Entering a competition at the State Fair is as American as an apple pie, much like the one in the photo above.  And while I realize that the 2017 Tennessee Fair is old news, I really wanted to share these photos.  Actually, I have been missing in action (blame it on the job) and thought I should get my act together and start posting some of the photos that I have taken.

Dusk is the best time to visit the fair.  It is not as busy and the lighting is perfect, even when you are taking photos of lights.

As members of the Master Gardeners, we always find ourselves at the fair and working in the MG booth but we make time to walk around and see as much as we can.  This year, we did not work the booth but we spent some time there with friends who were visiting from Germany.

As adventurous as I am, and I am-I love a good roller coaster, this ride terrifies me.  The thought of dropping like a rock, straight down to the ground…If you need me, I will be out here with a camera, watching you drop like a rock.

This type of ride doesn’t thrill me either-too intense and too much round and round and round…

Ferris wheels can be fun, guarantees a great view of the fair.

This one made me dizzy just watching it.

And then there is the real reason I was at the fair.  On a whim, I decided to enter several competitions.  This was the first time I entered a canning competition and I entered a jar of my homegrown pickle relish.  When I learned the results, I was stunned!

Another competition I entered was the chess pie contest, this one, a honey chess pie, came in at a respectable third place.  If you were paying attention, the very first photo of this post was of a pie, specifically, an apple pie that I entered into the big money competition.

Here are the judges tasting my apple pie.  Long story short, I didn’t win, place or show.  At the end of the day, I have a pretty good idea of what is expected and I will be better prepared for next year.