Tuesday, May 22, 2012

All Creatures Great and Tall

This past weekend we attended the Rare Breed Show at Garfield Farm in Campton Illinois. Once again it was hot (like last year) and windy (like last year) and fabulous (like last year). One sad difference, not enough exhibitors.

The Farms volunteers , here is one demonstrating the spinning of raw wool,




told us that folks had a myriad of excuses. Some said they didn't have the gas money to haul their animals while others said silly things like it being too much trouble. Now I understand life throwing us curves but still I was disappointed in the NUMBER of folks who did not come. Farm life is leaving us and our world so rapidly and if we farmers don't take a little time (and gas money) and effort to show young people what some of these really cool animals look like, who will?

But to those who did show up, and dress up (did I mention it was HOT, like 93 degrees HOT?) I want to say thank you. You took the time to show our GK's how to spin wool.







How to make felted animals out of wool



How to coerce your Yaya into buying the kit so you could make aniamls
out of felted wool. Yeah, I did. How could I resist this joyful face?

Wool was very popular at the Rare Breeds Show.


Also popular were teeny tiny chicks called "Frizzles" We bought home two as they seem to appreciate dental hygiene.



Apparently when they are grown their feathers get a little funky looking. How cool is that?




Other furry creatures included something a little bigger than the Frizzle chick, and thus Keith could more easily say NO !




Oh that mane!!

I loved how hands on all the animal owners were and I especially loved that I did not see even ONE bottle of antibacterial gel. After all, they had bathroom in the main house where you could wash your hands before eating, if you were that kind of wussy, I mean, conscientious person.




Keith and I did our part to educate the public about Red Wattles, bringing along one sow and two piglets, specifically Sophie and her big fat mama's boy. The two had been separated for a couple weeks but in about 30 seconds flat he was nursing her again as if he'd never left home. At first you could tell she loved it, but by the end of the day, unable to leave the confines of the livestock trailer , Sophie took to lying on top of her teats so big fat mama's boy couldn't reach them.

Wish I had thought of that when my kids were little.




Allana was as adept at telling visitors about our herd as we were (almost) but was overheard a couple of times telling them how there were only 2000 Red Wattles in the world (true) and how 50% of that number resided at South Pork Ranch ! When I told her it was only 1% she was absolutely sure that I had told her it was 50%. I thought about arguing with her but since there was at least a 50% chance I had indeed mis-spoke I decided against it.

The heat made all of us a bit tense and there was more than one standoff.




Several of the animals, like this magnificent Irish Wolfhound
decided an afternoon nap would be beneficial




As did this Irish Lad and Lassie




 
We also had a great soap sale day. Many of my bars are made with Red Wattle Lard and not only does it help to promote the breed, it also made our general area smell delightful. I didn't think to take a pic BEFORE we started selling but oh bright one here, did take a photo after my last sale.


 

It looks sparse as I sold 53 bars, which is nothing for you big timers but a real delight for The Midlife Farmwife. It gave us enough for gas money home! Maybe next year I could do my part and offer to share our trailer/truck/booster seat with a nearby farmer who might want to exhibit their critters. Whose says car pooling is just for humans?

105 comments:

  1. Oh my, we lived in Illinois for a year and a half as Keith finished his career, and never did we read about a rare breed show... we would have come and loved it! Bravo to you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love ALL Of THIS! Except for the low attendance in exhibitors. Boohiss! And I agree with you--it's so important to show the young folk how to keep these ideas alive!

    Love the silkie chicks (Cathy had them at her farm) and LOVE the big draft horse, of course!! AND EVEN MORE so, I love big fat mama and her boy! That little piggie has the most charmed life ever, I swear! Plus, the grandkids are cute, too (but maybe not as spoiled as big fat mama's boy?)

    Good for you on the sale of all the soaps! Did you charge FIVE dollars?? And does this mean I don't get to pay $5 because there is no farm fresh soap??! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done on all counts. Our recent village agricultural (countryside) show was a total wash-out. It poured all day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. We're about to hit show season here and I love them all. The Dales were hit very badly indeed by the Foot and Mouth outbreak ten years ago and is still in recovery from that, but farmers work incredibly hard to bring livestock when they can. Not so many rare breeds, but a lot of traditional ones.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a great day. It would be sad to see events like this dry up. Our kids need to be exposed to where our foods come from.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I cracked up laughing over the sanitizing gel!!! We have had to buy here it because moms are insisting on having it.

    that being said .. I wipe my hands my butt and grab another cookie. ;)

    There is such a thing as clean dirt!

    Talk to me .... where is Campton?? County?? I might fit in a booster seat and I can hold my chickens!

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a wonderful day. I loved all the pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  8. A rare breed show! What an excellent idea! I have a sweater I made from rare breed wools. Folks from all over the world sent me fleece samples which I spun and knitted. But 93°? And you're farther north than me. We've not yet made it out of the 80s, fortunately. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. "How to make animals out of wool.."

    Excuse this city cop but umm..aren't they already?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Mary Ann. we have lived here for many mnay years and just discovered it a few years ago. Don't feel bad

    Zan, still only $4 for my soap which means you only have to pay $8. City folk are rich, right? And I love your recent posts!

    Cro, sorry to hear that. Hope it goes better next year because I plan to attend

    Amanda and MBJ. Couldn't agree more

    Miss Effie, I use the same, back of my butt, washcloth as you do. I also spit on my GK's faces to clean off the jelly. Some things never change

    Judy, I can never take anything you say seriously because of your darn happy profile pic!

    Leigh, how cool, I mean warm to make that sweater. Since the show I have become obessed with fiber art, especially felting soaps. So much fun

    ReplyDelete
  11. You have made me want to attend a show like this at a farm SOMEWHERE outside of Houston!!!

    Just so you know, I took Fiber Arts as part of my university studies and we visited a studio where a woman spun wool for us, the old-fashioned way. Very interesting. Made me think about how they had to know how to do everything, from A-Z for day to day life.

    Lana

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  12. those photos made me smile so much today
    thank you

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  13. Lana, do you do any wet felting? I am dying to make a silk/felt scarf...in my spare time

    John...YOUR blog gives me great pleasure so fair is fair

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  14. What fun! I so miss the midwest (Kansas and Iowa). Near Des Moines is Living History Farms where you can see some of the older breeds and explore replicas of farmhouses (one has a screen door that slams just right)

    ReplyDelete
  15. So surprising to open the blog and see me! I hope your grands enjoyed the spinning and such. The outfit is not so hot as wearing it with a corset and demonstrating hearthside cooking, trust me! sitting the the cool barn talking with people was a nice change. I did not notice the drop in exhibitors as the only time I left the barn I was in was for a quick lunch and buying a bar of your soap on my way back. Had a wonderful time looking forward to next year, keep up the good fight. I posted on my blog about this post. http://insteadforgottenways.blogspot.com/2012/05/imagine-my-surprise.html
    Can I copy the photos you have of me as I don't have any? Thanks

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