Chickens, Cows, and Goats, Oh My!

Wanna guess what Hubby and I did this past weekend?

It didn’t involve motorcycles. But it did involve quite a few critters.

And fried food. Though nearly not as much fried food as we’d been hoping for.

I don’t want to keep you in suspense forever, so I’ll just tell you… we went to the Fauquier County Fair!

It was nice, but much smaller than I’d anticipated. Hubby says that’s because I’m used to the Maryland State Fair, which is a whole lot bigger than the Fauquier County Fair. But the I guess most state fairs are bigger…

We were quite disappointed NOT to see vendors selling all the goofy fried stuff we’ve heard about at fairs, like fried Oreos, fried Twinkies, fried Snickers bars, etc.

I did enjoy seeing all of the critters, though. Especially the baby goats. Oh my gosh, they were so cute!

Look at the little one in the milk crate!

They were so young that, when they came over to the fence to check me out, they were sucking on my finger.

Do you think the girls would mind having a goat as a sibling?

Maybe if we got one with dog-like markings they wouldn’t realize it wasn’t a dog. Although I imagine those hooves would make quite a racket on the hardwood floors.

Look at the blue eyes on that wee little baby!

I could have stayed in the goat area for hours, but Hubby said the smell was getting to him. Funny, I didn’t notice and bad or particularly strong odors.

Before we left, I did capture a few more pictures to share with y’all.

Here’s one of the strangest-looking duck I have ever seen. Looks like someone grabbed it’s neck and someone else grabbed its feet and then they PULLED, stretching the thing all out of shape.

Really… I’ve seen a lot of ducks in my time, but that one took the cake for being odd. There were more that were the same shape, too. Stretched Ducks. I don’t think that’s what they were called, but that’s what they should be called. If you ask me.

Oh, and check out this odd rooster.

It was a bald-necked rooster. How weird.

And how about these chickens with the crazy hairdos?

As Hubby observed… it was just like going to the zoo, only cheaper.

I quit working around 3:00 on Friday afternoon so we could get there before the crowds. Neither of us like crowds, but Hubby gets absolutely grumpy when forced to deal with throngs of people.

You know we HAD to visit the cow tent, right? I do love me some cows. Look at the eyes on that little one in the front. Its name is Bashful.

Holy cow (no pun intended), look at the milk sack on that missus. No wonder they commence to bawlerin’ when it’s time to be milked. That’s got to hurt.

That camera angle made those three look like real cows! My, what wide asses they had.

You won’t believe what happened next.

I told Hubby he’d just have to get a picture of me with a cow.

So, when I found one that I thought would make a good shot. I stood sort of close and gave Hubby the camera.

That’s when we heard a voice say, “You can get closer if you want.”

The cow’s owner was sitting nearby.

“I can?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said. “You can even put your hand on her hip if you want to.”

Yes, folks… the woman who loves to stop along country roads and look at cows actually got to touch a real, live, cow.

“That’s not her hip,” Hubby said.

“Just shut up and take the picture!” was my reply.

Her name was Pansy. She’s three and, at about 1,200 pounds, is small for her age. That’s her Mama in the background. You can see how much taller the Mama is.

I’m glad Mike was along. I might have found a strange man saying, “hey, wanna touch my cow” a bit creepy otherwise…

After visiting with the cows a bit, we went off to find dinner.

Of course, the whole time we were eating, all I kept thinking was that goats had been sucking on my fingers. And that I’d touched a cow!

Where was Carol with her always-handy supply of Purell when I needed her?

Oh, well. I didn’t think it would kill me.

We moseyed around a bit more after dinner and then got to watch the Goat Dressing Contest.

Yes, I said Goat Dressing.

It involved about seven goats, a pile of clothing, and some brave kids. Once the contest started, the kids had to grab a t-shirt, hat, necktie, and two socks from a pile, select a goat, dress the goat, and then lead it to the finish. The first kid who showed up with a fully dressed goat got a trophy.

Goat dressing is MUCH easier said then done. Once the lady said GO, hilarity ensued.

Apparently these goats weren’t used to being dressed.

They had to put the socks on the feet, by the way, not the horns.

The little goat was cute, but the clothes sort of swallowed him up.

I don’t think any of the goats enjoyed being dressed.

I just LOVE the expression on that goat’s face.

And that was our afternoon at the Fauquier County Fair.