July: Fair Time!

July rolls around and, even if it's only 68 degrees out, it's still time to get ready for the county fair. For most people this means a chance to eat deep fried strawberries or a whole barbequed side of ribs, and to buy schlocky stuff to hang on the wall or get a henna tattoo all while being entertained by singing and dancing local kids, dueling pianos or even a talking brain. Hmmm.

But for the chosen few (actually there are thousands of us) fair competitors, it's time to schlep our entries to the fairgrounds for the judging, then the public humiliation. Nearly every fair for the past *ahem* years I have entered in the photography contest, and really, who cares about winning? Anyway there is quite a lot of good photos every year and it's a thrill just to have had something accepted for exhibition.

Fair angst actually begins in May when the photo entry deadline is, and I sort through a year or so worth of images to come up with just three finalists. The five images in this post were my personal finalists this year. You are allowed three entries total. I was happy to have two accepted into the fair this year. When you visit the fair later this month, see if you can find which two they are.

A. Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicana, on tagestes lemonii

B. Carpenter bee (male), Xylocopa varipunctata, on milkweed

C. Bush katydid nymph (female), Scudderia furcata, on fennel

D. African daisy, Arctotis hybrid, with unidentified tiny insect




E. Lizard, Elgaria multicarinata, on chain in green bucket

See you at the fair, maybe.