From a management standpoint having new lambs in July is not very smart. It's like managing two separate flocks.  On the other hand, it's always fun to see new lambs. More importantly I like to support the efforts of UCD and the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in presenting the Livestock Nursery at the CA State Fair. It is a major attraction and helps to provide much-needed education to the public. This year I took five pregnant ewes to the fair, and I visited the fair yesterday. Dona has twins.  I bred some of the ewes to Faulkner, the BFL, as well as to a Jacob ram. It was more important to have lambs, any lambs, than to have purebred Jacob lambs. I decided that in breeding out of season using two rams would be safer than counting on just one and that by using Faulkner I'd be able to tell which ram sired the lambs. I think that I have one of each here. The lambs are quite different looking. Phyllis had a single ram and Clover had twins, all sired by Faulkner.  Isadora was bred to a Jacob ram and has a nice single ram lamb. I had a phone call today that Foxglove has also lambed with a single ram.  Here is a view of the nursery first thing in the morning. When I left at noon the place was packed.

I wandered around the fair for a little while before I left. I thought I'd check out a few of my favorite spots. I won't get much time to do that once I get there with the other sheep at the end of next week. There is a memorial to September 11. In the background is a steel beam from one of the towers and in the foreground is a sphere on which is inscribed the names of all the victims of that horrendous tragedy. It floats and spins gently on a cushion of water. I breezed through the art show. This caught my eye. That is plastic bottles (400 of them) pouring out of a culvert. Here is a sculpture made of nails.

 In the California Living exhibit I saw a crocheted bicycle...or I guess it is a bicycle with crochet touches. Lots of beautiful quilts.Solano County always prides itself on winning awards for the exhibit in the County Building. This year's display was a bit different. It not only included the rich agricultural diversity of the county, but told the story of Travis Air Force Base.  My last stop was The Forest, a relatively quiet and cool spot in the busy, sun-drenched fairgrounds. This time, with the AZ tragedy still fresh in my mind and my fire-fighter sons both working now, I took notice of this memorial.