well-fed animals

Those are exactly the type of animals we like to make a fuss over when visiting a country fair.


These photos are not from the same fair I've posted about in the past — that was the Durham fair, which happens September 26th - 28th this year. These are from the Chester Fair, which is even smaller and more rural. It's been taking place since 1877.


Photo from the Chester Historical Society, via the via the fair's web site.

We arrived in Westbrook on Saturday morning and went for a hike at Salt Meadows, which is part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.


Salt marsh, Westbrook CT

Salt Meadows is a stopping place for many types of migrating birds, and visiting naturalists record their sightings in an observation log.


Too bad they weren't all together.

We went to the fair on Sunday morning, and the first thing we encountered was a picturesque cattle barn filled with picturesque cows.




There were also plenty of goats (both in a petting zoo and in competition), chickens and rabbits.




These two thought my camera was examining their new egg. And they were totally right.




Piglet, born July 28th.
There was a mesmerizing horse pull competition, in which pairs of work horses pull a sled loaded with cement blocks. The horses are often ready to go before their harness can be linked to the sled, and have to be led back to it in a tense circle.