All The Birds and The Beasts Were There - Fair Time on Whidbey Island

From guinea pigs to chickens to cows, the animals are my favorite part of the Whidbey Island Fair (formerly the Island County Fair), held last weekend in Langley. The down-home gathering of crafts and creatures seems to define summer. The whole scene is so evocative of earlier times, from the jars of pickles and vegetable sculptures to the families trudging around snacking on curly fries and sugar-drenched elephant ears.

We were walking the few blocks to the fairgrounds when we spotted a Jack Russell terrier seemingly driving a tractor in a field, and hoped it was a foreshadowing of animal tricks to come...

The wide assortment of creatures brought to mind a childhood song ..I knew all the words when I was a kid, but had to look it up to remember much more than "the big baboon by the light of the moon was combing his auburn hair..."

The Animal Fair by William Copper

I went to the animal fair,
   The birds and the beasts were there;
The big baboon by the light of the moon
   Was combing his auburn hair.

You ought to have seen the monk, 
   Who sat on the elephant's trunk.
The elephant sneezed and fell on his knees,
   And what became of the monk, the monk? 

The alliligator and loon 
   Were strolling along the lagoon:
The loon gave a laugh to observe the giraffe 
   Try to unmask the raccoon.

The bugs were there and the bees,
   And fishes from all seven seas.
An antical man and a manic toucan 
   Were helping each other with fleas. 

I went to the animal fair,
   The birds and the beasts were there;
The big baboon by the light of the moon
   Was combing her auburn hair.

The penguin got herself dressed,
   And put on her very best vest;
The rhino turned round with a squint and a frown
   And chased her back to the nest. 

The leopard had spots she'd got
   From drinking her coffee too hot;
Whenever she'd drink the spots would blink
   So she'd hidden her head in a pot.  

I went to the animal fair,
   The birds and the beasts were there;
The big baboon by the light of the moon
   Was combing her auburn hair.

The place had become a zoo, 
   With childen and grown-ups too,
We opened the door, and looked out for more,
   And who did we see?  It was you! 

     If you'd like to hear the melody, there's a singalong on YouTube.

We found nary a baboon, but there were plenty of sights, including dressed up guinea pigs in the cavy barn.

We missed the Chicken Olympics, but spotted a woman in a ball gown walking her alpaca...

How I love all the chickens, with their proud, alert ways and fabulous feathers..

The porkers were peacefully slumbering in the stinky Swine barn. The smiling pink pig reminds me of a fully grown Wilbur in "Charlotte's Web"

And the nose-to-nose pigs..

This charmer, right out of the Three-Billy-Goats Gruff, stole my heart - can you imagine the havoc he'd wreak in the garden??? But such an innocent face...

Watch for veg sculptures, flowers and quilts in the next post...

Comments

[Chris]

You gotta love fairs, if not for just seeing the animals!! Great photos of them, especially the piggies! Um, but I'm pretty sure that's a Llama with that gown bedecked lady!! :)

[Kathy]

I haven't thought of "Animal Fair" for years! Now the song is ringing through my head. It brings a grin every time.