Offer: portable radio, set of ceramic mugs

For years now, I’ve often looked around my house in despair and thought to myself, “I have way too much stuff!” Well, who among us hasn’t asked him or herself that exact question. Late this summer, I decided to see if I could do something about it.

Research on the web, among other places, pointed me to the home page of the Freecycle organization, whose motto is Changing the world one gift at a time. Here is their statement of purpose:

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,139 groups with 3,952,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free.

Briefly, the group was founded on May 1, 2003, by Deron Beal in Tucson, Arizona, and now has affiliates operating in 75 countries, which is phenomenal growth.

Fortunately for me, there is an active Worcester Freecycle group, which I’m proud to be a part of. I continue to be amazed at the generosity and goodwill of so many people in my community, and I’ve also been able to give away things that I don’t need and don’t use. So if you would like a radio, or a set of coffee mugs, or a black leather satchel, or a small cat carrier, email me and they’re yours, free!

Sterling Fair

Despite being one of the first areas of the nation to industrialize, Massachusetts has a long agricultural history, in part because it was settled by English farmers more than 300 years ago. Indeed, the native Americans also understood how to grow crops on the thin, rocky soil. Thus the annual agricultural fair is an eagerly awaited event in many of the rural or even suburban communities in our state.

In Worcester County where I live, the big Labor Day event is the Spencer Fair, which I’ve attended occasionally, but I prefer going to the Sterling Fair, which for the past 9 years has been held on the grounds of the Sterling Airport on the weekend after Labor Day. There is plentiful parking, no admission fee, and for as long as I can remember, the weather has been sunny and mild for the entire three-day event.

Today, however, was almost brutally hot (though I’m not complaining about it), and I only stayed for an hour or so. The fair has it all: carnival rides, games of skill and chance on the Midway, musical entertainment, food booths galore, displays of tractors, as well as the exhibits of produce and crafts. I treated myself to a dish of apple crisp with ice cream, admired the vegetables and flowers, bought some local honey, and visited with the animals. I liked seeing the chickens and the sheep, but my favorites have always been the cows. They are not in cages, of course, because they can be trusted to sit or stand quietly. They are huge and beautiful creatures.

In past years I’ve taken a lot of digital photos at the Fair, but this year, I brought only my old Samsung film camera with me, which is actually broken, so I felt lucky to get even these prints out of it.

The pony rides are popular with the children.Pony Ride

The food booths are popular with everyone.Food Booth

Towering above the fairgrounds is the Ferris Wheel.Ferris Wheel