Over the river and through the woods to Rhinebeck we go! With hubby, two boys, knitbuddy Shannon and fiancé in tow.

smile for daddy!

After patronizing the fried dough stand about 100 ft from the entrance, we moseyed through the barns to see our fabulous furry and fleecy friends. I tried to restrain myself from snapping a picture of every beautiful animal I saw. I was tempted by the sweetest pair of fluffy-headed alpacas, who made the funniest little whining noise (visit this alpaca farm website to hear the alpaca grunts), but it was these two who forced me to break my animal photo moratorium.

who turned out the lights?

I'm a llama in a hat

Yes, the animals and the visitors were out in their finest woolens this weekend. Of all the incredible knitted sweaters and garments that I saw, my favorite was this kid's sweater. The juxtaposition of fine handknitting and large harvesting equipment just tickled me somehow.

a perfect ensemble with matching hat and camouflage pants

The boys' favorite thing at the festival was by far the big slide, which they did about thirty times.

up, up and "again?"

And the big boys? They drove out again on day two for the big event: punkin' chuckin'! Trebuchets, catapults and pumpkins - how can you not love that?

that little dot at the top is the pumpkin