Small Animal Swap Meet In Gouverneur, New York - Part 2

I was attending the swap meet of the Northern New York Poultry Fanciers Association at the fairgrounds in Gouverneur, New York. I'd hoped to find some Fantail Pigeons, but was enjoying the other beautiful birds while I searched:

There were Black Swedish and Cayuga ducks:

Angora rabbits:

And finally, some pigeons. They were lovely, but not fantails:

 I think these were White Japanese:

More Vietnamese Potbelly Pigs:

An Angora rabbit being groomed. It was nice to see how tame the bunny was and how tenderly it was treated. These were mostly people who loved animals:

I asked about Fantail Pigeons and someone called a friend who said he'd bring some down at $25 per pair. I was tempted, but said that was a little steep, especially sight unseen. So I kept looking:

Dark Throat Golden Pheasants:

And Red Golden Pheasants:

Tangerine and white Ringnecked Doves:

I don't know what breed these were, but they looked old. They were also my last stop before I got back into my car and began the long drive home:

Chapter 3, The Malone/Franklin County Fair

Still in the poultry barn, I passed by lots of ducks of various breeds. These were Muscovy ducks:

And these were Fawn and White Indian Runner Ducks. I know this breed quite well because I used to have a flock of them and sold their eggs. They lay bigger and more numerous eggs than any chicken:


And another of my personal favorites, Fantail Pigeons. I almost wrote down the name of the breeder so I could buy some, but then thought better of it. I have enough to do, enough animals, enough barn to clean, enough feed to buy. So I simply admired them, snapped their photo and moved on:

I don't remember what breed these were, but they might have been Roller Pigeons:

And Call Ducks (miniatures, like bantam chickens):

And Guinea Fowl:

Silky Chickens. Sadly, I later realized that I'd skipped over the full sized chickens. But then I'd seen quite a few birds and there was still a lot of county fair to see:

So I walked to the midway. This was the first day of the fair and it had only been open an hour or so. Folks were just arriving and the big crowds were several hours away. All the better for taking pictures:

But most of the rides were in motion, the music was blasting and the aromas of fried foods filled the air:

And children were begging their parents to go on rides - the very rides which would, of course, make them cry:

Elephant Ears, Funnel Cakes, Fried Oreos and Deep Fried Kool-Aid. A dietician's nightmare come to life:

Fresh squeezed lemonade:

Lots of games with lots of prizes. But there was more, and I'll post additional midway photos tomorrow:

Parting Shots Of The Farm

It was Sunday morning and time to drive back home. I'd taken four of my dogs for a good walk in the north hay field and was returning to the farm house to pack up the car. When I arrived at the barn, I noticed that it had a disturbingly high pigeon population. Formerly there had been only a pair or two, but most of the neighborhood pigeons seemed to have lived in the barn across the road. But now they were living in my barn. I considered boarding up this opening, but my tenant informed me that there are access holes on both sides of the barn running down its entire length. He'd already put fencing across an interior doorway to keep them upstairs, at least. So for now the pigeon problem is unsolved:

The tenants' dog is a female named Harley. The neighbors' dog is a male named Paige. I get so confused! On this trip, Seamus was enamored of Harley to the point of refusing to come when he was called and causing several unhappy moments. Harley wants nothing to do with Seamus but he thinks she's fascinating:

George and his wife are my tenants and he came out to chat as I prepared for my long drive home:

I took one last photo of the farm house, thinking of how it will hopefully be my retirement home some day:

And a photo of the neighbors' barn. Now, if only I could convince my pigeons to move back over there:

The apple trees were full of beautiful small apples. I didn't taste them, but George told me that they are sweet and good for eating fresh off the tree:

I said good bye to Harley, loaded my dogs into the car and began the journey home: