Clark County 4-H Fair

Violet and Moses

Violet and her friend Susan showing their Alpaca and Llama.

Waiting in line for the judging.  Violet and her Alpaca, Moses,  are in the middle of the 3 light colored animals.  Friend, Susan in dark sweater with dark animal shows her Llama, Joshua.

Moses, is being judged  Violet is hidden by the the judge.  

Susan and Joshua are on the far right in the background.

Although Llamas and Alpacas are both members of the camelid family, there are many differences between them. First of all is their appearance. Alpacas are much smaller in stature than Llamas. Alpacas have smaller, pointed ears, while Llamas have long banana shaped ears. Alpacas body shape is different, their backs are slightly rounded.  Llamas should have a flat, level back.

Next is their fiber. Alpacas fiber is generally very soft and

abundant.  Llamas usually have lower quality coarse fiber.

Alpacas are mainly used for fiber and for showing. They are generally not quite as easy to train as llamas and tend to be more skittish.  Llamas are gentle animals and easy to train.

Violet and her friend Susan placed high enough to go on to Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis.

Violet earned a First place, 2 second place, and a third place.


First place in the showing was in Jr Pack.

Pack Class: This class is designed to simulate the conditions and obstacles actually encountered while packing llamas and alpacas on the trail. Animals must be five months of age or older to participate in this class.

a. Handlers must wear clothing, including footwear, appropriate for packing such as hiking boots, shorts or jeans.

Yes, these are her boots! 

b. Course must include the following mandatory obstacles: a bridge or ramp, backing, animal manageability (for example, the animal must stand still while the handler checks the bottom of the
animal’s foot or places or removes items from the pack), flexibility and maneuvering and should simulate natural conditions, such as brush or logs in the pathway or water obstacles.
Also, she was awarded Grand Champion with her Alpaca Fiber Art Project,  and Reserve Champion with her Llama poster.

She also had a few bunnies in the fair.  This is a Holland White.
She auctioned off the bunnies.

July's unexpected vacation

Like most things in life, this story came about most unexpectedly. Every once in a while God gives us challenges. This was a week-end of challenges. This is the story of our journey and God’s amazing provision each step along the way through what was supposed to be a very relaxing uneventful 4th of July weekend.
God is so faithful.

Weeks before when Janine and Gary asked to cash in their “Christmas coupon” to “rent” the 5th wheel for the July 4th week-end they did not expect it to be such a momentous adventure; nor did we, when we accepted Nico and Stacy’s invitation a few weeks later to join them on a trip to Lake Erie on that same week-end. Our plan was to follow the Herrmann’s over to Lake Rudolph on Friday 1st and help them set up camp at Lake Rudolph and then continue our journey Saturday on to Lake Erie to join the Wiese’s. Gary was to break camp on Tuesday and drive the truck and 5th wheel back home.

DAY 1
(Challenge) Everything was going good, but as Nick was repositioning the camper a fluid started leaking from under the truck – Air conditioning condensation? Brake fluid? Power steering fluid? Oil? Transmission fluid? Radiator coolant? The guys decided TRANSMISSION fluid!
We listened apprehensively to the campground maintenance person’s advice. He knew someone in the nearby town who could help us. Not knowing much about mechanics all I could understand were “worst case scenario transmission is blown; to best case scenario just the tubes or hoses from the coolant tow package to the transmission had split.” With this in mind we started back toward home in Clara’s van.
God is good.

I had organized my 5th wheel information in 3 packages, one- all the warrantees and “how to” information on the appliances etc on the camper, two- all the paperwork concerning campgrounds, and three- the insurance and maintenance records. For some reason I had package three- insurance papers at home.

(Challenge) Nick called our towing/breakdown insurance. They had no problem paying to tow the truck to Mariah Hill for an evaluation. It was decided it was most likely a seal had blown. Parts would be in on 5th July and fixed no later than noon 6th.
God is good.
***


DAY 2
Lake Erie
We left the truck problems behind and packed Clara’s van for our trip North to Lake Erie where the young Wiese’s were expecting us. On the road again……

(Challenge) We arrived tired but glad to be there after a short conversation with the State Police just outside of town. Our hotel was a decent comfortable place to lay our heads, but I have never stayed in a 2 story hotel that did NOT have an elevator. "Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger." like climbing stairs.
They did have  a great continental breakfast,
God is good.

(Challenge) As we excitedly unloaded the van, excitement turned to concern and disbelief. I could not find my suitcase. We looked around in all the obvious places. No one had carried it up to the room. I had a small case with extra blankets, I had my purse, I had my camera, I had my snack bag, I had 2 devotional magazines and 2 books. Soon, it became apparent my suitcase and all that was in it had been left at home.
(Challenge) Our first hurdle was my medicines. Blessing, I had the list of my meds with dosage amounts in my purse. We evaluated our options – Kroger pharmacy to Kroger pharmacy, or call Dr in Louisville and have him prescribe 3 of each med. Nick’s GPS found Kroger. We arrived there at 7:10. Pharmacy had closed at 7. From there I called Dr and while waiting for him to call me back we located a CVS pharmacy still open. The connection was made and in an hour we had the medications. WE laughed instead of cried and all of us went out to eat. All along, Clara had been quietly faithfully praying and this evening at the Bob Evans table Andrew prayed for Granny.
God is good.
***

Day 3
(Challenge) Next morning, as soon as my eyes popped open and the sun was peeking over the horizon I quietly sneaked away and went ½ mile to Walmart. Christmas in July! I was able to pick out for myself- 3 women’s tops, 2 pair pedal pushers, package of generic white socks, package of granny underwear and a cute Disney (Tinker Bell) gown to sleep in, it fit comfortably and was only $6. All were on summer clearance total of $48 for my Lake Erie “souvenirs.” I used Clara’s deodorant, both Clara and Nick had an extra new tooth brush. I did not need a brush for my hair - who knew with all the breeze coming off the lake.
God is good.


  Marblehead Lighthouse and Put-in-Bay/South Bass Island



This day began with an outing to Marblehead Lighthouse, the oldest continually operated lighthouse on the Great Lakes.  It has been in use since 1822.  This cone shaped lighthouse is constructed of native limestone on Marblehead Peninsula at the entrance to
Sandusky Bay.

 Through history there have been 15 lighthouse keepers, two of whom were women. During World War II, the lighthouse became strategically important for national defense and the United States Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the beacon.  Today, the U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate and maintain the lighthouse beacon. There are guided tours and the Marblehead Lighthouse Historical Society operates a Museum in the old keeper's house. 

Unfortunately neither was open this day.

I have not seen Hollyhocks since I was a child when Mother taught us to make dolls in flouncy dresses with the blooms and buds. They would only last for the day, maybe a little longer if we just looked at them and didnt play with them. They could be as simple or creative as our imagination would take us.

These above look most like the dolls we would make.

You can see below how creative you can get.  Some people would construct theirs with toothpick bodies and arms with and extra buds but ours were always just 2 part dolls, with maybe a double skirt.  

We enjoyed the rocky coastal area and picnic grounds.

 The grounds surrounding the lighthouse offered excellent views of Lake Erie, Sandusky Bay, Kelleys Island and South Bass Island and Cedar Point.



Marblehead Lighthouse is one of Lake Erie's best known and most-photographed landmark!

(Challenge) Just as we were moving on to our next destination, Put-in-Bay/South Bass Island,  a young pre-teen girl took a bad fall on the rocks along the shoreline. Our prayer warrior, Clara, grabbed our hands and we prayed for the girl as the medics moved in to help her. God is good.

   

PUT-IN-BAY
Located in the shallow western end of Lake Erie is a group of 20 or more islands. One of these, Put-in-Bay on South Bass, served as a base of operations for Commodore (“We have met the enemy and they are ours;”) Oliver Hazard Perry. It was from the harbor called Put-in-Bay that Perry sailed to defeat the British fleet during the war of 1812.

Today, Put-in-Bay is a tourist destination on South Bass Island just three miles off the mainland. This tiny two by four mile island can be reached by ferry boat and this ferry journey is the beginning of the island fun.



(Challenge) When we arrived at the dock to board the ferry to travel to the island the place was packed. Parking lot was overflowing. Young Wiese’s had to park 2 miles away and walk out to the pier. With Nick’s handicap placard we parked at the dock. Sierra was thanking her lucky stars she had decided to travel in our car.
God is good.

(Challenge) As we “put in at the bay”  we had to solve the problem of how to get around the island. Although Nick had brought along his scooter it did not look like it was going to be of use. Island transportation varied from bicycle, bus, taxi, touring tram, car and the most popular mode - golf cart.  Cars were limited as to how fast they could travel by the hundreds of golf carts on the road.



Parking space for cars were also at a premium. All the eight passenger carts were rented. This was solved with 2 - four passenger carts. Nicolaas practiced his driving skills by operating our cart.

We stored Nick’s scooter at the rental store and started off on our island visit. We had a great time exploring streets with an eclectic mix of shops,  
restaurants and pubs, -the marina, -the winery with a geode crystal cave, but no free wine tasting, hee hee ;)  -we did have some great tasting ice cream at the Chocolate Museum,
-the Commodore Perry Peace Memorial, 
Observation tower had scaffolding around it and the monument was currently closed to visitors. The 352 foot column is a dedication to the lasting peace between the United States, Canada, and Great Britain. 
post card picture

-the merry-go-round (with the oldest hand carved wooden horses in
the United States.)

We were sorry to miss the butterfly house, even so, we caught the second to last ferry back to the mainland.

Sunset on Lake Erie
God is good.
***

Day 4  and Day 5 to be continued in next post.   

Days 4 and 5 Seek and Find the Lighthouses

Our Lighthouse Adventure

Day 4 - July 4th

This day we split company. The young Wiese’s set out for the Soak City Water Park and “wise ones” went searching for lighthouses – Huron Harbor, Vermilion, Lorain Breakwater – specifically. Lighthouses are buildings equipped with a tower and a lantern room atop. They have from ancient times aided travelers of the sea by warning them of dangerous coastlines and directing them to safe passage into harbor.

Nick set the GPS for our first lighthouse. We traveled the “scenic” road along the lake to the city of Huron on the Huron River. “Wilhelmina or Wilma” for short, had announced we had arrived at our destination. There was no light house in sight. You would think a structure over 70 feet tall could be easily seen. We did not see it anywhere. We drove around the block checking closely the directions “Wilma” gave us. Still no lighthouse.

???

Vermilion Lighthouse
We decided to move on and travel to Vermilion, on the river of the same name, to seek out the next lighthouse. “Wilma” brought us to the door.

The Vermilion Lighthouse sits at the edge of town on the grounds of the Inland Seas Maritime Museum and just steps away from a small sandy beach.


Before 1850, the people of Vermilion, were forced to make their own makeshift lighthouse using wooden stakes with oil burning lamps marking the entrance of their harbor.  In 1847 a wooden structure was built and then replaced twice, the second time in 1877, with a 16 foot octagonal cast iron tower.  The original lighthouse was at the end of a catwalk like  pier out in the water.

 In 1929 it was noticed the tower was leaning toward the river.  The lighthouse was dismantled by the government and taken away and was replaced by an 18-foot skeletal tower.    Years later a replica of the 1877 lighthouse was constructed on the grounds of the house that was once the boyhood home of the young man who had noticed that the tower was unstable. 

The old house is the main structure of the Great Lakes Society's, Inland Seas Maritime Museum. This new Vermilion Lighthouse was dedicated on June 6, 1992, and is still operational today. It serves not only as part of the museum, but also as an active aid to navigation.   

***

Lorain Breakwater Lighthouses

 Both Lighthouses.... 

West Breakwater on the left and East Breakwater far right

This was as close as we could get. 



Original 1917 Lighthouse

Automated Light tower 1965

Like so many other stories of other lighthouse communities, Lorain’s first light was a lantern hanging on a pole at the edge of the Black River and Lake Erie. The Lorain Breakwater Lighthouse was constructed on the West breakwater in 1917. The structure stretched 56 feet tall. The three story building is painted white with red roof and gray and red trim.


Built by the Army Corps of Engineers, the lighthouse was designed to withstand the tempestuous weather of Lake Erie. From one corner of the structure, a square tower, topped by a lantern room, extends just above the pitched roof. It was taken out of service in 1965 when it was replaced by an automated light tower on the nearby East Breakwater.



This modern 60 foot light tower is a square cylindrical steel tower rising from a square 1-story concrete equipment shelter. The tower is painted white with green trim.  It took over as the official Lorain Harbor Light and the West Lorain Breakwater Lighthouse fell dark. The original breakwater light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 29 December 1978.

Birds on the East breakwater.

I believe this is a small blue heron.

Wet lands

We enjoyed the walk out to the end of the concrete pier which stretched a mile or so into Lake Erie between the breakwaters.  For about half mile along side the pier there was a marsh area. Clara and I saw someone coming out of the marsh area and decided to walk back through the marsh to where the car was parked. We were hoping to see some wild life native to the area. We did scare up a few small birds and a deer.

We saw a monarch butterfly. There were 2 swan on the pond but nothing as exciting as a crane or heron.

We heard there was a tour boat that scheduled boat rides out to  both lights. We looked around the area for a this boat launch.

We did not find a boat ride out.

***

At this point we decided to head back toward our Hotel.

We also wanted to search again for the

Huron Lighthouse.

Our thought was, perhaps coming in from the East. we could more easily spot the tower. We arrived at a spot where Wilma again announced that we had reached our destination. Still no lighthouse was visible. I looked at a small pamphlet about the Lighthouse Coastal Trail. It mentioned Wall Street and Main Street. It said to park on the left and follow the breakwater. Nick programmed in intersection of Wall and Main Streets. The GPS took us through some streets on the North side of town and right to the parking area at the end of Main Street. We again walked about a mile or so out on a concrete pier. Along the way was some interesting types of foliage. I took pictures hoping to be able to identify later.

I know these are thistles.

I don't know what this is?

Looks like a blackberry tree,  but is probably a mulberry.

 Sand hill across the Huron River Harbor was covered
with little white birds.

When we got to the end of the concrete pier we had to cut left into the brush and follow a dirt trail for a distance to the seawall that led to the  present day Huron Harbor Lighthouse.

The first Huron Harbor Lighthouse was a tower constructed in 1835 of wood on the west pier. The light was not durable enough to withstand the wind and weather of Lake Erie, and in the late 1850’s a new light was built. This time it was fully enclosed and constructed of iron.

1850's
By the 1930’s, it was determined that a new light should be built at the end of the breakwater, which had been extended to a mile offshore, where it stands today. In the style 1930’s, the Art Deco light consists of a square, cylindrical tower on a square fog building.


 It stands 72 feet high and is made of white steel plates on a concrete foundation. Huron Harbor Lighthouse originally had a lantern room on top, but no keeper’s dwelling.  It was operated by remote control by a station on shore.  In 1972,  it was automated.  The lighthouse is still operational and is managed by the United States Coast Guard.

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore

But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.

Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!

Some poor fainting, struggling seaman, you may rescue,
you may save.




Our day began at 7 and ended 7.  Young ones day began at noon and ended at midnight.
The 4th of July fireworks out on the point were scheduled at 10pm - by that time we had worn ourselves out looking for lighthouses and
were in bed asleep.

July 5th
Remember the beginning of the story about the truck?  We had just started our trip toward home when we learned from the mechanic the truck would be ready at noon on the 6th. 

When we arrived at home, there on the bed

was my packed suitcase,
full of nicely folded clean clothes.

God is good. 

I dont know why in the last two blogs the fount changes. 

The fount seems to be okay in composition but different in size and style when published..