Sunday, September 03, 2006

The Evergreen State Fair Part 2-Loggers and Crafts

Heck...why not?! lol The two don't really go together unless you can see the "craft" in what loggers do (see below). I know several loggers....believe me, it's a craft.

First the Craft barn. This was the one time Don and I got separated at the fair. He was probably tired of looking at fiber related items...and me?....like a blood hound I followed my nose to the other hand craft areas. While we were separated he took these pics of the model cars and engines. (I first saw these at home after the pic download. Terrible of me not to go see what he was interested in too. I'll make it up to him.) Being an auto enthusiast, he snapped this photo.
















Here is a model ship on display.











And another. The fun thing about this pic is that if you aren't trying to see the ship.....you can see Don. I put this in photshop to see about removing the "glare", but in removing the "glare" I'd be removing Don. I just couldn't do it. (Love you hon!) Enjoy.





Ok, this is where he found me. At the Egg display. Everytime we go I look at the decorated eggs. It's something both Mom and I have an interest in. ( I need another craft like I need another hole in my head!) I am continually astounded by the delicacy of this craft. The whole display is so delicate and intricate! There were dolls made out of egg shells and decorated like Southern Belle's! I asked the gal at the display if each bead had to be glued on the shell individually and she said yes! I was hoping she'd say "NO"! I told her so. lol I'm sure it is something I will do at least once. I do beading and love the look of these, so yes, I'll succomb eventually. It's just a matter of time. lol I just cannot get over how the eggs are cut into lace like patterns without shattering. I picture many broken egg shells in my future. heheheheh.

And now for the loggers!
I've grown up in the Pacific Northwest. I work in a feed/farm store. I've been to the fair many times. I've NEVER seen the Logger Show in person. I've seen logger shows on the Travel Channel and on the Discovery Channel, but never in person. I know loggers. How sad. So, that being said, Don didn't really want to see this show. We walked through the Native American exhibit next to it and accidently got caught up in the show when it started. We didn't intend to stay......but did. It was a bit corney....but was a bunch of fun! I've always wanted to see a log rolling contest in person and we were treated to one in person! Luckily Don fished out the camera and took pictures. Evidently they usually compete in a deeper "pond" and have the benefit of cork shoes. Because they were in such a shallow "pond" they were using tennis shoes. Anyhoo......I was rooting for the younger much quieter guy on the left. The other was a bit more boisterous and was tricky, splashing water in his opponents face.




My "man" eventually won! Yippee! lol It's two out of three on this competition.

There are several other short events that we didn't capture on film. They were fun to watch but the last and most impressive is the pole climb.









It was overcast so you can't see any sky contrast on this picture...however.......the contest was to climb 75 feet up a pole....ring a bell and be the first down. This pic show the ringing of the bell for the man on the right. Notice the one on the left if already on the way back down. My they are up there!





The decent is not a "climb" down. It's more of a controlled fall. I couldn't help it and gasped out loud as I watched and belive me....so did the rest of the crowd! It was so quick I couldn't believe it!!!! I think they touched that pole maybe three times all the way down! For those interested...the man on the left won. He's also the shortest of the group and the joke was that it is the sudden stops at the bottom that make him that way. lol.

I'm so glad we saw this show. It's not often we are exposed to what the loggers that provide our lumber can actually do. These games are a product of skills that the loggers of years past had to have to survive. It's nice to see the skills passed on to future generations. (Much like the spinning skills. ;)

Ok...that's enough for tonight. It's after 1 am and Bandit is snoring at my feet. (He'd much rather be in his bed.) Part 3 and 4 (and possibly 5) will have to wait until tomorrow (and maybe even Monday). I can barely keep my eyes open and I've a garden to build tomorrow. lol (Thank goodness Don's sleeping and willing to help!) I may even have to cook breakfast tomorrow....snivel, snivel. lol

Nite all!

2 comments:

Cindy said...

Here in the Midwest, we have nothing like logging. Absolutely fascinating and I've always thought logrolling was darned near impossible. The pole climbing blew me away, too.

April said...

If you ever get a chance to see a show like that, do it! It's fascinating what they can do.