Missouri State Fair

Mr. W and I had a fun day yesterday at our State Fair.

Mr. W spent the day at the BAM tent.

It was a hot day for forging, but those BAM guys & gals are very dedicated.

There were BAM wares for sale, such as this iron armadillo.

I combed the fairgrounds for floral inspiration, which I found in several places.

And also in the Floriculture building.

I bumped into our State Fair Queen and her family, who happens to be from my hometown. Our families are friends.
Yay, Samantha!

I met some interesting roosters.
They appear to be thinking, “What are YOU lookin’ at, Sista?”

And now, for my favorite part of the fair.  I met up with friends (fellow mini donkey owners)  from Warsaw, MO to watch various miniature mule and miniature donkey contests. Our favorite by far, and the one we look forward to from year to year is the Miniature Donkey Costume Contest. The photos aren’t the greatest. I always have bad luck getting good quality pictures in this big exhibition center.

Here are a few of my favorite entries. They were all cute, and so creative!
Clockwise from upper left:
Hippie chicks with “Age of AquariA$$” – donkey had a ‘fro’ wig and brown fringey vest;
Singin’ in the Rain (love those yellow rain boots on the donk!);
Brahma “bull” donk, complete with the Brahma hump-  and rodeo clown, rodeo queen and cowboy;
BoPeep complete with a wool fleeced donkey  (so glad it was air-conditioned in the arena). BoPeep took 1st place;
Jack In the Box;
Holstein Donkey.

We had Jumbo Corn Dogs for lunch. I never thought the time would come when we would pay five buckaroos for a corn dog! But they were quite delish, and certainly a meal on a stick.

I’ve also enjoyed seeing my blogger friends’ reports on their county and state fairs. If you want to visit the Orange County, CA fair, see Dawn (Dandy) at Spontaneous Clapping. Her ‘recipe’ for seasoning roasted corn on the cob sounds (and looks) simply divine!

Thursday Walkabout ~ Flower Power

On tonight’s walkabout I visited with the flowers in the yard. We still have a lot of bloomers, but with the heat they’re taking more and more water. At the center of this mosaic, please notice our old well pump.

Profusion Zinnia, Twin Hibiscus, White Zinnia, Wonder of Staffia Blue Aster, Flower Wagon - Varied, Orange Marigold.

We utilize the well pump every day (almost). We hand-pump the rainwater from the well (actually ours is a cistern). It’s really a lot less hassle than using a garden hose. Mr. W is the one who carries two five-gallon buckets out almost every day to the flower wagon near the road, and to the buckets of flowers & ornamental corn on either side of our driveway entrance. It’s quite a trip! I handle the remainder, and water as needed. Hey, it’s good exercise and best part is it’s free and better for the flowers!

I also want to update on my Hydrangea progress. I’ve been using Aluminum Sulfate every week or two, and now I have one of these.

Blue! I’m so happy I could cry (I know, I take this waaaay too seriously).  I’m going to keep adding the aluminum sulfate periodically to achieve an even deeper blue – I hope. Below, you can see the life of a hydrangea bloom. The faded pink bloom on top has been there, looking pretty for an entire month!

Enjoy the remaining weeks of Summer – savor every moment that you can!

Till next time…

Monday Morning you sure look fine ♫

Soon, they’ll have travelin’ on their minds…

(Can you name the song/artist? If you were around for the sensational 70’s, of course you can!)

Our hummingbirds in Missouri stay from (approximately) April through September. Last year, we had one pass through in mid-November. At first I thought I was seeing things! I put fresh nectar out for him and the next morning he had traveled on.  

I love Fall, but it always makes me a little sad to think about Summer winding down. I’m filling all six hummingbird feeders twice a day now, but I’ll miss these little guys when they head South for the Winter :-(

What will you miss most about Summer?

Thursday Walkabout ~ Woods & Pastures

These were taken tonight along my favorite walking path behind our house & barn. 

I promise – no snakes this time :-) Oh, and especially for my friend Patti, no scary frogs either.  Speaking of Patti, go check out her turkeys.

Oh, back to the walk… A few of the Wild Things you may recognize are: Black Eyed Susans, Cedar and berries, Milkweed, Wild Rose, Oak Leaves.

This one I call “On Brown Pond” (lovely, huh?).  The cows have been taking cooling-off baths during these warm early August days here in Missouri. It’s just a few yards behind our house and barn. Many mornings I’ve watched a Blue Heron wading along the edge. Some day I will get his picture here, whether he realizes it or not.

Hope the weather is nice where you are. We have one more day of decent temps, then it’s upper 90’s for the weekend. Looks like Summer is returning with a vengeance! 

Rural Entertainment

Yes, people in the country tend to find “different” types of entertainment. In our case, it’s usually critter entertainment of some sort. Tonight we were amused by Hazel the Kitten investigating a baby Bullsnake (non-venomous).

(By the way, what is it with our snake population this year?)

He was kinda cute and very calm, for a snake I s’pose. I am also told that it is a blessing to have abundant and varied wildlife in one’s yard ~ it means you have a healthy environment in which to thrive. This year, our environment seems exceedingly healthy…

I’m happy to report that both snake and kitten escaped, unscathed.

After dark, I tried my hand at night photography. Not so successful, but I will work on it. I was also reminded of our son’s favorite bedtime story when he was little. After the story, we would go down the list to wish goodnight to everything and everyone until someone fell asleep.

So here’s my Goodnight Moon, and….

…Goodnight All!

Long Ears Psychology 101

Mr. W made a new hay feeder for the girls’ stall today.

It is just perfect for them.

However, it may take a while for Ruby and Gracie to research this matter and realize that this feeder is perfect for them.

You see, Donkeys are smart… very smart. You may have always heard that donkeys are stubborn. Soooo not true. They just have to take awhile to decide that a situation is safe, and will not cause harm to them.

Therefore, we cannot take a bite of hay from this feeder until we figure it all out.

Sniff… sniff… think, think, think. Hmmmm, have to use great caution here. This contraption may spray out some fly goop (we hate fly spray).  Or… perchance… something evil may hurl out at us…

Backing out of the stall…

Retreat!! This unidentified object has not been deemed safe yet!! It’s a trick!! Run for your life!!

Having removed themselves from the “potentially harmful situation”, the girls now discuss the matter.

I predict that tonight Ruby and Gracie will finally reach the conclusion that the new feeder isn’t gonna bite :)

Can’t Believe I Won! ♥

Thank you, Mary, over at Neat & Tidy! I entered  her 100th Post Giveaway a couple of weeks ago. I still can’t believe I am the recipient of these wonderful prizes that arrived on Friday. They are simply wonderful. I couldn’t have hand-picked anything better!

Check out Mary’s beautiful quilts and other lovely projects at her blog - Neat & Tidy. She created this gorgeous little tote in red and white. Her daughter Mandy made the adorable scrabble tile necklace and “Believe” block (thank you, Mandy!). Mary also tossed in a delicious(!) smoothie mix “Dove Java Chip Chocolate” – which I am enjoying right at this very moment. I am a huge fan of Dove chocolates and boy, is this smoothie ever good! As an added thoughtful touch, Mary had these prizes packaged in the most beautiful shipping bag I’ve ever seen.  Here’s the wonderful bounty I received ~

Thank you again, Mary! “Believe” will sit on my desk at work. The scrabble tile necklace is the perfect little summertime necklace, and I’m wearing it today! I promise you that tote bag will be proudly toted with me in my travels for many, many years.

I honestly don’t usually win anything, however this is the second blog giveaway I have won. Last Fall, before I began the Flat Creek Farm blog, I entered a contest over at JillyBean's. I won a nifty glass bottle wind chime made from heated and “bent” Cracker Barrel syrup bottles. So cute, although you really can’t see how pretty and colorful it is here. 

I was very new to the world of blogging, which has proven to be a blessing in more ways than one! The best blessing of all has been meeting and making new blogging friends. I also love how the whole circle comes together, and we can learn from each other. Can’t wait until the first giveaway here…. I’m already starting to plot and plan ;-) Hope your Sunday is a blessed one.

Early Birthday Gift & Thursday Walkabout

My sister and brother-in-law brought by an early birthday gift for me last night. They had rescued it from the barn on their new farm. I, of course, heartily accepted this wonderful gift. It’s something I’ve always wanted. 

The gift is an old church pew, about 8 foot long, and it will work perfectly on the Barn/Cottage porch.  Aside from cleaning, and minor repairs to the bottom of the end caps (slight rotting took place there from sitting in the barn for quite some time)…. I probably won’t change a thing about it right now. I like the primitive black paint and the wear shown on the seat.  A few throw pillows… and there ya have it, a nice spacious area to sit a spell with family & friends.

I was tired tonight but managed a lazy walk around the yard. Tonight we have ~
Rudbeckia, a Strange Cloud, Queen Anne’s Lace, Profusion Zinnias, Our Old Wagon load of Flowers, Endless Summer Hydrangea, Bent Wheel, Volunteer Sunflower.

I’m using Aluminum Sulfate on my Hydrangea to “blue” it up. The pink is very pretty, but to me, there is no flower more beautiful than a deep blue hydrangea. We’ll see what happens.

Hope your week is going well! Till next time…