Fun! Not.

I watched the people on this ride for several minutes 

and took a lot of shots, trying to make certain that 

at least one of them might be in focus and fill up the screen 

in a semi-interesting manner. I was surprised that any 

came out. As for sitting in a little chair, suspended

by chains at the end of an arm connected 

to a central, motorized rod? Nope. Not a chance.

My enjoyment of the rides at the Indiana State Fair

is limited to looking at the bright graphics 

and colorful lights.

The Face in the Sign

While standing in line Saturday at the State Fair's Dairy Bar, 

I heard giggles coming from inside a sidewalk sign.

When I looked down into the opening, I saw this young girl's 

face smiling back at me. She and a friend had

found a small spot of shade for a bit of

girl-to-girl chat while their parents stood in the heat

to get their sandwiches, drinks, and treats.

Inkapirka

Each year, a group of men sets up a small tent 

at the Indiana State Fair, just outside the main entrance 

to the Home and Family Arts Building.

They are Inkapirka, musicians who play music

of their native Equador, as well as their 

versions of pop music favorites.

For the duration of the fair, they will play their music,

delighting passersby and people who linger

outside on the lawn to eat lunch or 

just to pause a bit in the shade.

Calf Wash

On Saturday morning, these young ladies 

were bathing their calves, preparing for 

a showmanship competition later that day.

The calves were pretty, with feminine heads,

and appeared to enjoy having me scratch

their chins and ears while the girls

soaped their flanks, washed shit from their

fannies, and lathered their tails.

The task of caring for the calves was 

only one among the girls' daily chores. 

Brought up on their parents' farms, 

what appears to be a bucolic life to city dwellers

is one of routine hard work, the results of which 

put food on both their tables, and ours.

Fun Day at the Fair

Everyone's idea of what makes the Indiana State Fair 

a fun experience is different. If not, there wouldn't 

be a bunch of amusements as side shows to the livestock

and agricultural exhibits. While I enjoy the color 

and patterns, I cannot otherwise be bothered 

with the carnival rides and lures of the games;

every year, I head for the animal exhibits

and to Pioneer Village to watch demonstrations

of old farm equipment and to watch

craftsmen cut wood, make wagon wheels,

and forge metal into tires, tools, or horse shoes.

In that light, a father and daughter pose

behind a scene of a chick and a bunny while

someone takes their picture, and the woman below

catches a bit of sleep after seeing to the care

of her dairy cattle earlier that morning.

May Theme Day: The Creative Artisan

For this 1st of May, the City Daily Photo community of 

bloggers has chosen Artisans as its theme. 

To see how others have chosen to interpret the theme, 

either click the above link or the 

CDP badge at the right. 

I some times am tempted to think that most people

view artisans as some sort of quaint people whose appearance 

resembles the woman in the top photo, a ceramist who 

spent her days at the Indiana State Fair Pioneer Village creating

hand made pots and cups for sale to fair-goers.

While she was providing a vital link to our past, she and others

like her form a cadre of folks who may just be what the

people in this country need to survive the corporate mentality

that would have us all relegated to lives as assembly-line serfs,

relying on them for wages that are not enough to cover

the costs of daily needs.

While the pots look like beautiful luxuries, they take us back

to times when we all made our own food, furniture, clothes, and homes.

We need to recover those skills. 

If for no other reason, so that we can get drunk on our own 

mellow, soothing wine. The beautiful pots above and the wine

are from the 2012 Indiana Artisan Market, where one can buy everything 

from fudge, jewelry and painted gourds, to lovely wine, beer,

and stained glass. 

Politically Incorrect

Beware of sheep wearing hoods.

The sheep were shorn of their wool before being 

taken into the show ring and clothed in muslin outfits 

to keep them from becoming soiled. 

While no political intent was discerned, 

the outfits may be the latest fashion;

I've been to shows in the past where the sheep

were clad in brightly-colored Spandex that 

hugged their forms. Maybe they felt sheepish 

about the body-revealing outfits 

and demanded a change, but still sheepishly 

following the latest trend.

Sharing the building with the sheep were various 

breeds of goats. Almost as wary as their sheep cousins,

it was difficult to get one to be friendly - except for this guy,

who seemed perfectly willing to follow me home.

I liked his curious nature, wrinkled forehead,

and wiry coat.

Big Brown Eyes

The day I visited, the Belgian draft horses were just arriving 

for their segment of the Indiana State Fair.

There weren't as many as I was accustomed to

seeing and was disappointed to not see the great 

creatures pulling their wagons and carts, the fittings

of their harness jingling against the sound of

their massive hooves in the show ring's tanbark.

These Standardbreds had raced earlier in the day and 

were watching the activity outside their barn

as horse vans arrived to take them to their homes

or to another race track nearby.

September Theme: People Watching - Back Seat Driver!

As I understand it, we will end up as we began,

in prams and wagons.

Lego Display

I don't know when the Indiana State Fair opened a category 

for Lego projects, but they have. Meh.

I thought the back of this mountain village display

was more interesting than the little vignettes.

It could be worse. 

I suppose the man who built this could

be out drinking in titty bars, "tucking bucks"

in the dancers' g-strings, if they're wearing any.

Instead, he's spent his discretionary income on thousands 

and thousands of little blocks and tiny, segmented

plastic people. 

Meh.

"I Can Make It to the Fence in 2.8 Weeks ..."

I love these signs and especially want 

TURTLE XING.

The deer is perched at the wrong angle though,

making it look more like he's lying down on the road

after an unfortunate face-to-face with a vehicle.

Which brings to mind a question -

After a century or so of these encounters,

shouldn't the deer species have started to 

weed out the gene for running willy-nilly into 

the road in favor of the one 

that says "Stop ... and listen?"  

I'd also like to combine the wording

on the Doberman Pinscher sign

with the one for the turtle, to warn

evil-doers they have 2.8 weeks to leave

before she takes a chunk out of their toes. 

Dunno Why, I Think They're Sexy

For whatever reason, my brain registers these flowers 

and their pods as erotic.

The Reach of the Spirit

Each year, the concrete pad in front of the 4-H Building 

at the Indiana State Fairgrounds becomes the home

for a sculpture. The past couple years the site has been visited

by very large fiberglass representations of the farm

couple in American Gothic, while last year saw a dancing

couple from a painting by Renoir.

This year welcomed a creation both more modest

in scale and more ambitious in that it is

non-representational (i.e. "modern) art.

From the plaque:

"The Hoosier Spirit is fruitful, strong and resilient. ...

When faced with a challenge, Hoosiers respond much

like the farmer -- we get our hands dirty --

we do the work."

Jamie Dickerson, Sculptor

Made from Indiana hardwood, the exterior of the pieces invites 

the viewer to enter, to explore them as they twist and rise

towards the sky, much as the trees that produced them,

and just as people continue to work towards their goals.

Goin' Home

I went to the Fairgrounds yesterday to pick up my entry 

in this year's fair. The Indiana State Fair ended Sunday night 
after the last bulb on the carnival was turned off.

I walked through the carnival area to visit another area 

of the grounds. It was amazing to see how quickly 

people had cleaned up their stuff, folded their tents, 
and left town. The grounds are already so tidy

you could almost say that the Fair had never been.

 I saw a couple pair of giant fiberglass bears that seemed

as though they were dancing. While they may have

looked as though they were dancing with glee,

I was amazed at how the entire carnival ride had 
been folded into itself to ride on a trailer.

It must be a pretty unique field of engineering 
to make a carousel or a roller-coaster fold 
into a small enough wad to fit onto a truck.

At the Entrance

Greeting fairgoers at the entrance is this concert band organ owned by

Larry Kerns. It is a happy sound, immediately establishing

a pleasant, nostalgic mood to begin one's visit.

As I was looking for more information about

these machines, I found that are enthusiasts who attend

rallies to hear them, one of which is in Gallipolis, Ohio

I found the machine intriguing to watch, it's band master keeping time,

cherubs plucking little harps, attractive goddesses flanking the

bandmaster each playing a horn and or a bell.  

The music also was the last thing I heard as I left

the grounds, leaving me with a pleasant sound as I 

recalled my day and looked forward

to my next visit.

While there are several videos of this organ 

on YouTube, I chose this one because the sound

seems so much better than on the others.

Happy Wandering

The girl above added a realistic feel to the re-enactment of a 

summer meal in a 20th century farm kitchen. She was bored with

the whole proceedings and her little sister was becoming 

irritable. Instead of  reinforcing the younger girl's

bad mood, she reached out to bring her closer, to hug her.

Meanwhile, adults gathered round the summer kitchen table

and just a few feet away at a dining room table, to give

Fair visitors some idea what farm life and meals were like,

say, in the 1940s to 1950s. 

While the scene was a representation, the food was real. 

 Regrettably, I didn't get anything but the smells

of mashed potatoes and gravy. The people in the pictures were

volunteers in the Pioneer Village area of the Indiana

State Fair. Don't go there hungry at lunch time.

Horses With Jobs, Part 2

I've been involved in another project lately, 

so haven't taken as many pictures as I would like. 

I did take the time Saturday to participate

in the Indiana State Fair's Plein Air Day.

Not that I'm a "plein air" kind of person --

my temperment isn't suited to that sort of work.

I ended up with a brightly colored depiction of 

a carousel, another version of "horses at work."

The gaily painted steeds on the merry-go-round carry 

children of all ages in never-ending circles with

flashing lights and pulsating music from 

an electronic calliope.

  

I bet that would make even the most

jaded pony turn into a fiberglass hors d'oevre

with a giant gold toothpick stuck

between  its withers.

You rock it, carousel cayuse! 

Horses With Jobs

If you want to guarantee a crowd of adults with children,

drive up with a van full of draft horses to unload.

The Percherons were arriving for their segment of

the Indiana State Fair.

The oohing and ahhing doesn't stop outside,

as adults stand in awe and admiration as the huge,

amiable creatures are put into their stalls.

Their weight averages about one ton and, if they took it 

into their mind, they could get out of their stalls

without too much difficulty.

During the week, the draft horse classes are among 

the most popular, as spectators watch Percherons, Clydesdales,

and Belgians being shown pulling carts and wagons

made of two, four and six-in-hand teams.

Different, Yet Alike

Over the days I wandered the grounds looking for pictures of the Indiana State Fair, it was inevitable I would find things that related to each other, even accidentally. On the first day I saw the sunflower,  already withered but wearing a shiny blue ribbon as the largest of its class.


On the last day I took pictures, I visited the Indiana Department of Natural Resources building. They have outdoor gardens and water displays with native fish species. Shaded and with plenty of places to sit, the building is a popular place for families to visit. Near the front entrance, is this fountain, with its dimpled surface and water falling from the rim, peacefully echoing the structure of the sunflower.

Comfortractor, Agin

Yesterday, one of my missions was to take more pictures of the Comfortractor, featured in an earlier post. I went to the spot where it had been only to find it was GONE! All that was left was the patch of sunburned, matted grass on which it'd been standing. I wondered whether it had been sold, stolen or just taken away by its owner. Disappointed I went off to meet my brother and sister-in-law for lunch. Together with her sister and husband, we all enjoyed lunch and a nice visit at one of the "pork tents," then went off to visit other venues.


I went on to take pictures of the wheelwrights making a cart, then looked in on a group of blacksmiths. I happened to look up. There, in the storage shed, in all its orange gloriousness, was my beloved Comfortractor. It was hooked up to a trickle charger, possibly in preparation for the evening's tractor parade.

Of course, I took more pictures, this time of its interior.

I hope you enjoy this idiosyncratic beastie as much as I have.

How could you not?