Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Oh, Deer!


To Toni,

Congratulations on your maiden voyage into Bonner County Fair competition.  Definitely a good way to start out---three blues and two red ribbons in photography.  And, having seen your photos, I believe you have every right to be proud.  

I have a feeling you'll be back to the fair next year.  

Great to see you and Ronnie yesterday.  It's been a while, even though only a mile or so separates us out here in Selle. 

~~~~
To Osaze,

Hope I have that spelled right.  Congratulations on your sheep fitting and showing championship----the senior section, that is.

Sounds like there was some keen competition, and I learned later that I knew all the topnotch showmen in this year's championship circle.  Love it when I can put a name to something special.

And, happy birthday to your mom. 

~~~~
To Barbara,

That deer does jump out at you, even if it is going the other direction.  But this was no deer in the headlights; this was a deer which performed at the precise time for you as you snapped its photo bounding off into the woods.  

And, to catch it in that setting, a field dotted with buttercups. Phenomenal!  Even Idaho's Congressional Rep. Walt Minnick was amazed at your timing.

Excellent timing, composition, etc.,   and congratulations on your Best of Show in the photography competition.

~~~~
To the Unknown Soul Who Snapped a Photo of Barbara's Award-winning Photo,

Someone needs to tell you to keep your negative thoughts to yourself, at least,  until you get to the car.  And, no, I doubt the photo you snapped with your big fancy camera of my sister's award-winning photo was "even better" than that "grainy, not very good" picture hanging there among the other entries. 

After all, she caught the live deer running and leaping;  you took a picture of her photo hanging on the wall.  Not a hard task when the subject is stationary and when it's someone else's work.   Maybe you can enter your photo in next year's fair as a "still life." 

It wasn't hard for me to catch all the thoughtless comments you made about my sister's photo after learning that you hadn't done so well on your own entry.  Even whispering your opinions to your family and friends might have been nice instead of broadcasting them to anyone who would listen. 

Finally, after hearing one more critique from you,  I had to say something.  I was truly amazed that you displayed zippo embarrassment when I told you that the Best of Show photo belonged to my sister.

I guess this incident illustrates that it takes some of us a little longer than others to learn to keep the foot on the floor and away from the mouth. Now, that scenario would make a great photo!  

And, for your information, I'll be the first to admit that I've "been there, done that" and learned from it.  I hope you do too.

~~~~~
To my sister Laurie,

Thank you for the moccasins---soon to be mine.  Congratulations on your blue ribbons for moccasins and beading.  Your talents and thoughtfulness are appreciated.

~~~~~
To the judges,

Thank you for the kindness of putting blue ribbons on my veggies, sweet peas and jelly.  And, a special thanks to the superintendents who guided me through the process of getting my exhibits complete for competition.

The water bottles made nice vases for the oregano and dill, and the tip about doing the water bath for at least ten minutes was helpful to this old coot who just makes those jellies and doesn't watch the clock too closely while the jars take their bath in boiling water.

Yeah, at least ten minutes on the water bath (USDA says so)  if you plan to enter any jams or jellies next year. 

~~~~~
There's much more to remember about the fair so far this year.   All of it fun, even the photography reviewer who reminded me of a few similar moments when my own mouth has gone on an out-of-control rampage at someone else's expense.

We're all human, but I must say that whitetail deer photo is amazing, even if it is grainy.  Go check it out.

3 comments:

Laura said...

I'm glad you called her out on it. Barbara's photo was beautiful. Sad that someone--and an adult, especially--would display such a lack of sportsmanship. Best to feel sorry for her, though; if she's so publicly negative, she probably doesn't have a lot of joy in her life.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, Marianne! It was so nice to visit with you and your sisters, great timing.

I can't believe the womnan and her rude remarks about Barbara's fantastic Best Of Show, which she so justly deserves. It is spun out of pure jealousy.

I didn't know Barbara was one of my contacts on Flickr!!!!! I have been looking at her photos for months now and never knew who she was; still haven't figured that one out.

Toni

BigLarry said...

Whitetail deer are found across the North American region, at 29 million strong, including where cities are expanding. These areas intrude on what was once the whitetails domain. As deer become more and more exposed to this humane society, they become less afraid of humans. In these areas you can find deer walking right up to you, not spooked one bit, and coming into your yard to find whatever morsel of food they can find.