My Visit to the Farm Show

Lizzy Ryan

(2/2010) Last month, my mom, grandparents and I went to the farm show in Harrisburg. We always go every year and I always love it. But part of the reason why I like it is probably because I get to miss school, which is always exciting.

We arrived at the farm show early in the morning, which meant that we had the whole day to be there. My grandfather is a farmer so he always likes to go and I like to go because I want to become either a zookeeper or a farmer.

As soon as we walked in, I saw the butter sculpture. It looked really cool. Next, we decided to see some of the animals. We went to see the chickens first. We have chickens at my house, so I always like to look at the different kinds, like frizzles, silkies and buffs. Along with the adult chickens, there are the chicks and chicks that are hatching from eggs. That is probably one of the loudest rooms in the whole building because of all the loud roosters. But I don't mind.

Then we went to see the rabbits. I saw my favorite kind: the angora rabbits. They are the kind that you can get wool from. Someone was there spinning the angora wool as well as someone who was looming. They even had the rabbits out on a table so you could pet them. They didn't only have angora rabbits but they also had jersey woolies, lops and many more.

We then went to see the beef and dairy cattle. As we were walking down the aisles, I was naming all of the breeds of cattle I saw, like Jerseys, Holstein, Milking Shorthorn and others. My grandfather and I were trying to name them as fast as we could. Their hides were shiny because they must have been all prettied-up for the show and sale.

Next, we went to see the goats. They are always my favorite because I have a boer goat called "Oscar." I told my grandparents all of the breeds that I knew. In the same building there was a bison! He was huge! Right next to the bison there was a deer. His name was Seth. He was laying down sleeping. Sheep were in the next building. Some of them were being shaved and there was lots of wool on the ground.

Next, was a mother pig and her piglets. My grandparents and I were trying to guess how many piglets there were but they were moving too fast. We ended up with a count of ten.

We had to see the tractors. I have always thought that was the most boring part of the farm show but it is my grandfather's favorite part. Pop-pop gave me an entire lesson on the old kinds of tractors used. It was actually pretty interesting.

Then it was off to the bee exhibit. My grandmother and I were busy trying to pick out the queen bee. We found her eventually. I had so much fun I didn’t want to go home. I can't wait to go back next year. Maybe next year pop-pop will help me get Oscar ready and instead of just going, we can be part of the show.

Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Ryan lives in Fairfield and attends St. Francis Xavier Elementary School

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