Each year, I enjoy going the the Minnesota State Fair, viewing the artistry of the creative activities entries, as well as entering a couple quilts in the competition. In 2020, I was disappointed when the fair was cancelled.
This year, I had originally thought that I would not be able to enter any quilts in the competition. Having a trip to Colorado scheduled during the drop off days for the creative activities, I was at first unsure how I would be able to enter. About a week prior to our trip, I learned that I could drop off entries at the fair office during early drop off days before leaving on our trip.
After entering, I was still hesitant to attend the fair due to the increase in Covid cases. However, with the attendance numbers on previous days being down, I decided to go this morning. Being there from 8 to 11am, the number of people that were there was pretty small. The weather was cool and it was an enjoyable morning.
Things that I did not do:
- Utilize a Park & Ride bus – to avoid the crowds of people on the buses, I left home early morning and was able to find parking in a lots across the street from one of the fair entrances.
- Eat Fair Food – I usually avoid the fair food, so this was nothing new for me.
- Ride any amusement in the Mighty Midway
- Do any shopping in the Market areas.
Things that I did do:
- Wore a mask and avoided crowds
- Arriving early, I walked through several of the animal and 4H exhibits prior to the other buildings opening
- Enjoyed the artistry in the Creative Activities building, including quilting, weaving, crochet and woodworking
- Enjoyed the flora of the fair, a much overlooked aspect of the fairgrounds
Animals:
Creative Activities – My entries:
Creative Activities – Noah’s Ark: My absolute favorite of all of the creative activities entries that I saw today!
Creative Activities – Other Quilting:
Creative Activities – Weaving:
Creative Activities – Others:
Butter Sculptures of the Fair Princesses:
Flora of the State Fair:
A few years ago, we had three large oak trees taken down by a local arborist (Branch and Bough, if you are in MN, is a great tree service). These trees were hanging far over our driveway and the concern was that they might fall onto our vehicles. At the time, we had the tree crew take the trees down and then cut them into 1 foot length intending to split the wood to use in our firepit and fireplace. Since then, these large pieces of wood have been stacked by our driveway.
We made a trip to Home Depot last night to rent a log splitter for a day (my husband was kind enough to help with this since I am not confident towing something behind my vehicle). Then around 7:30 this morning, I started working through the stack of logs. Eight hours later and I had about a full cord of wood (8 ft x 4 ft by 4 ft) split and stacked. At the current rate of $550/cord, I’d say it was a productive day.
Erickson's Heirlooms 