Happy 100th, PA Farm Show!

So, have you made your plans to visit the 100th Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg?
If not, choose a day this week and go!
We were lucky enough to get there on opening day, Saturday. The best bet: Go SUPER early. We got there shortly after 7 a.m. and got a great parking spot. The food court was already open and we could enjoy the first hour or two with no crowds!

There is so much to see that you could easily visit a few times during the week, but most of us can make it only once a year. Back when our daughter was in 4-H, there were a few times when we spent the week as the kids exhibited their dairy animals. What fun that was!!

But those days are long past... Still, we try to make it every year. Here are just a few photos from our visit...

Above, have a seat!! Below,  the real thing...

Other critters...

Delaware Valley University always is there....

And machinery!

Tired? Have a seat!

But don't miss the butter sculpture. Amazing, as always!

There are just so many other entries to see. This one won best of show for bowling pin transformation...

Here, a magnificent gingerbread house.

When I was in 4-H, I showed a dairy heifer at the 1964 Farm Show, and found the program recently. This is the current program, for the 100th year.

Early in the year, my daughter and I decided it would be fun to enter in the 100th, since it has been a few years since she entered many times as a 4-H'er. So we entered photos! She won a few honorable mentions, but not all of our photos placed in the top, of course. It was fun nevertheless. Check out the website -- maybe you will decide to enter something next year!

I was astounded to win best of show with a black and white photo of our cat Wednesday. Absolutely surprised! I give Danielle a lot of credit for helping me choose a photo and always assisting as I try to hone my hobby. SHE is the true photographer, and if I had been the judge, she would have won top honors -- not that I'm biased!!

If you can't make it, check out Pennsylvania Cable Network,  PCN, which covers the Farm Show all week. They do a great job!

But try to make the trip to Harrisburg. It's a lot of fun.... and the critters are waiting to see you!

Cows, chicks and more, oh my, at PA Farm Show!

It's time once again for the Pennsylvania Farm Show!!

Each January, this great event -- the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the country -- is held at the Farm Show Complex on Cameron Street in Harrisburg. This year it runs through Jan. 12, and I was lucky enough to make the trip out there again this year with my daughter. Long ago, when I was in 4-H, I was fortunate to exhibit my dairy calf there. It was a treat repeated when Danielle was in 4-H and let me tell you, spending a week in the dairy barn is an experience not to miss.
Now we have to be satisfied with a day trip, but we love every minute. Our trip today was no exception.

I snapped more than a few photos, but I won't bore you with all of them. Here are a few to enjoy.
And if you can't make it to Harrisburg and you have cable, be sure to tune into PCN's coverage this week. They do a terrific job, and PCN is found on channel 186 on Comcast.

Loved this goose. Actually held a conversation while in this section of the barn. If you don't believe that these critters can talk, go check it out yourself!

Beautiful horses abound at the Farm Show. This one was poised to enter the ring for competition in the women's buggy/cart driving event. The horses and the tack are just breath-taking.

GORGEOUS FEATHERS!

TALK ABOUT LONG HORNS!

Delaware Valley College in Doylestown was in attendance once again. Always have loved seeing their dairy cattle. Makes me think back to the days when the Plummer family was active in Montgomery County 4-H, and parents John and the late Maxine were professors at the college.

You MUST try the doughnuts at the Farm Show!!

Don't miss the amazing butter sculpture!

Whether it's a wild outfit to keep the critters clean or the natural spots on a huge hog, there's always something to amaze the eyes at the Farm Show. The animals are so wonderful to view, and those caring for and exhibiting the animals work so hard not only during this event, but every day of the year back at their farms. 

A cute mother-daughter moment...

It's good to know that "Your Milk Comes From A Good Place," as this cup reminds you. If you haven't tried the milkshakes at the Farm Show, though, you don't know what you're missing. I would have had two, if my stomach could have accommodated them. So much great food at the Farm Show, so little room in the digestive system! In the next photo, you see me next to a huge piece of machinery -- that area of the show also is not to be missed. If you look closely, you'll see I'm still working on that milkshake!

Well, what's better than a milk mustache? How about hamming it up  at the Farm Show with these gems? Danielle and I figured it would be fun to pose for this photo.... Sometimes common sense flies out the window during the excitement of the Farm Show!

I hope you enjoyed this brief look at the Farm Show. And I hope you get to make the trip out there for a fun and educational day. If not, don't forget to tune into PCN. I can't wait for the tractor square dancing!!

Cows call you to Harrisburg

 You don't have to be a farm kid to enjoy the Pennsylvania All-American Dairy Show.
It's featured this week in Harrisburg... and here are some snippets from my visit on Sunday:



Sorry if the video was a bit long -- trust me, I had even more footage! But as someone who not only has a soft spot for cats, but also cows, it was hard to know where to cut... I favor Jerseys and Milking Shorthorns, but really, all cows are cool.
The show also features neat dairy antiques, so if you have time, check it out, today through Wednesday at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.

I want to go to the Farm Show!

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO

I love the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
I want to go. I have plans to go.
So of course snow is predicted... we'll see.
But check out this cool butter sculpture, unveiled today at the show that opens Saturday in Harrisburg. OK, maybe 1,000 pounds of butter isn't the most healthful thing around, but these sculptures always are very cool.


The Pennsylvania Dairy Industry showed off the sculpture prior to the opening of the 95th Annual Pennsylvania Farm Show, and it depicts a dairy farmer providing milk to children playing. It was created by Jim Victor of Conshohocken.

Oh, and after the show is over, the sculpture will be converted into biofuel
Now that IS cool.