This fair has the best petting zoo I have ever found, yes, better than Cummerfords! The people running it are very friendly and nice, they have several sheep and goat breeds, milking cows to pet, long horn cattle, yaks and a few exotic creatures. Chickens, ducks and turkeys wander around free. Baby chicks are hatching.
You can pay an extra dollar and go behind the curtainto meet Big John, a Belgian horse, 21 hands, 84" (a hand is 4") tall at the withers (the bony top of the shoulder we like to lean on when riding bareback). He is very sweet and comes over and bows his head for you to scratch his ears. I got to see him in the pasture early each morning, and next to the Shetlands and yak, he is a giant. You can also pay to see the little horse, also runs free every morning between the chickens and ducks in the petting zoo. And, the giant pig, a nice old fella whose name I cannot pronounce.
Anyway, Roger and I were set up next to the 4-H group. The youngsters had rabbits. I went over to see the rabbit races and games, where rabbits on leash and harness were taken though their paces on a course of jumps, tunnels and ramps. Some did it quite enthusiastically, some fell asleep in the tunnel. I had been talking to one of Rogers neighbors from back home and she and her daughter found out I wanted an angora rabbit. Well, she haled me over after the rabbit trials, and said Zander had two bunnies he wanted to give away. Free is always a good price. Of course I fell in love with the fuzzy bundles handed to me. With the temptation of free bunnies and a bag of food, I carried them back to my tent to show Roger.
Roger was a little skeptical about traveling with baby bunnies, but I think he is already growing to love the fuzzy bundles of joy. We got a small dog carrier, I made a skirt for the bottom so they won't scatter the wood shavings (wood shavings are part of Rogers business so I have plenty of those.
This weekend we took them on their first outing. A five hour drive up the coast of lake Superior to the small town of Grand Marais. It was hot when we left Minneapolis, so I was worried about heat stroke. I found help on the internet that says a bottle of ice in their cage helps to keep them cool in warm weather, so I think they are going to be fine traveling companions.
We let them out of their crate in the trailer a couple of times a day to do some "binking" (hopping, twisting and dancing for pure joy). They attracted lots of attention at Rogers bowl turning demo. I sat next to them in Rogers booth and wove on the tape loom and explained to the Boat Festivals guests about angora wool and weaving.
Did I mention they are Angora bunnies? Well, sort of. Zander said they were a mix of Angora and Lions Head I think. But they are incredibly fluffy and people can't resist them. I plan to take them to my sheep and wool festivals throughout the year. I am hoping people will love them even if they are mongrels.
