Chapter 1, The Malone/Franklin County Fair

I drove to the town of Malone on a slightly rainy Saturday morning to see the Franklin County Fair:

This was the first day of the fair and I arrived only a half hour after the gates opened. It was not yet crowded, but I did take note of this motorcycle with barrel trailer from Ontario:


My first stop was at the horse riding competitions near the grandstand:

Folks of all ages were lining up to compete, some on horseback and others in a more leisurely manner:

And then I toured the horse barns. There were two horse barns, one for riding horses and one for race horses. I stopped and petted any horses that seemed to want attention:

And so did this little girl:

She somehow knew which horses wanted some human attention and was drawn right to them:

And then I visited the cow barn, actually a connected series of long, narrow barns which stretched for much of the length of the fairgrounds. The north country is real cow territory:

There were lots of dairy cows of various breeds, all of them tame, clean and healthy:

If and when they got dirty, there were shower facilities just outside the barn:

But mostly these cows lounged around, chewing their cuds and living the good life:

This group of cattle belonged to the farmer I'd visited not long ago who raised American British White Park Cattle. He was so busy, though, that I didn't stop to chat. His cattle looked beautiful:

Some farms even provided their girls with curtains:

And they had one baby Scottish Highland, the breed I used to raise. I stopped and had a long talk with this cute little fellow's owner. But there was lots more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

A Visit To A White Park Cattle Farm

I arrived at the farm on Sunday afternoon and got the dogs settled and comfortable. Then I drove east toward Malone to visit a local farmer who raised American British White Park cattle. He was expecting me, and I found him already in the barn when I arrived:

He began by introducing me to two yearling heifers who, if I remember correctly, were going to be shown at the State Fair in a week or so:

One of the heifers was particularly friendly and kept coming over for a scratch and to lick my arm:

The older cows and a few calves were in another section of the barn and they too were interested in seeing what this stranger was there for:

They were friendly critters, much like Red Polls I've written about previously. Both breeds are notable for their docile temperaments, medium size and naturally hornless (polled) genetics:

Hello. Are you bringing us any food?

Even though there were pastures available, these ladies were content to eat hay inside the barn. It was hot that day and perhaps they enjoyed the shade:

I took one last shot of the cattle inside the barn and we walked outside to the cattle in the field:

There were two cows in the first field who were soon to give birth and lots more, both steers and heifers, in an adjacent field:

I was interested to compare the White Parks friendliness to that of Red Polls, so I walked over to the the expectant cows to scratch their sides. They were not afraid, but not sure they wanted a stranger's hands on them either. I decided that White Parks would make a fine choice for me when the time comes. Red Polls or White Parks - or maybe both, I'll have to decide when the time comes:

The couple who owned the farm also rescued cats and these cats were very friendly, rubbing up against our legs wherever we walked, rolling onto their backs for a scratch whenever we stopped:

I took one last photo of a White Park and the field beyond. Then we began walking back toward my car:

Another friendly cat looking for attention. These people had rescued many cats and had them spayed or neutered as well as vaccinated. They were obviously well cared for. There were dogs in a fenced yard behind the house as well, but I didn't get to meet them:

And just as I was about to leave, I saw this contented feline comfortably resting over the wheels of their stock trailer. I thanked the farmer and began the return trip back to my awaiting dogs: