I woke up an hour before my eight o' clock alarm and figured I might as well stay up. I was at the fair a little after eight, and wandered aimlessly about the grounds with my camera until about two o' clock. I visited several livestock barns. I went to the horse arena as teens and kids were showing some geldings and got some cute photos. I saw the giant sand sculpture *and* the giant butter sculpture! I returned several times to the place selling 25-cent cups of milk. I had my first deep-fried Oreos, which was worthwhile but perhaps not a candidate for repetition.

I stopped in the building with antique wagons all around and a blacksmith shop at one end. The smell of coal reminded me of my grandfather, which made me think of my family in general. In fact, a surprising number of happy memories came to mind at various points. Watching people show horses made me think of all my talks with Lisa​ about horse shows. I thought of my mother and the horses at her parents' farm, and of Ceilidh​ and her horse. I was in danger of getting a bit maudlin when I decided to actively reframe the thoughts into happiness at having had those good experiences with people I care about. In that way, many people were part of the smile on my face this morning and afternoon. I will keep reinforcing that interpretation of the past as I head into the future.

I saw a presentation of some eastern timberwolves, as well as a group of sea lions. One of the sea lions had been trained to pose with people, draping his head over their shoulder for photographs; it was adorable. I also went into a butterfly tent and fed some butterflies with a q-tip dipped in nectar. Butterflies were landing on people's heads and hair and I was taking pictures of them; it was adorable!

There was a set of vintage train cars at one end of the fair grounds that were open for touring, so I walked through there. I photographed the amazing and ridiculous food vendors selling things like a "hot beef sundae" or a "pig and potato parfait." I have a bunch of fun pictures of such things that I don't know when I'll get around to posting. There were lemonade stands that look like giant lemons when they're closed. Then, when theyr'e opened, the top part tilts up on a set of hinges making the whole thing look rather like a lemonade salesman is standing inside of a giant Pac-man.

The architecture of some of the classic fairground buildings was really memorable. The elegant late deco horticulture building comes to mind, though several were quite noteworthy. Maybe I'll bike out there some time when things are quieter and do some photography. Though there are so many buildings to photograph in downtown Syracuse too.

I guess I'll end my ramble here. I should do some more research before the block party starts, though I'm worried I'll fall asleep if I try. I'm tired and low-energy after all that walking around in the sun.