I won ribbons at the county fair this year!

[vard28]

This is the best that I've ever done in 3 years. Still learning, but I'm persistent.

My very first blue ribbon (first place) is of my son working in the barn. The category is "Life in Orange County" (Virginia) and you have bragging rights for a year if you win first place since everyone thinks their photos portraying life in our county is the best.




This next one I got second place for. It's a better angle of my son with his two market hogs.






This is of our dog Tilly. I won third place in the Pet category. Another very competitive category!

[handmade34]

1. oh I love the first two

you deserve ribbons... and as I have cleaned more gutters (by hand) than I can ever count and as I used to raise brood sows, the first two are dear to me...

[vard28]

5. Thank you!

We milk about 176 cows, three times a day right now. Got top producer in the state back in the spring. Lots of hard work, but it's family owned and run. He's a fine young man and we're pretty proud of him. Hog show is tomorrow and dairy show is Saturday at the fair. Hopefully I'll have some more photos to share.

[freshwest]

2. Love 'em. The good life.

[vard28]

8. Thanks

He's a hard workin' young man. He really enjoys bein' a farm boy.

[Kali]

3. I love the first one

it touches my heart

young man working, that earnest awkwardness

and the light is wonderful

[vard28]

6. I really liked the light

I was in the barn playin' with the new calves and just happened to have the camera handy. The boy didn't even know I was taking pictures, for that one of him working.

[alfredo]

13. It really portrays the reality of farm life. It is hard, dangerous, dirty, smelly,

and rewarding in many ways.

[vard28]

15. It does

I always joke that I love the smell of manure in the spring time. It's my favorite time of year and when I break the camera out for something other than snow photos.

[alfredo]

20. Cow isn't too bad, but hogs are rather odoriferous.

Now that I'm in the city, the spring thaw reconstitutes the dog shit in the parks.

[Celebration]

4. Congrats!

That's awesome, and I love them, especially the first one......

[vard28]

7. That first one is my favorite too

Thank you. :)

[ohheckyeah]

9. Congratulations!

County fairs are great places to enter contests.

[vard28]

18. It is

I've tried entering on line, but there are SO many entries doing it that way. The fairs make it so I actually have a chance and obviously the subject matter is more familiar to those folks, at least for my farm stuff.

[ohheckyeah]

21. I entered the fair in Salem, VA

and won a couple of ribbons including best in show for a Sabatier print.

[Callalily]

10. Congrats! And yes, you certainly

do deserve bragging rights, because your first photo is just awesome!

[vard28]

17. My son didn't even want me to post

He didn't want me to put his "ass" up on facebook, so I didn't post/tag it there. He's happy that it won in the fair and of course now it's okay to put it on facebook since everyone in town has seen it! :rofl:

[Mira]

11. Congratulations - well deserved wins! I know you are proud of each other, you

and your hardworking handsome son!
Thanks for bringing these to us. Great photographs, all three. Your dog looks wise, and very contemplative.

[vard28]

16. Thanks!

Yes, we rescued Tilly three years ago this October. We had lost our 11 year old lab that summer and weren't sure we were ready for another four-legged family member. Just for fun I had gone to petfinder and put in the search for a young female lab and Tilly's face popped up as the first one. It was a no brainer. She is a faithful, loving girl.

[alfredo]

12. That first picture reminds me of when I had to clean the

chicken coops. The smell is awful, but you have to remind yourself that it is the smell of money.

What all do you raise there? We confined ourselves to laying hens and some fruit and vegetables.

[vard28]

14. It's a dairy farm

We've got about 176 milking three times a day right now. My son does two market hogs for the fair and my niece has two lambs and a steer this year. We also have about a dozen chickens. Luckily my mom-in-law takes care of the hen house!

[alfredo]

19. We didn't have the space for anything larger than

chickens.

Here in Ky we raise a lot of cattle. At one time we were the sixth largest cattle producer in the US. I don't know where we are now.

Love the smell of silage.

[woo me with science]

22. Very nice.

The dog portrait is really lovely. Such a sensitive capture of the face and the textures.

Congratulations, and thank you for posting these.

[TuxedoKat]

23. Very nice work!

Congratulations!

[postatomic]

24. Well deserved and great visuals of rural life

Most people don't have a clue what it is like to work on a farm and wouldn't last one day. I grew up in rural areas back when it was very lo-tech. There was a strong community bond amongst the farming families then, as it is still today but probably not to the same degree. I still have memories of driving around with my grandfather in the old pickup truck stopping my all the neighbors and checking in on them. Trading eggs for fruit. Things like that.

When one farmer had a major work project or emergency the neighbors helped out without even asking them.

I zip all about the heartland trying to photograph rural life before it's gone forever. I love doing it but I get sad when I see all the "Tombstones" of dead farms.

Congratulations on getting your Ribbons. I'd love to see more of your farm images.
:toast:

[Alameda]

25. They are all beautiful, cogratulations! BTW I love the dog photo.

His eyes are so expressive.