If you’ve ever felt your heart race in a show ring or measured your summer in ribbons, you already know: The county fair isn’t just an event, it’s a way of life.

It was just a normal Tuesday, no real wrecks had yet been had, when a woman called the office, said her pooch was feeling bad.

I’m never completely comfortable in an urban setting, but on this day, I seemed to be more unsettled than usual. Perhaps sensing my growing angst, my wife reached over and placed her hand on my knee.

Even though the storms often command life’s stage, it’s the time between those storms and how we honor their lessons where growth quietly takes root.

I’m far from a social media “influencer,” and I really have little desire to ever become such, but I must admit that I do enjoy some aspects of the whole, mostly inane spectacle.

Turns out, keeping cows inside a questionable fence is easier than keeping grammatical errors out of daily conversations.

The days hadn’t yet warmed up enough to encourage the white crystals to transform into a liquid state and speed down the mountains to refresh the valley below.