"Strung Out in Heaven's High Hitting an All-Time Low..."

Once upon a time, Soujin said: Miss Kylee, I am writing you poetry. And it's bad. And it's taking me a long time to finish.

Actually, Soujin wrote two poetries. One is a song, and she really, really wishes it could be set to music. She envisions it like a Police song or a Postal Service song, and pretentiously considers it capable of being set to such music, if Soujin were capable of writing music at all.

The other one is simply a poem, and enjoying its magical realism.

Forgive me both, Miss. Someday I'll write you something better.

( (We Don't) Love Ourselves )

~~~

( Sub Marine )

"Like the Gipsy Girl You Are..."

So, sosososo! ^____^ To-day we went to the Farm Show. The Farm Show is a Very Important Pennsylvania Tradition, if one lives in Perry County or Harrisburg or Dauphin County or Anywhere within a hundred-mile radius. We have a huge auditorium dedicated to it, and lo! it is HUGE. It takes half an hour to get from the Sheep exhibits to the food court, and one must be shuttled in from the parking lots.

Really it's very silly. It's very Perry County. It's very important to all the farming families, and all the families who raise animals, and all the Harrisburg people who have never been out of the city but would like to see the baby ducks. Outside of this area, I doubt anyone even knows it exists.

But this year you will hear all about it, whether you want to or not.

We got in at eight-thirty, having risen at seven o'clock. It was raining. We went in the main lobby and at once to the cows and horses, which are Mum and Waen's favourites. The horses were not happy. I think this is because they were named things like Tuff Luv and Mickie.

( Waen had her photograph taken next to the prize bull: )

Rabbits after that! Rabbits were fun, and much better organised than some years. They had some awfully pretty ones, too. Waen and I made off-colour jokes about the meat rabbits, because we are Horrible.

Then from there we went to see the ducks, geese, chickens, and turkeys. These are FUN.

The chickens are never as interesting, because they are mostly Banties, and Banties just Aren't. But the Polish were gorgeous, and the Silkies were beautiful, and there were some really awfully nice Wyandot and Buff Orphingtons. Mostly small chickens this year, though, which was disappointing. The really huge Buff Orphingtons are the bestest. I think we need to raise them again.

However, we did find one ...interesting... item in with the chicken displays:

( Dude, Where's my Egg?: )

...Also, at the incubators, they were moving the hatched chicks away from the ones that were still hatching, and there was a small herd of little girls rushing about shrieking 'Oh, NO! That one has blood on it! He must have HURT IT! And ohmygod, look at THOSE ones! They AREN'T MOVING OHMYGOD!' Soujin, of course, found it her civic duty to stand quietly by and remark, as if to the air, 'Isn't it sweet how tired out they are after they hatch that they have to sleep right away? But eewww, the blood from the eggshells came off on that one...' and so on, until Mum and Waen dragged her off.

Then on to the ducks! Ducks are sweet.

( Sevastopols (Mum wants one lots): )

And then something much more aesthetically pleasing than chicks:

( DUCKLINGS! ^_______^: )

To the turkeys!

Waen's favourite was brown, but he wouldn't display. He had a waddle that he could move around from side to side. It made us giggle and point hysterically, I am afraid.

( Now see here...: )

Best in show was enormous. And he did display. It was hard to get a photograph, though, because of the way the cages were angled. However, with great expertise, I managed to catch him just after he'd put his tail up.

( Are you impressed, please?: )

After this, we went on to the displays, which are lots of excitement. They range from quilting to baking to carving to casting to molding to mixing spices to sewing clothes to building gingerbread houses to 4-H projects to knitting to carding to weaving to raising of exotic creatures (in which exotic creatures refers to emus and alpacas and angoras for the fur); from sculpting to designing to scholarship booths, booths selling kitchen appliances, booths selling lotions and ointments, booths raffling roses, booths with face painting and hair braiding--everything. There is even a carousel.

We, of course, stopped to look at the butterfly and moth displays; and the gentleman whose booth it was raises live luna moths! ^____________^ Luna moths are my very favourite, always.

( How could you resist them? They're /gorgeous/!: )

He also had a certain variety of moth that made a certain person in my head go crazy mad squee.

( 'Cause it's his BIG BROTHER!!!!!! ^________________________^!!!!!: )

There is also, every year, a gigantical sculpture made entirely out of butter. This year's was amusing, but apparently enigmatic to certain of the Harrisburg youth. They stared at it. 'It's an ice cream truck!' said one. 'Nah!' said another. 'It's a vending machine!' Behind them, the older people in the crowd began to laugh. 'It's definitely a vending machine,' a third asserted. Soujin began to facepalm.

( Behold the vending machine: )

After that, we went to the produce displays, and looks at all the beautiful apples, and potatoes! <33333 And the cucumbers and a million varieties of nuts, hee. And lovely squash.

And then, and then, we went to the sheep and pigs! ^_________^ KITTIES! They were lovely and furry and squee. And we looked at tractors and horse trailers! V. nice ones. One trailer especially. We usually do most of our tractor ogling at the county fair, really, though.

--And then it was time for me to go to work, so we had to go; but still. It was marvellificent.

So. Can you tell why this is Major Tradition? A hallowed part of Perry County history for almost a hundred years? ...You can't? XD

...Well, I'll convince you next year. I'll take a picture of that nice trailer. Then see if you're not won over.