Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National Western
Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.

It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are slow
down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and thousands of
animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and arenas by breed for
display, judging, and sale. Other years we have seen breeds we'd never
heard of from hundreds of ranches all over the world (like Australia,
Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef cattle were mostly Angus and
angus-cross breeds. In addition, we saw sheep, goats, pigs, buffalo
(bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of horses, too.

In the Hall of Education we saw many displays of small animals
like rabbits, ducks, and some amazing breeds of chickens. There were
some interesting non-meat agriculture displays also, a fine art show
sponsored by Coors (the piece I liked was $22K) and of course the usual
hundreds of booths selling jewelry, cowboy boots, hat, belts, jeans, and
assorted kitsch and bling. For the serious rancher there was various
ranch hardware like fences, feed equipment, and huuuuuge travel and
horse trailers, trucks, tractors, etc. Lots of frozen cattle semen
dealers, too.

Because 7 yr. old grandson was fascinated by the concept, we sat through
a demonstration of West Bend stainless waterless cookware. The demo guy
was quite good and the cookware was heavy and looked convenient, but
cripes, it was expensive. I can remember sitting through a very similar
demo ~30 years ago when the stuff was probably $3-400 for the basic set.
Today's was about $1700 for the basic up to $4300 for "the works".
The only piece that attracted me was a handsome electric skillet, but
$385??? Not on your life.

I think I was most surprised by the huge size of the Percherons in the
draft-horse barn. Also how small the yaks were and how soft the yarn
made from their hair.

It was a fun day, the exhibitors were friendly as usual, and they were
very patient answering questions from city folk and all the many school
groups. Many commented on the weather--this year has been warm, in them
60's to 70 even, when usual Stock Show weather is the coldest weeks of
the year, often below zero. This was nice, the animals didn't look cold
and miserable and neither did their owners.

gloria p

Gloria P wrote:

> In addition, we saw sheep, goats, pigs, buffalo (bison),llamas, and
> yaks. Lots of horses, too.

Mmmmmm......rack of yak.

--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups -
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org

"Gloria P" > wrote in message
...
>
> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National Western
> Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>
> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are slow
> down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and thousands of
> animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and arenas by breed for
> display, judging, and sale. Other years we have seen breeds we'd never
> heard of from hundreds of ranches all over the world (like Australia,
> Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef cattle were mostly Angus and
> angus-cross breeds. In addition, we saw sheep, goats, pigs, buffalo
> (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of horses, too.
>
> In the Hall of Education we saw many displays of small animals
> like rabbits, ducks, and some amazing breeds of chickens. There were some
> interesting non-meat agriculture displays also, a fine art show sponsored
> by Coors (the piece I liked was $22K) and of course the usual
> hundreds of booths selling jewelry, cowboy boots, hat, belts, jeans, and
> assorted kitsch and bling. For the serious rancher there was various
> ranch hardware like fences, feed equipment, and huuuuuge travel and horse
> trailers, trucks, tractors, etc. Lots of frozen cattle semen dealers,
> too.
>
> Because 7 yr. old grandson was fascinated by the concept, we sat through a
> demonstration of West Bend stainless waterless cookware. The demo guy was
> quite good and the cookware was heavy and looked convenient, but cripes,
> it was expensive. I can remember sitting through a very similar demo ~30
> years ago when the stuff was probably $3-400 for the basic set.
> Today's was about $1700 for the basic up to $4300 for "the works".
> The only piece that attracted me was a handsome electric skillet, but
> $385??? Not on your life.
>
> I think I was most surprised by the huge size of the Percherons in the
> draft-horse barn. Also how small the yaks were and how soft the yarn made
> from their hair.
>
> It was a fun day, the exhibitors were friendly as usual, and they were
> very patient answering questions from city folk and all the many school
> groups. Many commented on the weather--this year has been warm, in them
> 60's to 70 even, when usual Stock Show weather is the coldest weeks of the
> year, often below zero. This was nice, the animals didn't look cold and
> miserable and neither did their owners.
>
> gloria p

My father was a cattle feeder on the plains of Colorado many years ago. We
went to the Stock Show every year for at least one day, and usually two. I
have wonderful memories of the animal exhibits, and the hawkers selling
everything and anything. The rodeo was always a treat also. I have not
gone in many years. It still brings back good memories of good times and
the quality people of the agricultural industry.

Later,

DaleP

Gloria P wrote:
> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National Western
> Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>
> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are
> slow down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and
> thousands of animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and
> arenas by breed for display, judging, and sale. Other years we have
> seen breeds we'd never heard of from hundreds of ranches all over the
> world (like Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef cattle
> were mostly Angus and angus-cross breeds. In addition, we saw sheep,
> goats, pigs, buffalo (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of horses, too.
snip
> gloria p

My husband remembers with great fondness attending such a function with his
uncle and grandfather and being allowed to buy a baby pig for 50 cents. ;o]
Alas, the baby joined all the other piggies on the farm and went to the same
fate.
Janet

On Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:27:05 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
> wrote:

>Gloria P wrote:
>> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National Western
>> Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>>
>> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are
>> slow down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and
>> thousands of animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and
>> arenas by breed for display, judging, and sale. Other years we have
>> seen breeds we'd never heard of from hundreds of ranches all over the
>> world (like Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef cattle
>> were mostly Angus and angus-cross breeds. In addition, we saw sheep,
>> goats, pigs, buffalo (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of horses, too.
>snip
>> gloria p
>
>My husband remembers with great fondness attending such a function with his
>uncle and grandfather and being allowed to buy a baby pig for 50 cents. ;o]
>Alas, the baby joined all the other piggies on the farm and went to the same
>fate.
>Janet
>
Many years ago, when I'd first moved back to Texas, I took my family
to the county fair where we saw the carny barkers (shudder) and the
vendors and the exhibitors (including the John Birch Society -- who
apparently were unaware that the Soviet Union had collapsed). But
there were numerous more enjoyable attractions, including livestock
competitions.

We watched the judging for a steer contest and quickly discovered how
ignorant we were, as beef after beef was led by its handler into the
arena and our estimations of their beauty and value were always wrong,
according the experts. The beeves' lovely hides and their colors were
nothing in the face of evident muscle structure and the proportions of
shoulder to back to hind quarter.

There is a great deal of knowledge I don't even know I'm ignorant of,
I learned. Again.
--
modom

ambitious when it comes to fiddling with meat

modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
> On Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:27:05 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
> > wrote:
>
>> Gloria P wrote:
>>> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National
>>> Western Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>>>
>>> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are
>>> slow down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and
>>> thousands of animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and
>>> arenas by breed for display, judging, and sale. Other years we have
>>> seen breeds we'd never heard of from hundreds of ranches all over
>>> the world (like Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef
>>> cattle were mostly Angus and angus-cross breeds. In addition, we
>>> saw sheep, goats, pigs, buffalo (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of
>>> horses, too.
>> snip
>>> gloria p
>>
>> My husband remembers with great fondness attending such a function
>> with his uncle and grandfather and being allowed to buy a baby pig
>> for 50 cents. ;o] Alas, the baby joined all the other piggies on
>> the farm and went to the same fate.
>> Janet
>>
> Many years ago, when I'd first moved back to Texas, I took my family
> to the county fair where we saw the carny barkers (shudder) and the
> vendors and the exhibitors (including the John Birch Society -- who
> apparently were unaware that the Soviet Union had collapsed). But
> there were numerous more enjoyable attractions, including livestock
> competitions.
>
> We watched the judging for a steer contest and quickly discovered how
> ignorant we were, as beef after beef was led by its handler into the
> arena and our estimations of their beauty and value were always wrong,
> according the experts. The beeves' lovely hides and their colors were
> nothing in the face of evident muscle structure and the proportions of
> shoulder to back to hind quarter.
>
> There is a great deal of knowledge I don't even know I'm ignorant of,
> I learned. Again.
> --
> modom
But if you are the curious type, that is the great fun in life. . .learning
little bits of stuff every day.
Janet

Dale P wrote:
> "Gloria P" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National Western
>> Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>>
>> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are
>> slow down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and
>> thousands of animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and
>> arenas by breed for display, judging, and sale. Other years we have
>> seen breeds we'd never heard of from hundreds of ranches all over the
>> world (like Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef cattle
>> were mostly Angus and angus-cross breeds. In addition, we saw sheep,
>> goats, pigs, buffalo (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of horses, too.
>>
>> In the Hall of Education we saw many displays of small animals
>> like rabbits, ducks, and some amazing breeds of chickens. There were
>> some interesting non-meat agriculture displays also, a fine art show
>> sponsored by Coors (the piece I liked was $22K) and of course the usual
>> hundreds of booths selling jewelry, cowboy boots, hat, belts, jeans,
>> and assorted kitsch and bling. For the serious rancher there was various
>> ranch hardware like fences, feed equipment, and huuuuuge travel and
>> horse trailers, trucks, tractors, etc. Lots of frozen cattle semen
>> dealers, too.
>>
>> Because 7 yr. old grandson was fascinated by the concept, we sat
>> through a demonstration of West Bend stainless waterless cookware.
>> The demo guy was quite good and the cookware was heavy and looked
>> convenient, but cripes, it was expensive. I can remember sitting
>> through a very similar demo ~30 years ago when the stuff was probably
>> $3-400 for the basic set.
>> Today's was about $1700 for the basic up to $4300 for "the works".
>> The only piece that attracted me was a handsome electric skillet, but
>> $385??? Not on your life.
>>
>> I think I was most surprised by the huge size of the Percherons in the
>> draft-horse barn. Also how small the yaks were and how soft the yarn
>> made from their hair.
>>
>> It was a fun day, the exhibitors were friendly as usual, and they were
>> very patient answering questions from city folk and all the many
>> school groups. Many commented on the weather--this year has been
>> warm, in them 60's to 70 even, when usual Stock Show weather is the
>> coldest weeks of the year, often below zero. This was nice, the
>> animals didn't look cold and miserable and neither did their owners.
>>
>> gloria p
>
> My father was a cattle feeder on the plains of Colorado many years ago.
> We went to the Stock Show every year for at least one day, and usually
> two. I have wonderful memories of the animal exhibits, and the hawkers
> selling everything and anything. The rodeo was always a treat also. I
> have not gone in many years. It still brings back good memories of good
> times and the quality people of the agricultural industry.
>
> Later,
>
> DaleP
>
>
When I was a youngster I used to love going to the Houston Livestock
Show and exhibiting my show rabbits. Never won the big money prize but a
classmate did, got enough to put him through four years of college
starting in 1958. My uncle ultimately paid my way through college, Uncle
Sam.

Janet Bostwick wrote:
> modom (palindrome guy) wrote:
>> On Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:27:05 -0700, "Janet Bostwick"
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Gloria P wrote:
>>>> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National
>>>> Western Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>>>>
>>>> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are
>>>> slow down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and
>>>> thousands of animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and
>>>> arenas by breed for display, judging, and sale. Other years we have
>>>> seen breeds we'd never heard of from hundreds of ranches all over
>>>> the world (like Australia, Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef
>>>> cattle were mostly Angus and angus-cross breeds. In addition, we
>>>> saw sheep, goats, pigs, buffalo (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of
>>>> horses, too.
>>> snip
>>>> gloria p
>>> My husband remembers with great fondness attending such a function
>>> with his uncle and grandfather and being allowed to buy a baby pig
>>> for 50 cents. ;o] Alas, the baby joined all the other piggies on
>>> the farm and went to the same fate.
>>> Janet
>>>
>> Many years ago, when I'd first moved back to Texas, I took my family
>> to the county fair where we saw the carny barkers (shudder) and the
>> vendors and the exhibitors (including the John Birch Society -- who
>> apparently were unaware that the Soviet Union had collapsed). But
>> there were numerous more enjoyable attractions, including livestock
>> competitions.
>>
>> We watched the judging for a steer contest and quickly discovered how
>> ignorant we were, as beef after beef was led by its handler into the
>> arena and our estimations of their beauty and value were always wrong,
>> according the experts. The beeves' lovely hides and their colors were
>> nothing in the face of evident muscle structure and the proportions of
>> shoulder to back to hind quarter.
>>
>> There is a great deal of knowledge I don't even know I'm ignorant of,
>> I learned. Again.
>> --
>> modom
> But if you are the curious type, that is the great fun in life. . .learning
> little bits of stuff every day.
> Janet
>
>
Reminds of my father's favorite saying, "You learn something new every
day and on the last day of your life you learn the final truth." Damn, I
sure miss him.

Gloria P wrote:
>
> Today we attended Denver's biggest annual event, the National Western
> Stock Show. We try to go every 5 years or so.
>
> It is held for ~2 1/2 weeks in January every year (when things are slow
> down on the farms!) and during that period thousands and thousands of
> animals are rotated in and out of the many barns and arenas by breed for
> display, judging, and sale. Other years we have seen breeds we'd never
> heard of from hundreds of ranches all over the world (like Australia,
> Brazil, and Argentina.) Today's beef cattle were mostly Angus and
> angus-cross breeds. In addition, we saw sheep, goats, pigs, buffalo
> (bison),llamas, and yaks. Lots of horses, too.
>


I knew I felt uneasy about something in my post.

In the middle of the night I woke up thinking--d@mn, those weren't
Angus, they were Herefords, and they were gorgeous--gleaming black,
box-shaped on heavy legs, a thick coat that felt like velvet. To our
amusement we saw hooves being painted shiny black to carry the color
right down to the ground. We also noted exhibitors spraying the
tufts at the end of the tails with "Tail Glue" to achieve the proper
shape for judging. After a cold shower bath, the animals are dried
with warm air from hair dryers that look like small tank vacuums and
brushed and combed until every single hair stands out perfectly.

We also saw some Scottish Highland steers, great long shaggy coats and
big horns. It was a good chance to talk to Grandson about Adaptation
in living things.

RE yak: growers were selling yak jerky and various cuts of meat,
frozen, as well as skeins of yak yarn, plain or blended with cashmere,
angora, or even bamboo fiber, and showing beautiful knit products made
from each. Much of it was as soft as silk.

gloria p