Summer winds down with county fair, back to school prep

As you are reading this, many people in the county will be “Doin’ Life At the Chase County Fair.”

The fair is the official ending for summer around here. It will be a week jam packed full of activities with lots of early mornings, late nights and delicious fair food. I think one of the reasons it tastes so good is because it does not require any cooking or washing dishes – for me, anyway.

Livestock will fill the barns for the first four days, while concert and carnival attendees will fill the grounds to round out the week. The exhibit hall will feature the best of the best with baked and canned goods, vegetables, sewing, photography and everything in between.

We attended the adjoining Hayes County Fair beef show and livestock sale at the end of July. I believe every stall in all their beef barns was occupied. Charlee was excited to have a steer she raised in one of them.

It might have been the Rowley family’s first year with a market animal, but you would have never guessed it. The black and white speckled steer’s rate of gain was in the top 10% of over 100 animals. His hair was as bright as fresh snow, and for his first time to town he was pretty content being there – so relaxed that he even managed to gain weight while at the fair.

Lucky was a little jittery during showmanship, but young Kaylie did not let that deter her. They both went back in, heads held high and did a fantastic job in market class. It was a lot of fun to watch the two of them, and I heard that Charlee may have even handed out a hug.

We continue to be blessed with rain showers, and I am always amazed when Brandon shares what our precipitation for the year is. I rotated a couple sets of pairs last week, and I am positive that there is more grass left in the pastures they moved out of than we had all last summer. A fire did start near one of our lease pastures to the north, but alert neighbors and top-notch fire departments kept the damage to a minimum.

The crops around continue to thrive, and sweet corn stands have begun to hit main streets throughout southwestern Nebraska. Many selling the late summer staple are FFA chapters and young entrepreneurs doing their part to promote the agriculture industry. The work ethic of these young men and women is something to be proud of.

Even though it does not seem that long ago that the last school year ended, in under 10 days fall semester will be in session. Waycee is excited to be going back and being a first grader. He is the social butterfly of the two and thoroughly enjoys his time spent there. His brain is a sponge and he wants to learn everything there is to know about all the things. Charlee is headed into fifth grade and will begin moving throughout different classrooms during the day. She liked the back-to-school shopping part, so hopefully she gains a little more enthusiasm by the first day. Personally, I am looking forward to the return of a routine, and hopefully less grocery shopping.