Mr. Ed's Magical Midway

My task this weekend was to take photos of Mr. Ed's Magical Midway for their website so DJ and I drove to Jefferson and were astounded at what we saw. WOW - The Jefferson County Fair put's the Dane County Fair to shame. It's perhaps 3 to 4 times bigger, the stables and barns were way way cleaner, food everywhere and not just your typical carny food but any ethnic food you can think of, (although I'm not sure I would trust carny gyros, just seems like you are putting your bowels in someones else's hands).

So we roamed around and took photos and talked to the carny people (is that a non-politically correct way of saying . . . carnival associates?). We got a free ferris wheel ride so I could take photos from way up high but the damn safety features made it hard for me to climb on top or the gondola.

Now, DJ has zero problems when it comes to heights as long as they are not man made. Fire towers are not on DJ's agenda for things to look forward too! She can stand 5 inches away from the a mile deep cliff at the Grand Canyon but a 30 foot fire tower . . . . no way.

So you can imagine her delight when the guy said we could get a free ride (no singles).

Remember that Twilight Zone where Bill Shatner is in an airplane and see's a gremlin on the wing ripping it apart? Yea, I think that is what DJ was seeing.
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COUGH COUGH!! excuse me . . . sorry.

You see when we got to the fair Friday night we were waiting around for the light to get better and I spotted this vender.

COOL - so I purchased the hemp rug and when we got home I . . . . .well . . . . basically smoked the whole damn thing and all I got was a headache and now I have this persistent little cough. I'd like to take it back but I only have a couple feet left. I'll probably sell to my buddy! What a rip off!

So - back on topic I took a lot of photos that I knew at the time were going to be problematic because it was dusk and I was trying to take sharp movement shots of rides.

I really have not looked deeply at the few hundred photos yet but I decided that I would have to go back and get "same light" photos. Can't have half nighttime and have extreme sunlight!

Sunday I returned to Jefferson and got all the shots I THINK I need. As I process them I might share a few with you (if I may be so bold).

One of my favorites so far.

This guy is pretty funny. He works 6 months on the road and with all his money (that they can not spend, no days off) can take 6 months off in Myrtle Beach. Six months working non-stop - six months non-stop vacation. Sweet!

I was talking to a "vendor" on the other side of the carnival and she asked if I had gotten a photo of of the Catch N' Air ride. I said not yet and she said that I kept walking past her boyfriend and he kept wondering if he should start the ride with nobody on it so I could take a photo (this was said to me three times).

These people are really so nice. Teachers, guys from Georgia that do this all year, school people on summer jobs. Mr Ed is travels only in Wisconsin, lots of workers from way up north (Eagle River and so forth). They are a great group of people.

I took a photo of a guy Friday night that just looked ANGRY!! Great photo that is not totally processed yet but I loved it. I talked to him Sunday and he really WAS angry. He said "yea saw you take that f*ckin pitcher" I was so f*ckin mad I said OH THAT'S GREAT, PERFECT". He was laughing as he said that. Most vendors wanted photos. They all seemed a littel lonely.

I have more I'll get to. This CRT sucks it's so dark.
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Another thing I did this weekend wasto take a few photos of one of my gardens and got this one. This should be large enough for a Desktop background if you click on it.

That's it for today. More to say but this is getting long!!


WARNING - The Japanese Beetle are hatching.

They were EVERYWHERE in Jefferson.

If you live in an area that has Japanese Beetles, you should be ready with your defense. They love Roses (including the flowers), grape vine foliage, Raspberry foliage, many Lindens --to name a few.

The problem with treating Japanese Beetles is that they hatch every single day so you might spray them today, but tomorrow another batch has hatched and the hatching continues for the next several weeks.

Your best defense is to have treated the grubs in the soil. A second option is to have treated the plants they like with Bayer Advanced Tree and shrub care because any systemic works just great as the beetles will not feed on the plant as it is protected from the inside out. Soapy water in a spray bottle helps some too.

Rod