I wasn't going to the fair

The morning's fishing trip wore me out. I was settled into the hammock with a book -- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World; turns out he wasn't such a bad guy after all -- but Kendall begged, and I remembered that I was there for the sake of family togetherness, so I went.

One of the first people I saw was Ted Danson, who has a house on the Vineyard with his wife Mary Steenburgen. That's him on the right with the white hair.


Kendall and Matthew are crazy about animals. Matthew is a little skittish, though, and mainly looks from a distance. Not Kendall, though. She kneels down right in front of the stalls and start petting whatever nose comes near her. I am going to be a nightmare as a mother. Petting farm animals? Tuleremia, anyone? Foot-and-mouth disease? She seems to have survived, though.


One of the exhibits I particularly enjoyed was The Raptor Project, featuring beautiful hawks, owls and eagles from around the country. Most of them have been hurt in some way that makes releasing them into the wild impossibility. The project is mainly for entertainment and educational purposes; I don't think it has a conservation agenda. Still, I thought it made a statement. At least, this chained American Bald Eagle seemed to be saying something possibly profound.


And, of course, what would an Agricultural Fair be without some really big squash?