a-chick-metic: 1 poor plan + 2 crossed fingers = 0 exotic chickens

My new camera came in the mail, and it was like picking up a brick.  Why hadn't I checked the weight before I bought it?!  My old camera weighed 1 lb 2 oz, and this new camera is 2 lbs 6 oz.  Too, too much.  I sent it back and I'm still waiting for the (15.6 oz) replacement.  But my cell phone is too painfully bad, so when Todd and I went to the Indiana State Fair last week, I brought the point-and-shoot business camera.  

I love the fair.  I used to live nearby and went at least once every season, sometimes many times.  I love the exotic chickens, the vegetable contests, the butter sculptures, the 4H insect collections, the dog and cat shows, all of it.  I guess we timed it poorly this year, though.  The chickens, the pigs, sheep, goats, horses, and cows...either already gone or not yet at the fair.  We couldn't find the butter sculptures or the insect collections.  It was a lot of this:

Thankfully, there were a few sheep, there for a random junior show:

There were a couple of pigs at a birthing exhibit:

There was a small goat petting zoo:

One exhibitor brought a few ducks and chickens:

There was a midday horse race:

Of course, we checked out the quilt exhibits.

The baked goods...

...and the veggies.

I love checking out the oddities, though.  Who has the best antique clock?  The best old record?  The best vintage doll?  Or...what about the best Christmas decoration?  The ugliest lamp?  The best scrapbooking page??  Oh, they've got it.

Todd found some treasures too!

Next year, I will CHECK THE SCHEDULE to make sure that the exhibits I want to see are open.  I need those exotic chickens!!

(past chicken pics)

Have a great week!

triple-wraps and scaly caps

This is my favorite time of year to hike.  The air is so crisp (I've determined that the absolute perfect temperature is 55 degrees) and although I have to double- or triple-layer because I'm always cold, it's so worth it.

It's not just the temperature.  The outdoor colors are so deep and rich.

Our leaves are just beginning to get a tinge of color, but sometimes you'll see an early-turning maple and get a sense of things to come.

Everything is slower and more quiet.  It's just perfect.

The spring and summer has a more obvious, showy beauty, but I think there's a lot of be said for this season's offerings. 

And there's still life, of course.  We usually see at least one berry-bearing tree or bush on a hike, which provides a great pop of color.

There are still gorgeous mushrooms around.

I came across a group of Pholiota squarrosa this week.

These shaggy scalycaps, as they are informally known, were once considered edible, with a sharp radish-like taste.  Now, however, they've been deemed poisonous, "especially if consumed with alcohol."  The see-sawing of mushroom recommendations is a little worrisome to me, so I'm sticking with the grocery store varieties!

A Fowler's Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri)came across my path last week.

They've been described as having a "sheep-like bleat" but I will let you be the judge!  For some reason, the male's mating call attracts both male and female toads, but he has a special "Whoops!" call that warns males attempting to mate with him that they've made a mistake.  Females lay up to 25,000 eggs in spring or early summer, so as you might guess, Fowler's Toads are pretty common!

I didn't realize that snakes shed their skin so late in the season, but I came across a clearly newly-shed snakeskin last week.

Apparently snakes shed several times a year to accommodate growth.  Problems with shedding from an incomplete shed can cause too many layers, especially around the head/eyes, and can cause blindness.  This snake didn't seem to have any trouble!

Some long-gone spider made a little nest in this leaf.

Some caterpillars, especially leaf roller caterpillars, will make webs in leaves, but it's usually just a small pocket. 

I'm looking forward to more near-daily hikes as the weather gets cooler.  Borga loves it!  It's funny, we never do family pictures...just random dog-holding pictures when we're out on a hike. 

We even did a city dog walk (and obligatory pics) this week.  Borga got her own glow-paint! 

The cats, meanwhile, are staying busy in my quilts.  I'm pretty sure they think I made them specifically for their comfort.  :)

Have a great week! 

Festivals, Hikes, & Temperatures I Like

Road trip weekend!  Of course, I continue to be a terrible traveler.  Carsick?  Absolutely (thankfully, no picture exists of me hunched over Todd's rain jacket in lieu of a plastic vomit bag).  Insomnia?  Check.  General queasiness?  Absolutely.  But we still managed to have a good time. 

We went to North Carolina to visit family, hike, and attend the John Campbell Folk School annual festival.  Wow, what a crowd!

Over 200 vendors were selling pottery, fiber goods, plants, food, metal ware, wooden furniture (and lots of birdhouses!), and many other things.  I loved the intricate work in the coin carving booth...

...loved seeing all the cool things created out of wood and metal...

...and all the fiber arts exhibits - knitting, weaving, and quilting.

Live music, too!

I love this image.  It is scarcely different from what we would've seen 150 years ago - a woman bent over a roasting chicken, a quilt over the vehicle entrance to keep the dust out.  Replace the old pick-up with a covered wagon and it's suddenly 1860!

North Carolina is beautiful.

And, might I add, much cooler than where we live.  Nighttime temperatures were in the mid-40s (!!!!) and we had amazing 55 degree weather while we hiked.  The perfect hiking temperature, I think! 

Borga was raring to go.

She slept in my lap the whole way home!

Here in SC, we're finally experiencing cool mornings and nights, although days are still in the mid-80s and expected to reach 86 again by the weekend.  But there are more signs of impending cooler weather.  Our turkeys are back! 

I've seen them several times, and I hear them gobbling noisily every morning. 

Our window screens are covered by shield bugs, just like every autumn. 

They're harmless, but they're trying to get inside so they can over-winter in our walls.  We see them inside sometimes, especially in the spring when the warmer weather wakes them from their winter stupor. 

Meanwhile, the cats are just taking it easy, regardless of the temperature.

Have a great week!