Rain Event

We took advantage of a temporary let-up in the rain Saturday to check out the nearby Granby Charter Days fair, going on all weekend.



We're suckers for these country bumpkin events, and modern as the modern age may be, I still find watching heavy work done via brute strength a fascinating sight.



Beast compared to Machine is usually part of the fare at these fairs, and Granby has their own oxen pulls like many others.



It's a tradition going from way back...



What exactly they compete for I'm not sure, besides ribbons and bragging rights. Maybe it's just the upholding the tradition and passing it on that keeps it going. Maybe a combination of all three.



But one thing is for sure, they bring their best competitors to the fight.



Here's a short motion-view of the proceedings:



We got our fill of that before setting out for other sections of the fair, spread out around the grounds of Dufresne Park. The visitor count was sparse, with only some die-hard fair goers venturing out in the afternoon rain.



But the fair exhibits were all in effect, and what small crowd there was mostly centered on the small petting zoo section, with lots of cute, cuddly and not so cute and cuddly petting specimens were found.









From there, it was 'round the park's freshly fishing derby'd pond...



...and to the main fairway. Where umbrellas were propped up everywhere.



All the usual spinning, tumbling, rocking and bobbing rides were available and waiting, including some old classics...



...but not too many takers this afternoon. Idle ride attendants gazed wistfully into the horizon.



While at the games trailers bored carnies had taken to wrangling amongst themselves.



Hopefully Sunday will bring back better weather and more teaming crowds. The culprit rain was now picking up again and we began heading back, making a quick stop at Ludlow's Lupa Zoo (a loooong overdue blog post, btw) tent. Some interesting critters were there, including a massive scorpion, a healthy sized chameleon, and this guy.



Hedgehogs are pretty cute, and if there's any truth in video gaming, fast as the devil.



The increasingly familiar, joking jargon of B'wana Jim began blaring over the speakers nearby, and rain or not we had to check out one of his hilarious and informative animal shows.



We've run into his exhibits more than once on the fair circuit, and it's always an entertaining sight.

Time to go? Wait, Kelly hears the clicking of a gambling wheel. She needs her fix. For charity, ahem, of course.



Ok, NOW it's time to go...

In Dog Years

I received terrible news Friday night from my sister; a highly loved and esteemed aunt in my family was suddenly stricken very ill.

She is the oldest sister of my mother who recently passed away. Our coping with life in my mother's absence was only now beginning to approach something resembling normalcy. This new tragedy refreshed my sorrows and weighed heavy on my mind over the night and throughout most of the day Saturday. It was only late in the afternoon that Kelly was able to roust me up and out.

We took a short drive past some fresh-cut, rolling farmland in Granby...



...to the relatively close-by, greener Dufresne Park. Kelly had heard there was a dog park there where we could let our little four legged critter run free, and a playground where we could let our little two legged critter run free.



The dog was going bonkers as soon as we pulled into the park, which for some reason was crowded with RV's and pitched tents. The dog's excitement continued to ratchet upwards as we searched for a spot in the crowded parking area and we soon saw why; everybody there seemed to have a dog with them.





We had stumbled upon the LEAP Agility Club's weekend-long dog trials. It looked like they were done for the day when we arrived, but a member informed us that there were plenty of events going on Sunday and Monday, and to come on by.



We circled around the pond and headed for the fenced in dog park section Kelly had heard about. It was an adequately sized, fully fenced bit of land, where we were able to safely unleash the canine and let him run to his heart's content. His energy levels were so peaked that another lady's dog, who was already there, couldn't help but be swept up in the fervor and engage in like behavior...





...soon enough yet another mammal in the fenced in area caught the high-energy bug.



After a good jaunt in the increasingly humid twilight, the dog was finally spent and panting, with the other dog and Kelly in a similar way. It was the bloggerette's turn for fun and we made our way back to the playground.

Dufresne Park has a very new, very well designed children's play scape. All kinds of interestingly and ingeniously designed structures and obstacles are set up, with some of them challenging enough that an adult can't help but give a try.





Things that slide, things that spin, things that bounce and things that spring.

Not really in the mood for fun, I was content to hang back on a bench and watch woman, dog and baby.



Sitting there with half my mind on them, the other half drifted off with memories of my childhood, my family, my mother. How my aunt and her family had touched our lives through the years. How I had selfishly and ignorantly grown out of touch with them and with others, how there's never enough time to reunite and regain what is lost. How there's never enough time for everything.



We're all here and gone in the blink of an eye.



I wish I had understood that earlier.

Strawberry Fields

We brought my father up to the summit at Skinner mountain, so he could get some fresh air and a view, and so I could get another look at the great photo exhibit/contest going on inside the summit house.



It was his first time on the mountain, and it was a great day for it.

We toured the whole top of the hill, and eyeing all the grills and tables, decided to come back again soon with more of the family, for a summit barbecue...

But for today, the call to arms was strawberry picking. We came back down and Kelly directed us to Sapowski's Farm in Granby, which was supposed to be open for strawberries; but we found that we had apparently missed operating hours. Luckily, on the way up we crossed paths with Granby's Charter Day celebration, in the form of a big weekend-long fair...



The celebration is spread out pretty broadly all around Dufresne Park, along route 202.



Parking was five bucks, good for the whole day, and people were skipping to a country beat when we arrived.



It was just starting to pack with people, and we found much of the usual rural fare, at this semi-rural fair.





Along with the ride and food-filled midway, there were farm animals to be pet...





...including this llama babe, born just 18 hours earlier (really), and already running about the pen.





For the more jet-set visitors, there are helicopter rides lifting off nearby for 25 bucks.



I was soooooo tempted....they're doing it all weekend, so mayyyyybe, just maybe....



In one corner of the expansive park, things became more rustic, with carved bears...



...and then a surprising dip into the civil war era, via the Massachusett's 10th Regiment's camp-site...





...(pics modified for a little contemporary flavor)...





We rounded out the visit with the oxen pull, which marked this as a true country fair. My dad, who like much of my family grew up in a small farming village, found this event particularly interesting.

He picked out the winners long before the pull was over.



It was time to go, but lest we forgo the strawberries, we gave Dickinson's Farm a look on the way back, and found it open for the pickin'...



Kelly kept riding me that you're not supposed to eat any strawberries as you pick them, but few have that kind of will power. I paid for our tray-full of strawberries with red stained fingers and a guilty smile, to the cashier's mild chagrin...



...it's going to be strawberry pie for Father's day, next weekend...