Paul & Diane Boykin

We had record cold this morning - 33 chilly degrees here in Watkinsville, GA, which had me rummaging for gloves and ear covers before walking this morning.

I noticed that my purple coneflowers had multiple little flowers coming our of a main flower - note the one on the left. Has anyone ever seen this before?

After raining off and on all week, the weather channel predicted "cloudy" for the Watkinsville Fall Festival today. Well, it started misting around 8:00 a.m. and started raining harder and harder throughout the morning. Still, a good many people came and brought their children, including babies. I stood out in the rain for 2 hours directing traffic, but before I did, I had to visit the funnel cake booth.

As the day was cold and wet, funnel cakes may well have been one of the best things going as they are hot and sweet.

For those who aren't familiar with funnel cakes, here is the process and the finished product.

First, you pour a funnel of batter into the hot oil.

After they're done, you top with powdered sugar.

Voila, the finished product! Enjoy!!

DON'T MISS THE WATKINSVILLE FALL FESTIVAL THIS SATURDAY (OCTOBER 17)!

There'll be a lot happening this Saturday in downtown Watkinsville, GA at the Fall Festival. There will be numerous craft booths, lots to eat and tons of fun for the kids. If you haven't had funnel cakes in awhile, this is your chance. There will also be fresh vegetables from the Oconee Farmer's Market, a train to ride, animals to pet and corn boxes for the kids to play in, not to mention music all day at the bandstand.

The festival is from 9:00-4:00 in downtown Watkinsville on Rocket Field and the Eagle Tavern area. See you there!

This small show is just a warm-up show for the big, Georgia National Fair to be held in Perry, GA, October 8-18, 2009.

In addition to livestock shows, which include horse, dairy, beef, swine, sheep, goats and poultry (hope I didn't leave anybody out!) there are daily concerts with big-name performers, commerical exhibits, competitions for art, foods, Christmas trees, crafts and just about anything that you can think of. In case that's not enough, there is a huge midway with rides and food plus pig races and stock dog exhibits among others. It's hard to see all of the fair all in one day, so they now have 2 day passes. It's been a few years since we've been but we can't wait to go again.

For complete information including the schedule of events, please find the GA National Fair website at:

http://www.georgianationalfair.com/index.htm.

Hope you have a great time!