Bless the Dogs/A Border Collie Treasure

In late September I headed up to the Eastern States Exposition (locally called the “Big E) which is essentially a state fair for the six New England states held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Most New England states abandoned their own state fairs some time ago. Connecticut ceased having its state fairs in Danbury back in 1981. The old state fair grounds are now a large indoor shopping mall. At least they pay some homage to the old state fair with some nostalgic photos near the food court. Aside from that there are no remnants of the old fair save in the memories of old fogies like me.

Much of what is at the Big E is the same tacky tchotchke that one finds at most state or county level fairs. There is, however, an avenue of state pavilions. Each of the six states has a building made to resemble their statehouses. Inside the building are booths filled by state businesses and crafters. The craft booths are mostly a step above what one finds through most of the fair. The Vermont pavilion, for example, features maple syrup and maple candy. Of particular interest to me is a booth staffed by some relatives who own a specialty chocolate shop in the Vermont town of Bennington. I do not think I am particularly biased in saying that the chocolate they sell is out of this world. Other booths sell woodcraft, pottery, and other crafts that are a cut above.

Not far from the avenue of states is a section of historic buildings labeled “Storrowtown”. During the fair a number of craft booths are there as well, also selling upscale crafts. It was there that I spotted a porcelain sculpture of a border collie that I just had to buy.

The sculpture opens up as shown on the right into a small storage compartment. When I bought the item I discovered an additional surprise: a small pendant inside.

I have an idea where to display the main sculpture, but am unsure what to do with the pendant. Perhaps a Holiday gift to some border collie person? Hmmmmmm…….

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On October 7, in honor of Saint Francis of Assissi, the Catholic church in Glastonbury held a blessing of animals. This was the first time I know of that such a service was held. Could it be because our new pastor is a dog owner himself (with two dogs, Harry and Oliver)?  I of course had to bring Olive. I would like to say she was well behaved during the service; that would be a bit of an exaggeration. She was friendly to other dogs, but barked as the pastor was giving the blessing and seemed to want to run around and socialize with the other dogs.

I had some difficulty handling both Olive and my camera. On the left is a general shot of some of the dogs there to be blessed. On the right was the best photo I could take of Olive while being blessed. Well, this was her first visit to church. Does it make Olive a Catholic dog?