Last fair of the season

It's a cold, clear, windy day at the farmette. It is supposed to warm up to 14C. Which will be good for the yard cleanup I've yet to do. Fortunately, our neighbour Larry came on Friday with his big tractors and leaf vaccuum to do most of the heavy lifting. Thank you Larry.

Yesterday, Rob and I went to Walkerton's Little Royal Fair. I think it's one of the last rural fairs of the season. Of course the big one in Toronto is in November. This year, we got to quite a few fairs, from Teeswater in August to our own Durham fair in September to this one.

It had amazing displays of people's floral and crafting talents in competition. Like this lovely autumn winner.

There was a petting farm in the community centre with young animals with which kids could get up close and personal. One piglet was especially friendly with Rob, whose arm is in the picture.

The big event of the day was the Cutting-Edge Cowgirls who displayed their considerable equestrian skills during a musical ride. Their timing and precision was incredible, especially when you consider they were galloping at speed almost the whole time.

After the show, the girls rode to the side of the arena to chat, hand out fliers and sign autographs.

They told us they were from the Mitchell/Clinton area of the province. If you ever get the chance to see them, go.

Finally, there was a kid's Halloween dressup competition that included their horses. This girl was especially decked out as a pirate, with her pet chicken perched on her shoulder.

Her dad happened to be standing near us and told us that she often sits on the back porch with her chicken beside her while she does homework. How cute is that???

Community fairs bring people together, sponsor a bit of friendly competition and show some amazing talent. They're good for us all.

In lieu of a gratuitous cat photo, I thought I'd pay tribute to a family member we lost last week.

We were very sorry to say goodbye to Marlie, who was sister Sandy's family's golden retriever.

She was 14, and she was a beautiful soul. Sweet and gentle right to the end.

It is so difficult when a beloved pet dies. We know we should be grateful for the unconditional love they gave us. And we are. But the pain is so acute when they leave us.

You were a very good girl Marlie and we all love you. Until next week.