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!

top drawer, sycamore!

It's perfect weather to be outside!

Even though it's still in the low 80s all week, mornings and evenings are delightfully chilly.  I'm loving the outside, but the inside has been a bit of a struggle.  I'm used to decorating for fall with seasonal fabric, pillows, art, and bedding...with leaf garlands, pottery, wooden bowls and candlesticks, and huge bouquets of leaves...

I can't forget all the pumpkins and other miscellaneous decorations!

But we've gone from a 4,000 square foot house to a tiny apartment.  We'll be back in a house next year, but for now, everything is in storage:  the fabrics, pillows, bedding, decorations...all packed up.  Even if I could access it, there just isn't space for it here.  The table we're using for meals is one of the FIVE tables that used to be in my craft room.  There isn't space for big leaf bouquets and fancy centerpieces.  Instead, I tried to keep it simple this year:  a small ceramic pumpkin, a colored ribbon around a plant pot.

I put up a few small wooden signs, and bought some velveteen and paper flowers to spread around.

Now that it's October, I'm slowly incorporating Halloween.  The little ceramic pumpkin above was a repository for daily fall jokes on post-it notes.  But now, the jokes are held in a plaster model of my own teeth that somehow made it into one of our apartment boxes!

I bought some Halloween socks...

...and we'll be ready for our scary movie marathon...31 scary movies in 31 days!  We started early.  :)

The leaves are slowly starting to turn, and I will be bringing some into the apartment when they really start going...somehow.  In the meantime, we're exploring the local Sycamore Trust hiking spots.

Sycamore Trust is a non-profit conservation organization that covers all of southern Indiana.  They say it best: "We manage active restoration projects, monitor wildlife and plant health, and build trails on certain public preserves for health and enjoyment." There are 12 nature preserves within 20 minutes of where we live.  They are mostly small, with a few miles of trails that wind through meadows and forests...perfect for an after-supper hike.   I love seeing the usual seasonal sights...gnawed nuts...

...colorful fungus...

...and an array of late-season webs and spiders (look away if you're spider-averse!):

Even this harvestman, while technically not a spider, is getting into the action.

Happy fall!