I was awoken this morning by the sound of rain on the roof. Neither Ryder not Shadow stirred. Ryder generally gets up at the crack of dawn in order to respond to the taunts of Squirrely Whirly, but apparently, Squirrely Whirly decided to stay someplace dry. Wise squirrel.

Hearing the rain, my immediate plans did an about-face. I was going to get horses out. However, it was raining so hard that I decided to give them the day off, and I instead made alternative plans.

Mojo - one of Peaches's babies

I first went to the Meeting House and categorized books. There were not a whole lot of books this time around (yesterday the guys did the sorting), but there were a lot of kid’s books and some good nonfiction. The Church of the Covenant Sunday service was going on as I worked in the library room. They all sang joyously, but way off-key. However, it gave the day a Sunday feel.

I next went with Pete to the Alaska State Fair – I’d agreed that we’d spend time in the Democrats booth. It took me a while to get there because I had things to do. I first checked the newspaper box in the Eckert Garden – all the garden books were gone but there were plenty of kid’s books. Then I went and put the children’s books that were in my backpack into the recycling center booth newspaper box. I was told (nicely) by one of the volunteers that in the future we’d have to come up with a different front door – the springs cause it to close too quickly, making it dangerous for little kids’ fingers.

The rain then stopped for a bit.

My next stop was the center area of the fair, which this year had been turned into a goat yard. Mike, who co-owns an alpine farm along with his wife Suzi, built ramps and a teeter totter. And rocks and a small kid’s house had been situated in the round enclosure.

There were a dozen-or-so goats in the enclosure, racing, jumping, and leapfrogging around. Suzi, who stopped by to answer spectator’s questions, said that this was the August group of goats – my Sassy, who is a May goat, was not there because she and her siblings were now at an age in which racing around was passe. We’ll be going to get Sassy next Sunday.

It was with some reluctance that I headed in the direction of the Democratic Booth. It took me close to two hours to find it – it was tucked away between two larger buildings on the Red Trail. I sat around, and with the other volunteers did the values exchange. Nothing new or revelatory was said.

Pete and I concluded our fair visit by taking in a show that featured canines. The dogs competed in jumping, dancing, and frisbee throwing classes. I was quite interested in how the dogs were trained and I got some ideas for working with Shadow. However, all the hype was distracting.

Came home, and on the way home again it started to rain hard. I tended to all the animals and then called it a day.

Next: 246. 9/6/21: Shadow’s Dog Blog