Above: Sketches of a Turken from my third trip to the 2009 Minnesota State Fair. This is a chicken (ken) bred to look like a Turkey (Tur), hence the very odd naked neck. The more you look at them the more appealing they become, in an odd way. They have a lovely body structure and a startling flame orange eye. Here are two quick sketches made as this one moved about in his crate (comb accurate on the left). 9 x 7 inches, Fabriano Artistico 300 lb. hot press watercolor paper; Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor pencils used dry. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

"You wanted cows; well here you are…"
An exhausted mother gesturing to the entirety of the cow barn as she entered with her 7-year-old son. (A note on the back of one of my cards as I was walking out of the cow barn.)

So the other day, I was catching up on my scanning and finally finished scanning the 12 cards I made on my final visit to the 2009 Minnesota State Fair. I woke up that morning with what I feared was the beginning of a cold. If I was right, there’d be no way I could make my Sunday trip. I decided to skip my workout, save my energy, and see what happened. I kept in mind that this was probably my last trip this year, so I was on a bit of a mission.