Love, Joy and Peas: Search results for county fair

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Friday, September 20, 2013

County Fair Photos, Haikus and Results

My county's fair was fun this year and I had a great time entering exhibits and was pleasantly surprised to win 45 ribbons (21 blue, 16 red and 8 white). I entered 41 flowers (including flower arrangements), 17 crafts (combined handicrafts, Christmas corner and needle crafts) and 8 herbal items. Above is our blue ribbon coleus (we have a lot of coleus plants but this one in our deep shade garden was the healthiest looking).

I think this is the third year (of three years total and ever) that our tithonia, grown from seed, won a blue ribbon at the fair. The first two years I thought they were zinnias but the judges knew better.

On the top left you can see my "we're thankful for" clothespin wreath. There were some creative wreath entries in the handicrafts department.

Our blue ribbon winning lantana bush is partially photographed above. If you look closely you can see some animal life on one of the flowers.

Some of our marigolds won blue ribbons, but not this one, even though it's my favorite. I think it won a red ribbon though.

Here are the county fair haiku poems I wrote and mentioned in the title of this post:

It's fun to enter

flowers, herbs, crafts and photos

as fair exhibits

You can compete to

win ribbons and prize money;

maybe best in show!

Do you enter in your county fair? Do you attend your county fair? What's your favorite part of the fair? May God bless all of the fair volunteers and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Last year's entries: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
Fair frenzy: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-frenzy-new-bible-study-and-prayer.html
Toilet decorating contest: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/toilet-decorating-contest-photos-wild.html

Friday, September 18, 2015

Blue Ribbon Flowers for Floral Friday

Happy Floral Friday! This is a special edition of "this week in my Maryland garden" as all the flowers were grown in my garden but the photos were taken on location at the fair (several days after they'd been cut then judged and displayed). The flowers looked nicer the day I cut them but I wasn't able to get photos at that time.

I am amazed, honored and excited to have been awarded at least 21 blue ribbons in the flower department (I entered in 49 categories)! A large number of my entries were in the zinnia categories, such as the pretty little orange zinnia in the photo above.

Until I'd entered in the fair for the first time I thought you could only enter one type of flower for the fair (for example, one rose, one zinnia, one marigold) but it turns out that my fair has many categories, mostly based on color and diameter/size (and they even get out their rulers when you submit to make sure you're entering in the right size category). I think I was able to enter three different white zinnias, in the "under 1 inch", "1-2 inch" and "2-4 inch" categories, and two, including the one above, won blue ribbons. Pretty neat! Especially since I grew these white zinnias from seed.

I was especially excited that my giant red zinnia, also grown from seed, won a blue ribbon. I thought I'd have giant orange, pink and purple to enter too but while they were close, none of the pretty ones were over the 4" in diameter required for the "large" zinnia category. Only the red had large enough blooms. Although, when I bought the seeds, they were all supposed to be red anyway. The giants of other colors were a surprise blessing.

My dahlias have mostly petered out but I was able to enter two in the miniature category and they both won blue ribbons. The bicolor one, pictured above and a burgundy one.

The roses are also producing fewer blooms now that autumn is approaching but this divine smelling red rose won a blue ribbon. My pink one won a lesser ribbon but the person who earned first place definitely deserved it.

Hearty thanks to my kind hearted husband who carried all my vases in for me and waited patiently while I entered everything! And for all the times he watered my flowers for me too! And congratulations to him on his photography ribbon!

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

If you'd like a vote in selecting this week's most popular flower photo, please let me know which photo you like best from today's post. Also, if you enter in your own county fair, I'd love to hear about it! And feel free to share any tips on entering fairs too.

Related posts:
2013 county fair flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/county-fair-photos-haikus-and-results.html
2012 county fair flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
County fair flower art: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/flower-paintings-for-floral-friday.html

Friday, February 12, 2016

Blue Ribbon Winning Flowers

Happy Floral Friday! I found this post in my draft folder (it was supposed to have automatically posted in 2014 but obviously something went wrong) and figured today was as good day to share it. I hope these blue ribbon winning flowers brighten your day!

"I'm blessed by my county fair awarding at least 12 of my flowers blue ribbons this year! The red dahlia above is one of my actual flowers entered in the fair, photographed two days after the judging occurred. In the interest of sharing good photos of pretty flowers the rest of the photos below are representative of what I entered but not the actual blooms entered.

If you've been following my blog you know I love dahlias. The dahlias received the most blue ribbons (they have different categories for different size and color dahlias). I have only been growing them for a few years but I get a lot of joy from their vigorous flower output and variety of blooms.

The tithonia I grew from seed also won a blue ribbon. The bees, butterflies and moths love them.

This is actually a Mr. Lincoln rose, which I didn't enter as it wasn't opened yet at fair entry time but the pink hybrid tea rose I did enter won a blue ribbon. You can see a similar rose at the bottom of this post (it's the last photo).

The white cosmos I entered looked better than this one currently blooming in my garden but this is currently the only bloom on the plant.

What a fun blessing to have my Maryland garden recognized in such a way. If you're local the fair runs through Sunday and in addition to the flowers there are a lot of neat exhibits (bee keeping displays, chain saw carving, photography, 4H, animals, crafts, herbs, an 88 pound watermelon and more). May God bless all the fair volunteers and may He bless you too!

What is your favorite part of a county or state fair? Do you have a favorite fair memory to share? I'd love to hear it!"

Related posts:
Flowers, freeloaders and funkiness: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/flowers-freeloaders-and-funkiness-for.html
Raindrop flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/raindrop-drenched-rose-cosmos.html
Vibrant spring flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/05/dahlias-ranunculus-azaleas-lilacs-and.html
2013 County Fair results: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/county-fair-photos-haikus-and-results.html

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Animal Photos From the Montgomery County Fair

This week my husband and I enjoyed a trip to the Montgomery County Fair. This giant Brahman cow was reputed to be super friendly and she's much huger than she looks in the picture (over 1,000 pounds!). She's chewing on some of the straw but I like to think she was smiling at us.

This little baby miniature horse was adorable! But he'd apparently had too much flash already because he closed his eyes at the sound of my camera turning on. His mama was napping nearby.

This giant bull alternated between seeming to enjoy his bath and hating it but his cowboy took it all in stride.

Not sure if this is a baby llama, alpaca or something else but it was really cute!

If you follow my blog you know I love cats, but I didn't see any live cats at the fair so here's a blue-ribbon winning beautiful painting of two cats snuggling.

Have you ever entered in your county's fair? I'd love to hear about it! This year I might not be as active as last year but I am hoping to enter some flowers, herbs, handicrafts and photos. May God bless you and those you love!

Related posts:
Fair flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html
Fair mixed photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/floral-fair-photos-art-and-arrangements.html
Toilet decorating contest: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/toilet-decorating-contest-photos-wild.html

Friday, September 14, 2012

Fair Flower Photos for Floral Friday

Earlier this week I posted about my county fair frenzy so I thought for floral Friday I'd show you some of the flowers I entered in the fair. These aren't the actual blooms entered but are flowers from the same plants (thought you'd appreciate the prettier ones still on the plants).

I think our yellow knockout rose earned a blue (1st place) ribbon. I love this rose because it smells slightly lemony and the blooms fade to white so it's like you get two kinds of roses on one plant.

I think our white hybrid tea rose also earned a county fair ribbon.

I'm not actually sure what type of rose this is but I guessed it was a floribunda and I think it earned a blue ribbon.

Last year our orange zinnia earned a first place (blue) ribbon but this year I think it earned third place (white). Even though I grew this plant from seeds I gathered from last year's blue ribbon winner, the rabbits kept eating the seedlings down to the ground and this plant is a good two feet shorter than it's parent was. The birds, butterflies and bees still love it though.

I think our red and pink zinnias that I started from seed after our front yard was excavated this spring earned white and red ribbons. You might wonder why I keep writing "I think." Well, I entered over 30 flowers and floral arrangements and I didn't write down my results so while I'm pretty sure I remember correctly, I'm not 100% sure. On Monday I'll pick up my vases and ribbons and then I can give a true count. I wish I'd taken pictures of the fresh floral arrangements before submitting them, especially because they were my first floral arrangements ever entered in any kind of contest. However, they are already suffering from the heat and humidity and don't look so hot now. Also, as a separate note to remember for next year, I'll have to find out if it's permissible to add a flower preservative to the water (I assumed it wasn't but it can't hurt to ask) because that would help them all to last longer.

So, those are 5 of the 30+ flower entries I clipped from our Maryland garden and entered in our county fair this year. It was a lot of work to make sure all the flowers and vases met the requirements and fill out the paperwork and tags. I'm not sure I'll ever enter so many again but it was certainly fun to do once.

Which flower did you like best? Have you ever entered anything in a county or state fair? I'd love to hear about it!

May God bless you, dear reader!

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sugar Free September: Days 9-17

My Sugar Free September experiment is going very well. Very few cravings now, which is great. The weather has been cooler and I think being outside more helps reduce cravings; although it could just be that eating less sugar in general leads to fewer sugar cravings.

I started a new medicine and my weight has gone up (unfortunately) but I hope once my body adjusts that will be less of an issue (if not I'll ask to switch medicines). Until I started the new medicine I'd had three days in a row with greater than usual energy (a real plus!) and I suspect that was due to the reduced sugar consumption. I used some of that extra energy preparing for my county fair and, God willing, tomorrow's floral Friday post will feature some of my blue ribbon winning flowers. I think flowers are nicer than sugar.

Hearty thanks to all who are encouraging and helping me with this journey towards greater health and less sugar consumption! Kudos and strength to those of you joining me on the journey too! May God bless you and keep you all!

Related posts:
Sugar free post 1: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/sugar-free-september-day-1.html
Sugar free post 2: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/sugar-free-september-days-2-8.html
2013 County Fair Flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/county-fair-photos-haikus-and-results.html

Friday, August 17, 2012

Floral Fair Photos, Art and Arrangements

I took this week's floral Friday post photos at the Montgomery County Fair. Montgomery County has some talented artists! There were so many great floral photos that they'll need two posts so watch for another post with floral fine art creations from the fair. The above moth and flower photo was a definite eye catcher.

And this is about as perfect an orchid photo as I've ever seen.

I thought the Olympic rings were a touch of genius for this floral arrangement.

And this prize winning Montgomery County Fair floral arrangement incorporated the Maryland state flower as well as some colorful vegetables.

The above photo is a blue ribbon winning photo frame decorated by hand made paper flowers. It looked nicer in person than in the photo.

If you enjoyed this week's floral Friday photos I'd love to hear about it. May God bless you today and always!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Baby Bull and Goofy Goats for Wild Wednesday

Happy wild Wednesday! I was delighted to see a five day old baby bull at the Southern Maryland / Calvert County Fair. He was so adorable! He almost looks like a baby deer in his close up (above).

Even with just a portion of his mother in the photo you can get an idea of his small size. I just love baby animals.

The two goats snuggling had been rubbing heads for a while but just when I snapped the photo one of their goofy friends stuck his head in the photo. I think this is my first goat photobomb. I had some funnier goat photos to share from the National Zoo but they seem to have disappeared from my computer. Should they turn up again I'll upload them right away for a future wild Wednesday post.

This goat was a ham and I loved his beard. It seems like he's grinning in this picture.

Hearty thanks to my friend Pam for taking me to the fair, the exhibitors for sharing their animals and all the fair volunteers who make the experience possible! May God bless them all and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
2013 County Fair animals: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/animal-photos-from-montgomery-county.html
Goose family photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/05/goose-family-photographs.html
Bison sisters: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/american-bison-sisters-zora-and-wilma.html

Monday, September 10, 2012

Fair Frenzy, New Bible Study and Prayer Request

I love county fairs. It's fun to see the work of local artists and gardeners and meet new friends. Last year, for the very first time in my life, I entered some of my flowers, herbs, handicrafts and photos and, to my shock and delight, 15 ribbons (including all 1st to 3rd place).

This year, I entered even more items and expanded into the needlecraft category too. You can see one of my needle craft entries here and the photo of my cat (above) was used in one of my handicraft entries. I have no idea whether I'll earn any ribbons this year but I had a great time choosing flowers from our garden and making crafts. The idea is that you can enter any crafts made since the last county fair but I tend to go into a fair frenzy in the weeks before the fair and probably make 75% of my fair entries in the last few weeks before the fair. Yes, it's crazy, but it's also fun.

However, I have been thinking about how much more worthwhile it would be if I put that kind of effort into God's work. Just as I was feeling the need to do more for the Lord, a local ministry needed a volunteer for something God has equipped me to do (even though I haven't actually done it before I've done similar things).

So, I'm stepping out on faith and am going to be leading a newly added ladies Bible study with PWOC (Protestant Women of the Chapel) on Fort Meade. It's Max Lucado's Outlive Your Life and it starts this Wednesday. If you're already familiar with PWOC you can just show up on Wednesday and I'll be thrilled to have you in my class. If you're local and want more information please email me at lovejoypeas@gmail.com and I'll be glad to tell you more. If you are a person of faith I'd truly appreciate your prayer support in this endeavor, both for me to be a loving and affective teacher and for my students to grow in their walk with the Lord.

May God bless you, dear reader!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Sunny's Super Fair Crafts

My friend Sunny, owner of Chesapeake Bay Creations by Sunny, kindly gave me permission to share some of her county fair ribbon winning craft entries with you. As you can see in the photo above, she earned a blue ribbon for her Christmas Corner dried winter holiday wreath.

She also earned a blue ribbon for this darling painted Santa pin.

This wreath with bright orange Chinese lanterns was hung improperly so I think judged incorrectly as it didn't receive a ribbon. But It's adorable and I love that she grew all the flowers herself.

Here is Sunny's cute angel shell craft. She had many other crafts, including an amazing hand knit and beaded shawl that I would also have loved to share but it was displayed behind a semi opaque thick plastic and didn't photograph well. Even though I knit, that shawl is far above my skill level and I thought it was divine.

If you're interested in patronizing her Chesapeake Bay Creations by Sunny business, she's old school, running it by phone and not on the web. You can call her at (410) 761-1824 to order custom scarves, hats, shawls, headbands and crab shell crafts. You can also find her at craft fairs throughout Maryland from October to mid-December. Just give her a call to find out where she'll be. She's very friendly.

Thank you to Sunny for sharing her crafts! May God bless Sunny and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Blue ribbon flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/09/blue-ribbon-winning-flowers-this-week.html
2013 blue ribbons: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/county-fair-photos-haikus-and-results.html
2012 blue ribbons: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/09/fair-flower-photos-for-floral-friday.html

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and I wrote this post of my own volition. I was not asked or paid to write it.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Asian Brush Painting and Mixed Media Art by Arlita Kadar

Earlier this month I had the privilege of meeting artist Arlita Kadar and while I loved her artwork, it was her kind dispostion that made me want to befriend her. I bought a few of her cards the first day and then returned the next day to get to know her better. Both times were at her display at the National Arboretum for the 2016 World Bonsai Day event.

She kindly consented to allow me to take some photos of her and her artwork for this blog and I'm excited to share them with you. The piece above reminds me of cherry blossoms.

This is a photo of a part of an art card I bought from her. I plan to frame it and hang it in our kitchen.

This is also an art card photo, but I'm still debating whether to send it to someone or frame it.

Image source: Arlita' Kadar's website

On her website, I found this beautiful seascape. She's a lady of many talents.

Artlia Kadar, artist, can be reached at arlitak@gmail.com or (571) 393-0758 and some of her work is available at http://arlita-kadar.pixels.com/. According to her business card, she creates murals, water color, Asian brush painting and mixed media art. She has received awards and recognition for her artwork, including a certificate "for extraordinary contributions to Asian cultural programming" from the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.

Hearty thanks to Arlita Kadar for allowing me to share her artwork here and to you for visiting! May God bless her and may He bless you too!

Related posts:
Wildlife photo art by Brian Dering: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/wildlife-in-aruba-photos-by-guest.html
Butterfly Art by Denise Arvaneh: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/10/butterfly-art-by-denise-arvaneh.html
County Fair Art by various artists: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/08/floral-fair-photos-art-and-arrangements.html

Disclaimer: This post was written of my own free will, contains my opinions only and was not solicited or paid for. I just liked Arlita and thought it would be nice to feature her on my blog.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Chrysanthemum, Zinnia, Tiny Marigold, Verbena and Flower Arrangement Photos

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" Fall has arrived and the chrysanthemums are starting to bloom. It's a beautiful season. Autumn blessings to you and yours!

Last week's post featured some of the flowers I entered in my local county fair. I made this arrangement out of some of the survivors (they'd been cut for the fair over a week before I got them back so it's a blessing that any survived at all). I believe the little cup/vase contains: yellow, orange and pink zinnias; yellow chrysanthemums, Mexican bush sage and a caladium leaf.

The zinnias have been the star of our garden this year. Last year it was dahlias. Will be interesting to see what happens next year.

These are the smallest marigolds I've ever grown. Most are under 1/2" in diameter. They didn't bloom until late in the summer but I'm glad they finally did.

I found this pretty bicolor verbena struggling under the giant red zinnias. I'm sharing the photo to remind myself to mark it so I don't plant zinnias all around it next year.

The garden is winding down but we still have one kind of chrysanthemum that hasn't bloomed yet so you'll get at least one more floral Friday/Maryland garden post this year. Then I hope to sprinkle in photos taken in other gardens this summer to brighten some of our winter Fridays.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Autumn flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/10/autumn-maryland-garden-flower-photos.html
Multicolored chrysanthemums: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/11/chrysanthemum-kaleidoscope-photos.html
Yellow chrysanthemums & more: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/chrysanthemum-obedient-plant-tithonia.html