County Fair

Memorial Day weekend started off the longest 12 days of Dannielle’s year. It didn’t help much that she was also traveling to Sacramento for California Department of Education meetings to discuss the budget cuts for next year. It also didn’t help that she doesn’t feel the best either. But the fair must go on. Getting home from the airport at 12:30 in the morning and then heading to the fairgrounds bright and early wasn’t the most pleasant. But she was ready. The ag kids moved in their animals and mechanics projects. They built their gardens and put up their educational displays. And they were ready to go. That Saturday was the first show. Her kiddo showed his lamb. Then on Sunday, his calf. Then on Monday, Esperanza and him made their dog show debut. They did great. Especially since Espy will be 10 months old in a few days. While Dannielle secretly loves fair, this year was hard. It’s been a rough year for our fair. The politics are forever overshadowing the events and the kids. And her kid showed 3 days straight. Even on the closed days, she was at the fair working on the fun events and educational events. And then there is the food booth. It’s the one building in the livestock department that has air conditioning. You’ll find her in there if you can’t find her playing with the animals. She even went home with 5 new chicks this year.

Andre has big dreams. One of those is for the ranch to be able to help the youth in agriculture. So he showed up to the fair on his days off, even though the fair itself was closed to the public. And so Dannielle showed him around. He got to witness her on her turf. He learned about add-ons, buy backs, resale, live take home, and processing trucks when it comes to the Junior Livestock Auction. So they walked through the barns and with the help of Andre’s nephew, they chose a few kids to support. That’s right, Guerrero Heritage Ranch was an official buyer at the Junior Livestock Auction. And while the ranch didn’t buy a whole animal, it did support 4 youth members. We are all excited even though both Dannielle and Andre were working, they had a proxy.

And as fast as the county fair came, it went by. This past Monday, Dannielle finished moving everything back to her office. And just like that, there is no evidence of any fair. The rides are gone. The people and animals have been moved out. The arts and quilts and fancy cakes are picked up.

Dannielle also has some big dreams. Next year for the county fair, they will be sponsors. Even help provide animals for some of the kids. They can buy animals from the kids at the auction. Maybe they both don’t have to work their day jobs for the important days.

Overall they had fun. Both of them. Now they need a vacation. So if they look tired. Smile and say they look great.