Had a very good day out at the LA County Fair today. First stop was the home & garden section, which was a bit disappointing in that there were no really nice pond setups as there have been in the past. However, there were some very lovely gardens (many with a Hawaiian theme) and a few water gardens which we very much enjoyed seeing. One of my favorites is the photo here, with the little gnome on the log with the pineapple plant. He really blended in with the garden; even when I pointed directly over its head Ralph didn't see it at first.
The animal area, of course, was a "must see." Quite a few newborn lambs--with umbilical cords still dangling--were wobbling around on knock-kneed legs while their mothers watched complacently. There were lots of rabbits too, including a pair of Continental Giants. One was 4 months old & weighed 12 pounds; the other was 8 months & 24 pounds. They were already larger than the "regular" adult rabbits in the enclosure. There were also some watusi cattle with huge, huge horns & some Jacob sheep with their four horns apiece. Couldn't really get a good photo of the Jacob; one had its back to me the whole time, and the other would either be positioned in such a way that I couldn't get a clear head shot, or else he would be moving around so much that the photo came out all blurry. I do have a short video on my Flickr account though.
The home crafts section was, as always, a favorite for me. Ralph was footsore by the time we got there, so he sat & read his book while I looked around. The fish you see here was part of a lovely embroidery of two Japanese style fish in a small waterfall. Absolutely wonderful, and well-deserving of the "Best of Show" ribbon it won. There was also a shawl that I really liked, although it was poorly displayed (hanging in a back corner, all rumpled up instead of spread out) so I was not able to get a good picture. It was a really nice lacework in a variegated ocean-blue/green color. However, I do have to question some of the awards, such as the second-place given to a beautiful black knit dress with long sleeves, a cabled yoke, and cables down the front & sleeves. Too much glare on the display case prevented a good picture, but if you could see it I'm sure you would agree it should have taken first.
The novelty cake section was MUCH more impressive than the one at the Orange County Fair earlier this year, which consisted of a mere three cakes. This display had about a dozen very creative entries, including a cake shaped like an old-time radio; one made to look like a plate of spaghetti (complete with chocolate "meatballs" and raspberry "pasta sauce"); and this one here: an LA Dodgers baseball cap. Yup, believe it or not, that photo is of a cake. Isn't it great?
We didn't go on any rides, although I did admire the carousel. They had lots of horses of course, and a few more unusual merry-go-round critters such as a tiger and a boar (or as Ralph called it, a "pig-horse" since it was on a carousel plus the feet really did look more like a horse's hooves than a pig's trotters). We watched some kids on a spinning ride, and one of them definitely did NOT look happy: closed eyes, head down, lips tightly pressed together. I suspect he may have had a bit too much funnel cake and frozen lemonade before going on the ride.
Speaking of food, they didn't have quite the usual assortment of fried everything. I did see a sign for "cream cheese on a stick" (a slab of cream cheese dipped in corn-dog batter & deep-fried) and a "beef sundae" which judging from the photo is a bowl of mashed potatoes (at least I hope it was mashed potatoes) topped with shredded BBQ beef & a red pepper on top. Despite my usual vow to splurge on all kinds of junk food delights, we really didn't buy much: a pulled pork sandwich each (both of us pretty much just ate the pork & threw the bland, overly-porous bread away), a frozen lemonade that we split (and even then didn't finish), and then Ralph had a beer. Not bad considering how good everything smelled: turkey legs, ribs, corn dogs, funnel cake, grilled beef & chicken, waffle cones and sausages. Yum!
Had a great big "honey do" list for myself today, and only got a few of them done. Started some laundry (still need to hang it up), got Sadie's vet records transferred to our name, washed the dishes, vacuumed the rug (although you wouldn't know it to look at it now, since the dogs have been on it all day) and that's about it.
I found dozens of these weird little critters on my tomatillo plant today. I suspect this is the reason why not one lantern has matured to a ripe fruit. Anyway, I took a sample of them to the local nursery hoping they could tell me what they are. The clerk said it was some sort of larva (well DUH! Even I knew that much!!) and recommended a particular insecticide. She went to the back to get it and also to ask someone else what they were. When she came back, she said he had told her what they were, but that it was "some long name that I can't repeat." Gee, how informative and helpful! I did finally manage to find out from her that they are "some sort of moth." Wish I knew a good entomologist. In any case, I bought an insecticide that is safe to use on food plants & this should take care of the problem. Still wish I knew exactly what they are, though. Maybe I can track it on whatsthatbug.com.
