Cows at the Montgomery County Agriculture Fair

Cows at the Montgomery County Agriculture Fair
Originally uploaded by rllayman

The Montgomery County Agriculture Fair is open through Saturday night. You might want to check out it, if you're into animals, vegetables, fruits and flowers, paintings, crafts, and photographs, and such. Sunday was a good day to go because they were selling baked goods entered in the various competitions for great prices (a piece of pie for 75 cents or $1...).

I like these kinds of events because they provide an interesting glimpse into civil society, how people organize their lives, and participate in their community.

And it gives me appreciation for people who farm.

There are exhibit booths by Montgomery County Solid Waste/Recycling and some other organizations, of course there are fair rides and gross foods, concerts, and lots of animals. The Master Gardeners have a display garden (I had no idea that Gordon Clark, the Green Party candidate for Congress in Maryland's 8th District, is a master gardener).

Tomorrow, the Arlington County Fair kicks off, although you won't find any animals other than pony rides, because ArCo is 100% urban. (Montgomery County has a 150 square mile agriculture reserve that limits the kinds of uses that can be performed in the area, in an attempt to preserve the rural and agricultural character there.)