At the fair

I rode out to the Fairgrounds on Tuesday to see what was happening and to compare this year to previous years. There was activity in two areas, the horse arena and the show arena.

The field that should have carnival rides was empty and the exhibit halls were closed. However, there were quite a few campers in the campgrounds, though the area by the horse arena was only lightly populated. The old fair office was gone, with only its foundation remaining.

There were two food vendors serving those who were showing livestock.

Tuesday was goat day in the show arena.

I notice that paving of SR 114 still is not completed. There is a strip down the center of the road that needs to be finished. My guess is that reflectors need to be installed.

The farmers market is in full swing with many buyers and many sellers. I finally got a few small tomatoes from my garden, but others have done much better.

I have not seen any mulberries this year. Did the late freeze get them?

Fountain Stone Theaters has announced it is temporarily closing because there are no new films being released and there is no demand for movies right now. The Rensselaer Chamber of Commerce is closing its office and disposing of its furnishings. I do not know what the story is there. CTS Express in downtown Rensselaer has had a sign on its door for a couple of months that its downtown facility is closed and directs people to the location at the Interstate. I just noticed it.

SJC has released its July newsletter.

I managed to find Comet NEOWISE with binoculars last week. It was a faint, blurry star and I could not see a tail. Viewing from Rensselaer is difficult because of all the stray light. My daughter who lives at 5000 feet in the desert in the middle of nowhere has been taking pictures of the comet and what I saw was nothing like what she captures in her photographs.

Last week I heard the crop dusters and this week I am not hearing them, so I suspect that they have come and gone. Update: Early Wednesday there was a crop duster buzzing a field on the northwest outskirts of Rensselaer.