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:

A Visit To A Franklin County Animal Farm

I began hankering for a couple of fantail pigeons to keep with my bantams. I've had pigeons several times before, but the fantails were tamest and easiest to care for. They are also the easiest to sell if the need arises. So I connected with a guy in Franklin County, just east of Malone, and drove there on Saturday morning. When I arrived, his son was working a former draft horse, reacquainting him with the business of being in harness and following directions:

There was a pony, a small heifer and a donkey there also, watching all the activity:

This horse came right over to the fence to be petted:

And then its pasture buddy came over to say hello as well. I paid no attention to any of these animals' genders, so I just use the word "it" when referring to them:

The pony's name was Cricket and there was a small herd of goats keeping it company:

A llama and another donkey:

One of the friendly goats trotted over to say hello:

And Cricket, the pony, wanted attention:

There were a lot of rabbits of various sizes, shapes and colors. Most were in individual cages but a great many had newborn litters, so clearly they hadn't always been alone:

There were also guinea hens, bantams and full sized Barred Rocks:

My fantail pigeons were waiting for me in that wooden crate on which a very friendly bantam pranced. Other fantails and another guinea hen watched from the overhead cage:

It was indeed a grand mixture of animals, most of whom seemed to get along quite well:

I got my four pigeons and headed home, where I put them into the chicken coop and closed the door to the outside to keep them from escaping. Only one hen was in the coop, and when I returned later to check on things, found her in a tizzy over these new residents. I also had to admit that I had no plan for how to open the door to let the rest of the chickens back in without the fantails escaping. So in the end, I moved the four pigeons into another room. They are getting used to me and their new surroundings. You'll hopefully see photos of them in upcoming posts: