Check out that pork shoulder!
August in Minnesota means it's Fair time. Now, most people opt to go to the Minnesota State Fair with it's fancy foods on sticks, princesses carved out of butter, and massive, massive crowds. I'm not knocking it, but I do prefer the simple charm of my home town fair. I grew up in Austin, Minnesota which is the county seat of Mower County. That means once a year, the fair comes to town. I haven't been in years, but this year Nick and I planned a visit home to see my parents that happened to fall over fair weekend. We went and checked it out. Admission was free! How do you beat that?
Highlights included Reggie, Minnesota's largest boar, weighing in at 1540 pounds. I don't think Reggie does much standing, and seems to quite enjoy his recumbent position. The people are there for scale.
We also shared a bag of Tom Thumb mini donuts, one of my childhood favorites. No one was in line, I just walked right up to the window, paid $4, and walked away with a bag full of hot, donut goodness. I love small towns.
We walked through all the livestock barns (the poultry was the best by far, who knew people were raising such beautiful and diverse birds in that little corner of Southern Minnesota? Sadly, no pictures...I didn't want to startle the already skittish fowl). I thoroughly enjoyed busting out my dairy cattle judging knowledge while in the cattle barn (gleaned while working the 'night line' at the World Dairy Expo in Madison during my undergrad days. Yes, it's a real thing.). We also checked out the prize winning vegetables, crafts, and flowers. I was particularly fond of the colors of the produce in the display above.
Such an enjoyable, nostalgic outing!
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