Fair season is the best! September 2026

Well, it happened almost overnight.  The evening temperatures started cooling down.  The katydids started buzzing and the crickets started chirping in their search for mates before the winter sets in. Red leaves singed the tips of the swamp maples, and suddenly sweaters came out of the drawers for early morning dog walks.

Right on time, the Litchfield County Fall fair season began on Labor Day Weekend with the Goshen County Fair.  I went early to beat the traffic, and the first thing I did was walk through the cow barn.  Then I watched the junior showmanship classes for the cows.  The judge for the cow ring this year was a graduate of the Wamogo Agricultural program, and her commentaries about each winning cow were most thorough and wonderfully educational for the juniors who were showing.

The vegetable and flower exhibit barn was next.  A gardening friend of mine submitted a bunch of entries and came away with blue and red ribbons:  six green beans on a plate, green zucchini three specimens on a plate, 3-6 uniform stems of Artemesia in a milk bottle, a dried flower arrangement in a bucket.

I am betting that there were Topsmead entries in the Goshen Fair when Edith Morton Chase and Lucy and Mary Burrall were alive.  After all, Miss Edith expanded and developed Topsmead into a self-sustaining farm, and her Jersey cows with their high butterfat content milk were the farm's pride and joy.  According to the Homesteading Hippy website, "Despite their smaller size, Jerseys are hardly slouches: each cow can produce between 6 and 9 gallons of milk per day.  In addition to their outstanding milk production, Jerseys are likewise prized for their easy-going temperament, intelligence, and heat tolerance.  These cows are friendly, curious, and quick to bond with people, making them a joy to work with."  Sounds like the perfect breed of cow for Topsmead!
Lucy Burrall, who was a member of the Litchfield Garden Club, would most certainly have submitted flower entries and perhaps even vegetable entries.  After all, the Underhill section of Topsmead used to have several acres of flowers and vegetables.  Not to forget the flowers grown in the greenhouse.  With the farm's 300-tree apple orchard, Lucy, who loved to bake, must have submitted pies to the two-crusted apple pie baking contest.
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There sure is something about Fall fair season that brings out the best in everyone!

Margaret Hunt
Blogmistress