It's time for fresh veggies, county fair (07/28/2008)

It's a wonderful time of year. The air is warm and I am not freezing to death, at least when I'm outside. The grass is soft and not burned to a crisp like it usually is in late July.

Best of all I can graze in the garden on the way home. The sugar snap peas are finally coming into their own and they are delicious. They very rarely make it into the house. Our tomatoes are ripening just fast enough for us to enjoy them. The cucumbers are also doing well.

I recently traded cucumbers for a dozen eggs. Too bad I can't figure out how to trade some for trash bags and other assorted groceries. Last year our granddaughter, who was a year old at the time, discovered that she loved cucumbers soaked in vinegar. So far we haven't figured out a way to get her up here this year to see if she likes sugar snap peas.

The green peppers will be ready to pick soon and then it won't be long before the frost nips everything and the bounty will be over for another year. Until then, I plan to enjoy every moment of it.

Our county fair starts this week. It never changes. There will be rides, animals and lots of young people holding hands. We used to go to the fair several times each year. One year when my brothers were little I took them on the giant slide.

They loved it and demanded to go again and again. It was fine until I lost my glasses. If you have never climbed a zillion steps holding one toddler in your arms and the other by the hand you haven't experienced true fear. I was convinced that I would miss a step and we would all go tumbling down long before we got to the top. Thank goodness we never did.

That was also the year my girlfriend and I were on a ride and the only things touching the ride were our hands. We were so lightweight that we literally flew out of the seat. By the way, that is how I lost my glasses. It is near impossible to find glasses when you can't see.

I no longer have to worry about flying out of a ride. I leave that to those who are much younger than I. Besides, I have enough, ahem, ballast, that there would be nothing to worry about anyway.

One year we concentrated on winning prizes. My boyfriend at the time was really good at games and I ended up with an entire collection of useless junk, I mean tokens of his affection.

Another thing that makes a fair special is the cotton candy. It only has three main ingredients - sugar, food coloring and lots of air. It was introduced to the public at large at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair under the name of fairy floss. With the recent popularity of princesses maybe they should change the name to princess fluff. Or they could breath.

Once a child gets good and sticky from the cotton candy it is time to visit the animal barns. That way when they touch the animals all the loose hair will stick to their grubby little hands.

It is amazing that the animals put up with being touched by so many strangers. A select few even seem to enjoy it. Me, I love to bury my fingers in sheep's wool or have a bunny sniff my hand. My husband prefers his farm animals to be sizzling on a grill and served alongside some vegetables.

I am not a fan of demolition derbies but at fair time I am in the minority. Even my sister-in-law, Apryl, has been known to drive a demolition derby car on occasion. She's pretty good at it from what I hear.

It is all a part of summer in Indiana, or Ohio or wherever you may be. I can't imagine living somewhere that there is no county fair. It gives the community a chance to come together and have some fun. Plus it is a chance to show off your prize animal, craft, garden produce or whatever your specialty may be.

If by chance it rains, you can only get so wet so you might as well enjoy yourself. Besides, you can always hide out in the animal barns.[[In-content Ad]]