Starting to think about Emo Fair

I can barely believe it is already August! Time just slips on by.
This month started out with an inch of rain but I hope that it will hold off now for a while! Many are finished haying and many (like me) are so close!
We lost some time on Saturday afternoon when a dark cloud rolled in and left us just over a half an inch while others only received a few drops.
We have plenty down but likely have one and a half days of cutting. It makes you really anxious when you get to the end.
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I am also anxious because now it is time to get very serious about getting stuff ready for the Emo Fair.
Maddie and Marlee once again have picked up the cattle they want to show this year.
Maddie, she likes to display her own cattle.
She likes to talk about how quiet they are, how pretty they are and isn’t as concerned about their size.
Marlee on the other hand likes to pick the biggest one and wants to win.
End of story.
Maddie reminds me every year, “Auntie Kimmie you said it is not about the winning it is about being proud of your own animals.”
Truth is, I agree, and appreciate Maddie’s cattle because they are quiet, mostly all trained and take a lot less time.
I have to say—so far all the cattle we have in have been settling down very nicely. This is a relief.
After working all day, haying all evening the last thing you really want to do is fight with your animals.
Taking cattle to shows and fairs is a lot of work—they are not born knowing how to walk beside you and they weigh a lot more than you.
One good thing is if they get halter broke they never forget … but it doesn’t happen overnight.
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I am hoping that I will have time to have the girls make a few more exhibits for the Exhibition Hall.
My great Aunty Ruby always encouraged us to get involved and display a few things and I would really like to keep the girls involved in this.
It makes your weekend at the Fair a lot more exciting when you have entries.
The Emo Fair will be missing Nanny, Linda Armstrong and Ken Fisher this year. I am hoping that the three of them will ensure the weather is just perfect for us all.
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We had one busy week at EARS last week.
We had a very successful crop tour and EARS open house with a good number of participants despite the later haying season.
I really appreciate everyone coming out and sharing comments and crop viewing.
Timo and John’s drone demonstrations were largely popular and I really appreciated both of them showing off their machines.
I received a lot of feedback from our guests explaining how cool they thought that was!
During our crop tour we had guests from Manitoba that shared knowledge to help improve our growing here in Rainy River.
It is always great to have people come in and share experience and point us in the right direction.
We ended the week with the Rainy River Stewardship Rangers.
The group planted some tree seeds and then spent the day with us learning about the various crops we are growing and what they are used for.
It was a great chance to promote agriculture to an excellent bunch of youthful minds!
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Our Emo Beef Club, and I believe the Stratton Beef Club, held their 4-H Fun Days over the weekend!
We had a great time with our members and their animals.
It is a great chance for them to practise with their animals and gain some confidence before the Fair.
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Just a reminder: if you are planning to sell cattle at the Aug. 27 sales as protocol cattle, they have to have all their vaccinations, dehorned or castrated by this Saturday (Aug. 6)!