Oom-pah-pah Oom-pah-pah Mau Mau ;-)

Our first taste of the 2013 Oregon State Fair was delicious! The Oak Ridge Boys provided GREAT entertainment; amazing that they are still together – and from all appearances having fun – 40 years down the road. We got a special treat, too; General Chuck Yeager introduced them! He's a long-time friend and fan of the Boys, and got a rousing reception himself. :-)

After the concert, Brian got to spend some time at the BMX track (not technically part of the Fair this year, but nearby).

I stopped by the sheep area to say hi to the Shetland breeders there, and admired this gorgeous mioget ram of Wally's.

Then we checked in with all our horse friends. Brian didn't get to practice with his team, unfortunately; hopefully he'll get some time to drive them before his class tomorrow. But I got to watch Tarra and Mystic compete, as well as a longtime friend who showed her young miniature stallion in harness.

And YES, I had a little "fair food"! I got a falafel gyro (enjoyed every yummy bite) and a piece of baklava (not worth the calories), and later shared a marionberry milkshake with my honey. :-)

Back again tomorrow, so stay tuned for more photos!

That's it for now from . . .

On your marks, get set, GO!

Last week's busy-ness was warm-up for this week's mad dash. Much of it is fun or exciting stuff, but with so much of it packed into one week, I'm having trouble keeping my perspective!

This afternoon we're going to see the Oak Ridge Boys at the State Fair. (I showed Brian some YouTube videos of them and he's been singing their songs ever since.) While at the Fairgrounds Brian will hopefully have the opportunity to practice driving the team of Clydesdales he's been assigned for this year's "Junior Driver 13 and Under" class on Tuesday. These are not the well-broke team of Shires he drove to first place last year, and we're crossing our fingers that he can manage them.

Monday is the one day this week I have to do our church's monthly newsletter, and Brian has a violin lesson. Tuesday morning I take Brian to the Fair to prepare for and compete in his driving class. As soon as he's done, we're zipping north to Chehalis, WA to meet Franna and transfer her ram Lil'Country Nightcap from her truck to mine. Then it's back home to unload Nightcap, bathe my horse, clean my tack, and load the horse trailer. Wednesday morning my handsome Lance and I leave at the crack of dawn to compete in some of the mustang classes at the Fair. Rick is the Horse Show Veterinarian at the State Fair on Thursday, so we will be there "to do the Fair" from 8 a.m. until the last class is over, usually 10 p.m. or later. On Friday – sometime – we leave for a Labor Day weekend horse-camping trip. When we come back, this crazy month will be over! Whew!

In other news, we got enough precipitation today to actually "connect the dots" in the dust, and I've got a broody Buff Orpington hen. No photos for now, and probably TOO many photos for later.

Gotta dash for now, from . . .

Sleepy sheep

It got hot today. It is still hot today. I spent several hours doing horsey stuff, and when I got home, the sheep were all sacked out in the shade, blending into their brown and barren surroundings.

Summer is my least favorite season. Too much heat, too much dust, too much brown. Maybe I will take a nap and dream of winter; of hot drinks and flannel sheets and cozy fires. Or maybe I will dream of the lambs to come, white ones and black ones and brown ones, too.

Maybe I don't have to dream about flannel and lambs; look what came today!

An adorable sleep sheep shirt, complete with a photo tag from Maisie; a generous Tour de Fleece prize from Punkin's Patch.  I love it, Sara! Hurry up, autumn!

That's it for today from . . .

Full

 Taken last night; see the serendipitous bird?

Taken tonight; I filled this one in record time!

That's it for now from . . .