Renaissance Fair!
Craing, Kiara, and I went to the renaissance fair yesterday. I wasn’t going to go because I had a little over $20 in the bank, and $3 and change in my pocket. Craing told me that it was unacceptable to not go, so he offered to pay for Kiara and I to get in, drink while there, and eat meat on a stick. We took him up on his offer, and we set off to the renaissance fair yesterday morning. It was supposed to be the last day of the fair, but we discovered that they had extended it a week. We were already there, so we decided to enter anyways.
We made the rounds to all of the shops throughout the day. There was the usual stuff: jewelry, clothing, staves, weapons (great quality, poor quality, wooden, etc.), shields, some armor, beer, lots of water, soda, various types of renaissance food, chess sets, eating utensils, etc. Mostly good stuff all around. We caught a couple of shows here and there.
After doing our shopping (Craing bought a staff, Kiara a piece of jewelry for her pony tail, earrings for me, a t-shirt for me, a necklace for me, and a 30th anniversary miniature sword), we decided to watch some shows. It was getting late in the day, so we didn’t have much to choose from. Kiara and Craing wanted to watch a hypnotist, and I was jonesing to see Zilch the Torysteller since I hadn’t seen him in a few years. We parted ways for a bit, so that we could watch our respective shows.
I had 30 minutes to kill before my show started, so I hit the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program booth again. I love birds of all kinds, and the larger birds that they have at the fair are wonderful to behold. The booth had a barn owl that had a broken wing that is now healed, but still prevents him from flying properly. There was also a Ferruginous Hawk that was stolen from her nest when she was young. She was raised by hand to accept food from humans, but this practice is illegal. This is because her training overrides her instincts. She does not know how to hunt, and would not know what to do with a male hawk of her kind if they met. The encounter would probably end up with the death of one of the two birds. She’s perfectly healthy, and it’s quite sad to see such a wonderful bird ruined by the hands of another human. There was also a Great Horned Owl there as well. I never did hear why it was not releasable, but it was a great bird to watch. It has the hugest eyes that I’ve ever seen on a bird. What a wonderful creature!
While at the booth, I learned that when a bird arrives at the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, there are three options. Rehabilitation and release back into the wild, training as an ambassador if they cannot be released, and if the bird does not accept training as an ambassador, then it must be euthanized. It’s quite said that so many birds must be put down because they’ve fallen foul of human hands.
At least we have some humans out there that are trying to make a difference. I’m tempted to see if I can volunteer some time with them. However, they are in Ft. Collins, and that’s a 3 1/2 hour drive from my house. They require you to come to weekly meetings in Ft. Collins, and then volunteer on a Saturday for most of the day. I don’t mind the time on Saturday, but I’m not sure I can make it to the weekly meetings. I may have to settle for a cash donation to the organization. When the volunteers at the fair would talk about releasing a bird back into the wild, the reverence, awe, pride, and joy that was in their voice brought tears to my eyes. I would really like to see a release someday.
If you’re so inclined, you can visit the RMRP website, and see about volunteering, or donating. It’s a great program, and it’s a tax deductible donation!
After I spent about 30 minutes with the RMRP folks, it was time for Zilch to start his show. I headed to the Celestial Stage to watch his show. He started out, and I soon realized that I had heard this act about 5-6 times before. I didn’t care. It’s great to listen to him spout out Spoonerisms while reciting Romeo and Juliet. It’s a hoot to hear the way he mangles words, but it’s all done in such a manner that you can still understand what he’s saying. There are a few interludes from the story while he talks about other stories that he has to avoid (Robin Hood [Friar Tuck], Robinson Crusoe [Fighting Buckaneers]) because of possible “wirty dords” that come about while telling the tale. It was a good half hour, and I spent a vast majority of it laughing. At this point, all I had in my pocket was $15 of the $20 that I had gotten from the ATM before the fair. He had two CDs, and they were $15 each. I wanted to get both of them, but I had to settle for one of them. I’m going to check later to see if I can order the second one off of his website.
After the shows, we got back together near the front gate, and headed home. We stopped by Rosie’s Diner in Monument on the way home, and had some decent food. We were all tired, hot, and sweaty by the time we were done with the day, but it was a good day. I’m glad we went and spent time together. Many thanks to Craing for spending his cash on us, so that we could go to the fair!
