St. Lawrence County Fair - Part 2

I was touring the St. Lawrence County Fair in the village of Gouverneur (see also Part 1, yesterday) and arrived at the Poultry Barn. Alas, New York State had banned poultry exhibits because of bird flu, so there were no fancy chickens to look at. But the Poultry Barn held rabbits:

And sheep:

These were Suffolk Sheep and there was also a dairy goat exhibition:

I walked from there to the Maple Syrup Building. This was, after all, St. Lawrence County, one of the largest maple syrup producers in the state:

And then I hit the colorful midway:

It was too early for much action, and most rides were just getting ready to open. But it was a great time to see the colorful displays against a blue, cloud filled sky:

The Monkey Maze looked like fun:

There were rides and slides and refreshments and games and junky souvenirs. The crowds were just beginning to arrive:

Tee-shirts and floor mats with any smart-alecky saying I could imagine:

Lemonade, popcorn, hamburgers, pizza and hot dogs:

But I'd seen everything by then, and began making my way back to the car. I walked between two barns, where a backhoe was cleaning up soiled bedding from the cow barns:

I almost stopped again at the petting zoo, but changed my mind when I saw how crowded it had become. So I continued on to my parked car and headed for home:

St. Lawrence County Fair - Part 1

It was a lovely Friday and I was in no mood to be doing chores, so I drove to the village of Gouverneur to see the St. Lawrence County Fair. It was a fifty mile drive to Gouverneur, where I turned down a pleasant neighborhood road and and continued on it until I saw the fairgrounds:

I paid my admission, parked my car and walked toward the action. When I saw the words, "Free Petting Zoo," however, I made it my first stop:

There were Ring-Tailed Lemurs and screeching parrots:

Camels, sheep and goats:

A kangaroo:

And spotted Llamas:

Zebu miniature cattle:

Miniature horses and these partial albino, miniature donkeys. Unsurprisingly, the donkeys were the friendliest of all the animals:

This is dairy country and I toured several barns filled with cattle of various breeds:

And, of course, lots of Holsteins:

I arrived early, before the big crowds arrived, so the barns were busy with people cleaning their animals and stalls:

This woman was washing her Holstein heifer. But I still had lots to see at the fair, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: