Baby Goats and Demon Cows

The internet has not been my friend the past week. It's wavered between being interminably slow and entirely nonexistent.


However, the Web gods have smiled on me today because lo and behold, I actually seem to be able to access not only the blog, but even upload some photos!! Miracle of miracles, amen.


So this post is a bit of a rewind. Noel is still in Utah, working hard at his new job. The pics on this post are from the weekend before he left (which was 2 weekends ago) when we went to the Mountain State Fair!


We had thought we'd see a lot of animals at the county fair (where I, as a Blue Ribbon Knitter, took a victory lap around the cow pen). Well, we didn't. Not even a rooster in the Rooster Bingo cage. Sigh.

However, the state fair had TONS of animals, and sometimes tons of a single animal!

First off, the cuteness of a family of pigs. :)

(Note: we had bacon for breakfast that morning, but still I fawned over the piglets. I am perhaps a hypocrite.)

This was an interesting display. These oblong metal things? Are pig oilers. Yes, apparently even bacon needs slathering with grease. Just kidding. But not really, because these seriously are pig oilers. They're filled with burnt motor oil and pigs rub up against them, and apparently the oil keeps biting insects away from the pigs. Huh.

The cats are now working on designing their own version, which spits out kitty treats when they rub up against it. Patent pending.

This was one seriously happy Texas longhorn bull. Probably because it's not 197 degrees, like it is in Houston right now. "Hmm...hm...la la la....napping in the sun..."

Now, speaking of large mammals and Texas, remember our run-in with the Devil Cow, which despite Noel's protestations, I am convinced was considering eating us, heart and soul, with his Evil Teeth of Doom? And remember how I was so freaked out when we pulled up next to the fence containing said Devil Cow that I didn't want to stop to take a picture, for fear that looking into its Deep Black Eyes of Oblivion would forever seal a demon's pact for my innocent soul? Remember that?

Well, we saw his brother at the fair:

(Noel is convinced this cow is not evil. He's just not suspicious enough.)

*shudder*

Moving on!

How about some cuteness to combat the Forces of Bovine Evil? How about some baby goats?

They're so fluffy!

Side note (isn't this blog all sides notes?): they had baby bunnies at the fair. I petted one, and it licked my finger with its teensy little pink tongue, and I was in love and wanted to take this 4-inch long bunny with us, but was afraid that (1) the kittens would try to eat him, and (2) I would pet him so much his fur would fall out. So. The sad thing? I was so wrapped up in a gossamer blanket of adulation for this baby bunny that I totally forgot to take a picture. Whoops!

I did get a picture of a MONSTER bunny though! Any of you seen the Wallace & Gromit Wererabbit movie? This was the wererabbit. Has to be. You can't really tell from this picture, but this rabbit had to weigh 15 pounds if he weighed an ounce. HUGE. He was bigger than Loki. For reals.

Speaking of big stuff, some people must really lay on the Miracle Gro, because WOW:


Blue ribbon pumpkin, 736 pounds.

Blue ribbon watermelon, 195 pounds:

And I thought Cukezilla was big:

CREEPY!

There were stylin' old tractors:

And huge tractor things I really want to drive someday:

There's a huge arts & crafts competition for this fair, and sadly I didn't get to enter any items because I missed the cutoff dates. Of course, maybe it's better I didn't, seeing as this was the quilting competition:

Isn't this gorgeous? Done by a guy! It looks like a fancy Tetris quilt to me. Noel liked it too.

This one was also stunning.

And this was a Blue Ribbon winner. Most was probably done by hand, what with all those curvy seams. Impressive!

There was also some lovely knitting. Look at this:

Incredible.

We enjoyed some State Fair Health Food:

Oh yes, it was SOOOOO good.

We also saw a redneck zamboni:

HA HA HA HA! I have to admit, I said that same thing to Noel as I walked up to take this picture, and laughed so hard I snorted. hee hee.

Lastly, this is my favorite picture from the fair. There were lots of llamas in the competitions. Llots of llamas? Anyway, this is a prize llama, and she knows it.


Condescending attitude close-up:


Heee heee!. Don't hate her because she's beautiful.

Go West (again!) Young Man!

Well, you may have notice we haven't posted anything in about 2 weeks. We have a very valid excuse, trust me. We've been busily preparing for today.

Today is bittersweet. And frankly a little painful.

Today Noel left for a job in Utah. He'll be gone for about 2 months, and it's a wonderful opportunity for him. He's never been further west than we went in Texas, so he's definitely in for some gorgeous scenery on the way (yes, he's driving because he has to take all of his tools with him).

Why bittersweet then? Simple: he's going by himself. My job/home/cat obligations are keeping me here while he's going on this adventure, and let me tell you: it sucks. It's not only hard to have your best friend and significant other, with whom you spend pretty much every non-working moment, to suddenly be 3/4 of the way across the country. It adds to it that this is our favorite time of year - and autumn is so gorgeous in the mountains. I was looking forward to sharing it with him. He'll be seeing a different autumn this year - one full of golden aspen trees and probably a sprinkling of snow. The kitties and I will be experiencing the red and orange vibrancy of maples turning colors here.

We had the Autumn Feast this past weekend, since he'll be gone during the first day of fall. We stuffed ourselves, as usual. Hopefully we'll be together for Thanksgiving!

I'll post updates as he shares some of his adventures.

Bon voyage, Noel! I miss you already.

As the Cock Crows (or Poops)

There were questions about Rooster Bingo, submitted by my dear Siswad, Rachel. Her questions basically can be categorized into one brief query:

"HUH?"

To which I say, "I dunno." I have never played Rooster Bingo, being of the camp that opposes animal-related gambling, unless the prizes are some kind of pastry. However. Based on the cage design, which looked like a bingo card painted on the floor with chicken wire around the sides, we surmise that Rooster Bingo involves either the rooster sitting on a particular spot, or leaving little Rooster Reminders on a number in the same vein as cow chip bingo (aka the national sport of Texas).

I am concerned for our monster porch tomatoes. It's getting chilly at night here, down to the mid-50s, and I fear that the Arctic temperatures are going to be the end of our tomato plants. The leaves don't seem to be perking up much, and the tomatoes don't seem to be getting any bigger. We may end up having fried green tomatoes by the time it's all over (well, Noel will, since I don't eat tomatoes except in sauce form).

My new job is going very well so far! It's an inventory project throughout the campus, so there's lots of interesting stuff to see (from cosmetology to computers to medical assisting). It's also nice to meet new people, and get some exercise. Writing can be fun (and lucrative) but also not so good for my waist size. I'm getting plenty of exercise at this job, and in fact may have Blue Ribbon thighs by the time this is all over.