A short visit to the Bayfield County Fair

We didn't have enough to do last weekend, so we zipped on over to Iron River to see what the Bayfield County Fair was all about.  Several of our friends had entered artwork, or produce or other items to be judged, but this time we just wanted to see what it was all about.

The last time I went to this fair was the summer of 1983.  Older Daughter was 2 at the time, and we all went with Grandpa and Grandma Larson to the fair.  Of course, there was a merry-go-round, and I thought Sara needed a ride on the merry-go-round.  We got the ticket, I lifted her onto the horse and was going to hold her on the horse during the ride.  Then the merry-go-round started.  I had FORGOTTEN that the horse--and the rider/Sara--would be going up and down, up and down, all during the ride.  Well, the ups were very up, and I'm not very tall, and I had all I could do to hang on to Sara for the duration of this ride.  I was never so glad to have a carnival ride stop!

Fast forward 31 years, and I'm back at the county fair.  Here are some pictures:

Cute little calf .

Giant beef cattle chillin' - I think that fuzzy tannish one is a Gallaway.

Of course, this was my favorite building - the chickens and roosters.  I don't think there were any two alike.  And all presenting with attitude!

Also in the poultry building were the rabbits. Rabbits are always a part of county (and state) fair exhibits, but I really don't know what purpose rabbits serve on a farm besides being cute.  Am I missing something here?  MB from IL - what do you know on this topic?

And then there's the midway, but we didn't spend much time there.  We found out later that the $12 fee to getting into the fair paid for unlimited times on all the rides.  And really...not many rides!

So, we went, we now know what it's all about, not sure if we'll go back.  But maybe we'll decide to join with our friends and enter our produce into the various categories judged at the fair.  I think the peapods that we picked today might earn us a Blue Ribbon!

Another night of guests before a couple days to breathe!

It seems we've been going like gangbusters lately with B&B guests, helping with parts of the Plein Air event, and LOTS of guests last night!

One day last winter we got a call from a man from Thunder Bay, Ontario, who was planning a bike tour through our area.  He wanted to know how many people we could sleep here.  He needed rooms here in our little town for 15-20 bike riders.  Since there aren't many places for lodging here, that was going to be tricky.  It ended up that we had 7 staying here, 8 at the other B&B, and 3 in one of the cabins down near the Lake.

They were a fun group of people.  They all gathered here on our front porch when they got into town for some late afternoon refreshments.

They even brought their own entertainment!

Dinner was at the South Shore Bar here in town and they all came home very pleased with their dinner. Then we found out we were serving 10 people for breakfast!   While we're used to preparing for 2 or 4 guests, 10 was going to be a challenge.  But they all went away happy this morning, so it all worked out.  And now we have LOTS of sheets and towels to wash!

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I saw this little chrysalis Saturday morning hanging on the summer savory plant when I was collecting herbs to bring to the Saturday Market.  It wasn't hatched yet this morning but seemed to be a little more advanced.

And here are some sunset picts from down at the Lake tonight.  I love those evening colors.  These two are the two areas of the marina area where boats are docked.

This one shows the backwater or "slough" area on the other side of the bridge.  There was some low-hanging fog off in the distance.

And this is out by the pier and breakwater.  Those bumps on the breakwater are seagulls with the last of the sunset behind.

Tomorrow: Picts from the Bayfield County Fair!

Plein Air 2014 - All wrapped up!

It's been happening too much lately.  Evening comes and I'm so tired from the day's activities that I don't sit down to post.  But I wanted to get the Plein Air activities posted since it occupied a large part of our day.

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It happened to me last year, too.  I hang around these artistic people for a couple days and I almost consider picking up a brush to paint something...besides a house or a wall or something like that.  The closest I've come lately to using that well-hidden part of my brain was when I was playing the iPhone app, Draw Something, with some of my friends.  I'd like to take the easy way out and blame the art teacher I had back in grades 5-7.  How can you get a C in 5th grade art???  And then I never had any more art instruction in my life!  But these people inspire me, at least for these few days every year.

So, as I posted yesterday, the Quick Paint part of the weekend occurred this morning.  The artists choose their spot in a certain area down by the Lake, they get the official stamp on the back of their canvas, and the painting begins at 10am.  Time's up at 11:30, then time to prepare paintings for judging.

Here are some pictures from the Quick Paint this morning:

This artist is painting the artist in front of him.  I guess that's a different take on plein air painting.

This is Diane and she was one of our B&B guests.  She enjoys painting flowers and found these beautiful wild roses growing along the banks of sand.

This is another of our guests, Lee, painting his wife, Rose, out on the dock with the fishing boat behind.  And she's the lucky one.  She was able to read all during the time he was painting!  And below is from another angle.

This is our friend, Dee, painting down near the boat landing.  And look at that boat!  The boat owner was supposed to meet a friend there but the friend went to the wrong town/marina.  And lousy phone reception made this mix-up even more troublesome for them.  That whole area forward of the windshield is living space for those on board.  I'm sure it goes pretty speedy-fast, too!

Have you seen these Little Free Libraries?  Leann has been planning for at least a year to get one set up out by our road, but this person down by the lake beat her to it.  This one has quite a selection--everything from Madeline L'Engle to Ayn Rand!

This was another of our guests, Robert, and his painting won one of the honorable mentions of the day.

The judging took place starting at 2pm and at 3 the Town Hall opened for the public showing.

Below are some of the Quick Paint entries:

Here's the first prize winner.  I had a picture of him painting that in yesterday's post.

Below is second place, one of the few area barns remaining, and even a mixed media entry done by Denise, another of our friends.

I don't know if I will be picking up a paintbrush anytime soon, but being with these people is inspiring all the same!  But if you would like to come and participate, Port Wing Plein Air will take place next year, July 30-August 1st!

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And because we didn't have enough to do today, we also picked some of our produce and Leann took it to today's Saturday Market.  Two kinds of onions, beets, yellow squash, and several kinds of herbs...and some of my dishcloths, too!  Coming up now are green beans, peas, cucumbers and, eventually, tomatoes.  This next month should be lots of fun!

Port Wing - celebrating art "en plein air"

A few years ago, a couple people in Port Wing decided to invite a few artists to the first ever Port Wing Plein Air Painting Festival.  This event has grown from about 7-8 artists that first year to over 20 this year and it's happening this weekend!

Starting on Thursday the artists find choice spots around town or within a five mile radius, set up their easels, and begin painting "en plein air" or out in the open air.  They spend Thursday and Friday painting however many pictures they choose.  Then on Saturday morning beginning at 9:30 they participate in the "Quick Paint."  For that they must choose a spot down around the marina area by Lake Superior, the horn sounds at 9:30, and they have an hour and a half to paint their "Quick Paint" entry.

After the Quick Paint, the artists have some time to frame the pictures they want to enter in the afternoon exhibit at the Town Hall.  The judging begins at 2pm.  Finally at 3 the doors of the Town Hall open and the public is invited to come in and see the results of all their artistic endeavors in the last couple of days.  Prizes are awarded for the items chosen first-second-third by the judge, and the public can select their favorite for the "Peoples' Choice" award.  It's a great event!

Here are some pictures we took today of artists here and there around town:

Tomorrow: Pictures from the exhibit!