Off to the Dachshund Races!

It's really autumn. Finally. For days, summer has been refusing to relinquish her hold. We've had 94 degree days and 78 degree nights. Then, suddenly, autumn decided she'd had enough and suddenly the temperature dropped to a pleasant 72 degrees and the nights are chilly enough that a jacket or, at least, a thick cardigan is necessary.

Overnight, the leaves decided to start falling and now there are large piles of dried leaves all over the garden, even though we don't have any trees. They come from our neighbour's sycamore tree. I actually don't mind. I like the leaves because I love autumn and they're a symbol. The puppies love the leaves because diving in the piles gives them great pleasure. They emerge from the piles dripping with dried leaves but a happy wag in their tail.

This weekend was when it turned from summer to fall and it was the perfect time for it to happen. As I mentioned, it was the weekend of the annual Street Fair in my parents' town. It's supposed to be crisp during street fair nights and it was fantastic autumn weather for it on Saturday night.

It was actually my second time at the fair that day. My mother and I went up at lunchtime. I'd decided that I wanted to see what went on at the "Weiner Dog Races" because I happen to own a pair of rather speedy dachshunds who can move like the wind when either a) prey, b) squeaky toy or c) food is being offered to them.

Well, I have to say, the Dachshund races were absolutely hilarious. For one thing, I didn't realize that there were so many dachshunds around and, for another, it's nice to see that my own slightly quirky dogs are actually pretty normal for dachshunds.

They had three different heats- the puppy, the girls and then the boys. The very first race was between two rather small pups. The announcer called "On your marks, get set and go!" and then...

Nothing. The poor pups stood there. Then one of them decided to high tail it out of the little 'track' (which was really just a lightly fenced area in a car park that was probably less than 20 feel long and ten feet wide). That dog did NOT want to race. Fortunately, she was returned to the track and after a period of a few minutes, was finally enticed to her waiting owner at the other end by the offer of treats.

It was my first ever spectatoring of such a sport. In a nutshell, the dogs are taken off their leashes at one end of the little 'track' and held by a friend or owner until the "GO!" is sounded. Then the dachshunds are supposed to race to the opposite end where their owner awaits.

Some of the dachshunds got it. Some of them didn't. There was more than one that, bewildered, blinked and just sat down at the starting line. Others decided to run far away from their owners and make a break for freedom. Then there were the dogs that actually could run and they even ran in the right direction.

My favourite of the dogs was a girl named Pixie. She had a very large fluffy toy of which she was clearly very fond. All her owner had to do was show her the toy before backing up to the finish line and Pixie was ready. She had a very continuous, determined little bark that did not stop until the announcer said "Go" and then she ran for her toy. Her barking was so comical, I just loved her. She came in third, overall, I think.

My other favourite dog whose name I unfortunately can't remember, I called "Doughnut Dog." He was a dachshund whose toy was a large squeaky doughnut. Doughnut Dog was spastic. When he wasn't racing, his owner tried to hold him. Most of the other dogs were placid and quiet and sat quietly either on their leash or in their owner's arms. Not Doughnut Dog. He wriggled, squirmed, whined, yipped and finally yelled. His owner clearly had a very hard time holding his dog. When Doughnut Dog raced, he was a spaz but he was fast. When he and Pixie went head to head, it was a battle of the spazzy dachshunds and it was hilarious to watch.

There were other dachshunds who raced well. The overall winner was Fonzerelli. He was a fast little dappled dog who didn't seem to have quite as much personality as some of the other dogs.

What I did like was hearing the names of the other dogs. The most obvious choice for a dachshund's name for some owners seemed to be based on their colour. There was a Goldie, a Sable, a Brownie and a Suede and various other dogs whose names were very much suited to their names. Then there were the ones whose owners clearly had fun naming their dogs. My favourite was Leder Von Weinerstein. Yes, that was his name. When he showed up to the starting line, he was a tiny little wire-haired dachshund who seemed far less impressive than his name. There was also Reesie Weinut Butter Cup. Nope, didn't make that one up either.

Reesie did well until the finals in which he decided that he was going to switch owners and ran for another dogs treats instead. He didn't place in the top three, sadly.

Overall, it was just a fun thing to watch. Dachshund owners love their dogs and it was pretty clear that there were some other spoiled dogs there who might rival my own. The dogs seemed to have a fun time too even when they were making a break for freedom.

The rest of the fair was a lot of fun. I did get to ride the carousel again this year with my niece and we got to play the games. I also got to ride the ferris wheel with my sister, the newly registered nurse. We thought it'd be fun. Then we went up and got stuck. It looked rather a long way down and we both had a momentary attack of the, "WHAT WERE WE THINKING!" 's. Still, in the end, it turned out to not be that scary and, in fact, was a lovely way to spend a crisp autumn night.

This year, the fair seemed to be much better. I think, maybe, it was just my attitude towards it. I wasn't attempting to try to remember why I'd loved it so much as a youth but, instead, looked at it with my adult eyes and saw that it was a nice way to spend time in a small town on a lovely autumn day/night.

And I got to see dachshunds race. Next year, I think Rory and Sookie might be competers. I think if I managed to get a squirrel or a rabbit for them, they'd win without a doubt. However, I might have to use something a little less alive like, say, cheese.

All in all, the fair was a great way to spend the first official weekend of Autumn. I'm going to keep my eye out for other 'harvest festivals' and that sort of thing. They're just a great way to appreciate the beauty of fall now that she's finally here.

Happy Monday!

Awesomeness and Carousels...

It's finally Autumn. A wind has cropped up overnight that adds a chill to the air and tonight is supposed to be downright chilly. I can feel my mother- the cold-weather-hater- cringing as I write this; she does not share my enthusiasm for the fact that I will be able to switch to warmer pajamas and add more covers to my bed. The wind is supposed to be gusty today and I foresee showers of leaves cascading down from the trees.

I love days like this. I've been waiting a while, patiently through the summer, for the weather to change and bring with it the coziness of the cooler months.

While I think we'll likely have an indian summer at some point, I think today means that Autumn is here. I felt touches of it over the weekend, a crispness hidden in the breeze. Yet, while I took my sweatshirt to the fair on Saturday evening, I really didn't need it. It was warm enough with the crowds that I really only put it on so I didn't have to have it tied around my waist.

The fair itself was...anti-climactic, I'm sad to report. While it was nice to see almost the exact same fair as I remember, I realized that, overall, fairs aren't my favourite thing ever. Maybe they were once but now I'm an adult, there are far better ways I'd rather spend my money and my time.

However, it was nice to go back for the first time in several years. It was especially fun because we met my sister's family there and she has a three-year-old daughter. Going to the fair with a three-year-old gives you a new perspective. For example, I did get to go on a ride. My niece favours the carousel. That ride, to her, is safe and thus...approved. Apparently, at one of the last fair-type places she went with her parents, she went on a train-ride for kids and it traumatized her. The carousel, however, is not traumatizing. It is, in fact, "AWESOME!". I know this because I got to be the 'responsible' adult who went on the ride with her to hold her on the pony and make sure she didn't fall. As the carousel turned, we both yelled, "AWESOME!" every time we got to a certain spot. We also waved at her parents/grandparents as we passed then. I admit, it was fun, if a little dizzying.

My niece is also a bit of a, um, gambler, it seems. The Street Fair has a game called "The Mouse Game." Maybe you've seen it. Maybe you haven't. Basically, it's roulette only instead of spinning a wheel, a little mouse is dropped out of a box and scurries into a hole marked with a number. When you play, you get to select a bank of three consecutive numbers and mark them with a quarter. If the mouse scurries into a hole marked with one of your numbers, you win.

My niece loves this game. I thought it'd be fun to play. I admit, however, I do have a few reservations having watched the game. That poor little mouse. It's pretty much thrown out of the box onto the game board and it rarely gets a break. Drop and run, drop and run. I know some people don't like mice but I do. They're cute and harmless. Now, if it had been a Nutley, I might not have felt so bad.

Just kidding. Mostly. We played that game for a very long time. My niece was bound and determined to win her stuffed pink monkey. So we all gave her quarters. We all put quarters down. No luck. That damn mouse scurried into a number next to one of ours many times but never choose ours. Finally, we realize we're out of quarters and we have to stop. My niece has one quarter left and we tell her, "last time!" She puts the coin down and, lo and behold, her number comes up. She finally got her pink fluffy monkey which she immediately hugged. The toy probably cost us about $7 worth of quarters but what's that to a little girl's thrill at winning a fair toy?

It was fun being at the fair with my sister and her family but they left earlier than us. This left my parent's and I to wander around and get food. I chose the Wisconsin Cheese Sticks and I split them with my mother. I'm sad to report, they are not the greasy fried ambrosia I had concocted in my head; they were greasy sticks of barely melted cheese that fell extremely short to my memor of them. I was sad. My parents split some fried veggies but they were very greasy and sometimes that stuff doesn't sit well in my stomach. I settled on a hot dog for dinner which, I admit, is a cop out but after two heavily-fried snacks, I didn't want to push my luck.

Even the industrial tent let me down. By the time we got there, most of the tables had gone and there was no popcorn or apple dumplings to scent the air.

Ah well, such is life. I'm glad I went because it was nice to bump into some old friends and see what I've been missing. I think, perhaps, my biggest mistake was becoming such an enthusiastic Disneyland attendee during my L.A. days. I'm spoiled rotten. I'm sure in a few years, I'll adjust my expectations back downwards.

Still, Street Fair is a tradition in my parent's town. It's the first marker that Autumn is here. It's a time for the town to take to the streets, to mingle, to brush shoulders and torment innocent mice. It's a tradition I've missed, even if it wasn't everything I hoped and more. Sometimes there's something nice about the fact that things don't change, that the fact that the fish sandwiches are still in the same place as always, that the Pizza Hut wagon still smells ridiculously tempting with it's melted cheese and bread crust smell and that there will always be more than one place to toss a ping-pong ball into a fish bowl and win a goldfish.

And though it may not be Disneyland, in the words of my three-year-old niece, that's "AWESOME!"

Happy Monday.