VA and KY Fair

It’s fair week in Wise County! This means that adults, kids, and families are excited to have fun filled afternoons all week long. From enjoying rides, shows, viewing art, and seeing various farm animals, the fair has a lot to offer. My role, as an intern, is to mostly help 4H with the barn and animals. However, this week I also got the opportunity to judge canned food, which was fun and a learning experience. 

McDonald’s Farm

There were so many different animals that members of the community brought to the fair. There were cows, horses, donkeys, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, sheep, and ducks. It was very enjoyable to help 4H take care of the animals and interact with them. It seems that people and children are always fascinated by farm animals and any animal in general. I hope that people found the barn and all of the animals entertaining.  

Kid’s Day

On kids day, I had the opportunity to set up a poster with information about bees and other pollinators. In fact, we had an exhibit of honey bees that kids could view through a gallery. Education is very important and providing factual information about pollinators is relevant for children and adults to know. I liked interacting with children and adults of all ages. Overall, I hope that our bee exhibit reached and educated a lot of people.

Have you ever tried strip tilling in your garden?

Earlier in the week, I had the chance to visit a gardener who tried strip tilling in his garden. As far as I can tell, it seemed to be doing great. Strip tilling is a method used by some gardeners that combines no till and full till to produce new crops. However, he did not only have an exceptional garden, he also had a greenhouse! This was super exciting because not many people in Wise County have greenhouses. I had the opportunity to see first hand how his greenhouse functions and the different types of plants that he can grow all year round.