Sunday, August 24, 2014

Summer tradition..County Fair!


Every August, we visit the County Fair. It is a summer tradition. We  visit every 4-H barn to see all the chickens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits, cows, goats...well, you get the idea. In each barn, my children see a sign for an animal for sale, and decide we need that animal; until we make it to the next barn and see another animal for sale sign. We somehow leave each year without a new pet.




The sheep below was so funny. He was rather vocal during the entire competition which lead to lots of giggles in the crowd. He was beautiful though, and won his competition.




On our first trip through the pig barn, every single pig was asleep. We made a second visit later, and this cutie was awake. 



We love watching the dock dogs and were so impressed to see how far these dogs could jump. Out dog is drawn to water, so we spent a lot of time wondering if she would like to participate in this. Although most of the dogs competing were retrievers, it was exciting to see a Spaniel, German Shepard and a New Foundland compete.


No dog is forced to jump. Those who got up there and didn't want to, didn't jump. Those who did jump, really wanted to jump. They were so excited and the moment they were given the command that they could jump, they leaped into the water to retrieve a toy.


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Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Watching pumpkins grow.


A few chilly nights have reminded me that Fall is coming soon. As you may know from the blog, Fall is my favorite season. I look forward to it for months and spend the months of Fall embracing everything pumpkin. I love that my friend grows giant pumpkins and gives me the opportunity to photograph them as they grow. When I show up at the pumpkin patch, and see these giants, who are so much bigger than my last visit, I'm reminded just how close Fall is.


I visited the pumpkin patch this past weekend. Watching giant pumpkins grow is nothing like watching grass grow. Once they start growing, they grow pretty fast. You can see the difference each time you visit the pumpkin patch. The giants have grown so much since my last visit almost two weeks ago. 


Below, a picture of the same pumpkin two weeks ago. It's amazing how fast they grow.


The other pumpkin is growing too. He is still such a cool color.


For comparison, here is the same giant pumpkin, photographed almost a month ago (on the left) and two weeks ago (on the right).



Each giant pumpkin grows on his own plant. Each plant can only support one pumpkin growing this big. The plants is huge, covers so much ground and has these enormous leaves.


The sheet over the pumpkin protects him from the sun. When it gets colder out, he will have a blanket at night to keep him warm. 


The long gourd, which looks a lot like a green baseball bat for a giant, is growing too. Once they start growing, the can grow several inches in a day, and it is so wild to be able to see a difference in just a day's time.


Want to see these giants in person? Many giant pumpkins will take over Ridgefield at Ridgefield's Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off on September 28th. Be sure to click on the link to check out the event webpage. 

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Sunday, August 3, 2014

The Giant Pumpkins Are Growing!


I visited the pumpkin patch this weekend. The giants are growing! Despite being so light in color, this is giant is a pumpkin. I visited the patch nine days earlier, and it is amazing how much he has grown in just over a week. Seeing these giants grow is making me very excited for fall!

Here is a side by side view of the same giant pumpkin taken nine days apart.




This little green guy is a new squash. I really like green squash, so I am hoping this one will grow really big. The cloth over the leaves is to protect the squash from the sun. I'm hoping to go back and visit him again this weekend, to see how much he has grown.


One of the squash flowers.




The second giant pumpkin.


If you would like to see these giants compete in the giant pumpkin weigh off, be sure to check out the Ridgefield Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off page.


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