Between the thunderous roars of the tractor pull and the grinding of the woodcarver's chainsaw, we kept up with a very steady crowd of fair-goers. Everyone had a story to tell (you all had such great things to say about your vets!) and a lot of interest in the veterinary profession. More than any other fair, we found ourselves hitting the books to reference some of your very intriguing questions and comments!
Of course we had our own little disasters here and there, but that's what keeps it interesting right? We arrived on Thursday about an hour ahead of schedule, and it turned out to be a good thing because we found ourselves table-less! After Christina tried unsuccessfully to borrow a table from the hot dog stand, Bingo tent, and firefighter pavilion . . . Ryan made a quick trip to Walmart to pick up a table for the HPSS to call its own.Then on Friday, just about everything that could break, did break. Our famous equine mandible with the abscessed tooth was clearly split in two when we pulled it from its box on Friday morning. The now unbalanced bone was stabilized by a jar of roundworms (Parascaris) for the remainder of the day (since our display simply wouldn't be the same without it). Then, since things always seem to "happen in threes", the light bulb on our microscope finally died and our cat skeleton lost a limb. Fortunately, friends of Christina (Linda and Amy) came by with crazy glue and our specimens looked good as new. And not to worry Ionia fair-goers - we have a replacement bulb for the microscope as well!
On Friday we dealt with our first rainy afternoon, but it certainly didn't damper the mood at all. Erin decided to fill the large animal plasma bags with Verners for effect, and she provided a good laugh for Ryan and Christina as she struggled to syringe the very fizzy and bubbly solution. After giving it her all though, the bags were filled and looking very much like plasma bags (although still with a few bubbles). Meanwhile, Ryan fell in love with the baby donkey in the petting barn next door. Her sweet little eyes really were pretty irresistible.
And through it all, the fair-goers of Eaton were great! When parents asked, "Are you ready to go?", we loved hearing you yell back "No way!". Then you showed your parents and friends everything you had learned, and they didn't want to leave either. One of you even exclaimed, "Well I guess I learned something during the summer, and it was cool!". The question on the sign that read "How many stomachs does a cow have?" was an especially big hit, and Erin was overloaded with interest in the rumen, reticulum, abomasum, and omasum!
The Eaton County Fair came to a close amid our spectacular radiograph lightshow (an excellent send off in our opinion). Many thanks to Eaton for making it another great one. See you at the Ionia Free Fair tomorrow morning!
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