More than a fair time at fair

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

This past weekend, Vic drove around in 105-degree heat at the Salton

Sea, while I wisely opted for cooler climes at the Orange County

Fair. Vic led a small group of Audubon birders, who searched under a

blazing desert sun for such rarities as the yellow-footed gull,

gull-billed tern, black tern, Inca dove and other birds no one has

ever heard of. Well, almost no one. Vic claims they all had a good

time, but with oppressive humidity, triple digit temps and that

stifling stench that characterizes summer at the Salton Sea, I doubt

it.

There is no doubt that I had a rousing good time in Vic’s absence,

but of course, that was not simply because he was absent. At least

that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

I went to the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa to help staff a

Friends of Shipley Nature Center booth. Saturday was our day to man

the booth set up by Friends of Harbors, Beaches and Parks. Each day

of the fair, a different environmental group takes its turn staffing

the booth and answering questions from an inquiring public. In

exchange, we get to hand out literature promoting our group.

Huntington Beach was well-represented. The folks at the Wetlands and

Wildlife Care Center, Bolsa Chica Land Trust, and Amigos de Bolsa

Chica all had -- or will have -- their day staffing the booth.

Saturday belonged to the Shipley group.

Steve Engel arranged for the Friends of Shipley Nature Center to

host the booth. His wife Shari and sons Trevor and Kyle helped out as

well, lugging supplies to and from the fair. Phil Ridout and Jane

Nicklaw rounded out our volunteer staff.

As soon as my two-hour stint was up, it was playtime for me. I

headed out to see the wonders of the fair, armed with my new digital

camera and a prodigious appetite. I made the rounds of the livestock

barns, food stands and craft exhibits, snapping pictures madly

wherever I went.

The maternity barn at the fair is always a big hit with the crowd.

This year’s animal mothers had delivered on their promise, so to

speak, to provide us with frolicking baby animals. One ewe had

delivered a darling black lamb just two days before. A second ewe

stood uncomfortably by, her sides bulging with a visibly squirming

offspring that was ready to drop any day.

A 600-pound sow had given birth to a dozen pink piglets two weeks

earlier. Sometimes the little guys slumbered peacefully, but at other

times they ran and frolicked like colts. I had never seen piglets

play like that before. I snapped a zillion and a half pictures, some

of which were in focus. The piglets gamboled and galloped, tussling

and chasing, then rooted vigorously in the wood shavings as though

they knew what they were searching for. The huge sow slumbered

through it all, tired by their play as they clambered over her and

nipped her ears. Every so often, she would utter a grunt, roll on her

side to present her massive mammary-laden belly, and wait for her

babies to dive in for an extended snack.

The animals in the maternity barn stay for the entire fair, but

the farm animals in competition for prizes come and go. The 4-H kids

who raise the calves, pigs, sheep and goats don’t want to sleep in

the barn for the entire three weeks of the fair, so each type of

animal has a limited stay. Sheep and goats were abundant last

Saturday, with swine and beef cattle in short supply.

My favorites were the mohair goats. With shaggy coats hanging over

their eyes and curly horns, they looked like a cross between an

English sheepdog and a yak. I’m generally pretty good at recognizing

my various farm animals, but I honestly couldn’t tell those goats

from sheep. I guess if I had to pick one distinguishing

characteristic, it would be their ears, which hung down like a

bloodhound’s. Their mohair coats were soft and curly and reflected

the light in an enchanting way. I suppose to some folks, they were

just smelly old goats with straw stuck in their hair, but to me they

were as magical as unicorns.

After the farm animals, my favorite part of the fair was the

photography contest. As usual, I thought that photographers from

Huntington Beach had some outstanding entries, and as usual, the

judges often awarded the ribbons to other photos. Pelicans and egrets

seemed to be favorite subjects of our local photographers. The photos

of flowers this year were particularly outstanding. Some photos

stopped me in my tracks with their beauty. The landscapes were

wonderful, but I rarely agreed with the judges on their awarding of

ribbons, especially in that category. I guess taste in photographs is

individual and subjective.

One of my main enjoyments of the fair is the fabulous food. I

managed to consume most of a tray of freshly fried potato chips

splashed with malt vinegar, corn on the cob slathered with butter, a

barbequed beef sandwich dripping with sauce, plus this year’s fair

feature -- an avocado stuffed with carnitas, batter-dipped, and deep

fried. I stopped short of having the deep-fried Twinkie or Oreo

cookie, but the fair runs through July 31. There is still time,

assuming my cardiologist doesn’t ground me.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].