St. Mary's County Fair 2023

I know it is a little late, but I briefly visited the St. Mary's County Fair the day it opened.  Everything was fresh and new.

 

Yucatan Mexico Ek Balam February 10, 2018

We spent the day near Valladolid exploring more wonders of the Yucatan.  We visited Ek Balam (meaning black jaguar), with its' incredibly new looking stucco panels on the Templo de los Frisos on the Acropolis.  The Acropolis structure was the funeral site of the Mayan ruler Ukit Kan Lek Tok.

Jim was determined to go up these steep stairs of the Acropolis to see the stucco work above.  Having done this before, I knew I wouldn't like the climb, but Jim's tenacity inspired a number of tourists sitting below the pyramid.  Folks asked me how old he was and were amazed.

Decorations at the bottom of the Acropolis.

Jim made it up to the room, cane and all.

Jim took this panorama photo of the jaws and decorated stucco room. It was hidden behind a sand filled room for centuries.

A stelae (stone pallet) was a sort of historical record.

We also visited a cenote called X'keken (or Dzitnup), an underground cave filled with water.  You can see the roots of a large tree above the cave. 

There was a huge stalactite hanging from the cave ceiling.

X'keken means pig.  Legend has it that a farmer's pig came back muddy from visiting the cenote, so the farmer followed the pig to the cave.

The SMAWL Animal Fair in St. Mary's County

I attended the 8th annual  SMAWL Animal Fair on May 12^th with my husband to see all the cute critters.  There were many visitors with every breed of dog imaginable. I saw a cocker spaniel that looked just like my 2nd dog (awww) a beautiful white samoyed, a beagle and russian wolfhounds just to mention a few.  Dog service groups abounded including Greyt Expectations Greyhounds, All Shepherd Rescue, Doberman Assistance, Northern Chesapeake Sheltie Rescue, SMAWL Cats, Golden Retriever Rescue, Snowflake Society (horses), the Tri County Animal Shelter, and even the Hedgehog Welfare Society.  Fair visitors could buy doggie clothes from Custom Dog Jackets, adopt a pet or buy candles.  Also in attendance were many of the local veterinarians like VCA St. Mary’s Animal Hospital, All Kinds Veterinary Hospital, and the Well Pet Clinic. Kennels galore were in evidence too like Chesapeake Pet Resort & Day Spa, Farmstead Kennels an Indian Bridge Kennels & Suites.

 We had a lovely conversation with a woman from Pets on Wheels.  They bring therapy pets to nursing homes, assisted living facilities and Veteran’s homes to help improve their health and cheer the local residents.  We watched Dakota’s Legacy Horse demo with several horses walking backwards and a young cart horse driver.  We chatted with the pet photographer, Gary Garcia from ImageZ Galore Photography, Inc., watched a dog fitted with doggles (dog goggles) and met a piglet.  Fun activities included a musical dog sit, an animal pet parade and woof it down pie contest and a silent auction. It was altogether a fun time for pets and their people.