins in sight, I decided that "colored breeds" meant any dairy cattle but Holsteins. Apparently beef cattle were shown previously, at the same time as the Holsteins:

There were lots of heifers:

Beautiful animals, which at first I thought were smallish Brown Swiss. Later I decided they were more likely dark colored Jerseys:

And an army of young people was busy keeping everything spotless:

A cow pie scarcely hit the floor before someone forked it up:

Outside, people were bathing their cows. The animals seemed to enjoy it:

This was such a nice scene that I asked if I could take her picture: a girl and the Jersey she had raised:

This girl heard me talking to the other girl and ran over to her special cow so I could take her picture too. But we were just getting started, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

West Parishville State Forest - Part 2

I was hiking with the dogs in the West Parishville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and we were heading deeper into the forest:

The forest type began as Scotch Pines, then became hardwoods, then became mixed. I had trouble identifying the pines after that because they were all tall, with no saplings growing, and I could barely see the needles:

I thought I saw a beaver marsh through the trees and we walked over for a look, only to discover it was a farmer's corn field. So we made our way back to the forest trail and continued on our way:

There were tiny (1") orange mushrooms:

But we had traveled quite a way, at least for an old codger like me, so we turned back the way we'd come:

As always, the dogs were just as happy going back as they were going forwards, though by this time they'd used up much of their excess energy:

Seamus and Fergus showed off their new haircuts beneath the tall trees:

Tiny yellow mushrooms, so small they were overshadowed by this Tree Club Moss (Princess Pine):

A great big orange mushroom. I called Daphne over to sit beside it and she got nervous, which is why she has such a silly expression on her face:

We made a happy procession as we headed back toward our parked car. I believe these trees were Scotch Pines, which is what predominated at the beginning of the trail. And as if for confirmation, the trail was named "Scotch Pine Trail:"

The dogs were considerably slowed down by this time, enabling me to relax and listen more to the bird songs:

And then we arrived back at our car, which I'd parked just off the trail. It was a simple matter to pull back onto the all purpose trail and head back out of the state forest on the gravel road: