Dakota "Kodi" Wood, 7, with her 4-month-old Suffolk ewe, Quilt. Credit: Yodit Gidey/Herald

The La Plata County Fair, which started Wednesday and runs through the weekend, reminds me each summer why I love living here. It’s such a kick to see such a timeless tradition alive and thriving. And for my toddler, it’s a little paradise: animals of all varieties to pet, tractors of all shapes and sizes to inspect. See today’s story in the Herald for a schedule. The carnival, exhibits and animals are on display all day.

Each year for the newspaper I cover the “Catch-It” contest on Sunday. The competition gives 4-Hers the opportunity to score a free farm animal if they can catch it in the ring. The sight of a petite, blond rodeo queen single-handedly taking down a hefer that outweighed her by a couple hundred pounds is one I will not soon forget. Those kids are something else.

It’s summertime and kids are bored. How to entertain them? Rafting? Swimming? Hiking? Biking? No, no. More thrilling than that. A trip to the La Plata County Courthouse! Check it out …

Local children learn about the judiciary from Josh Stephenson on Vimeo.

My clan is heading out tomorrow for a reunion of my husband’s family in Meeker (of all places), but those sticking around here certainly won’t lack for things to do. Here’s the line-up:

Durango

•The Durango Rotary Club will sponsor an All-American Pancake Breakfast from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Rotary Park behind the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4031 at Main Avenue and 15th Street. Adult tickets are $9, children 4 to 12 are $5, and those younger than 4 are free.

•The Freedom 5K run will begin at 9 a.m. in Rotary Park. The event is free and open to all ages.

•The Durango Elks Lodge’s Independence Day Barbecue will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the lodge. For more information, call 247-0066.

•The American Declaration of Independence and other important founding documents will be read from 11 a.m. to noon in Buckley Park.

•The Kids to Kids Flea Market will be held from noon to 3 p.m. in Buckley Park. There will be toys, sporting goods, clothes, music and games. For space reservations, call 385-1515.

•A family picnic and barbecue cook-off will be held from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Buckley Park. There will be music, food, games and beer garden. For more information, visit www.cookmanfood.com.

•The Stars and Stripes Parade will be held from 6 to 6:30 p.m. on Main Avenue.

•A street dance will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Main Avenue. The High Rollers will perform.

•The fireworks display will begin at 9:15 p.m.
Bayfield

•A parade on Mill Street starts at 10 a.m. with live music, food, arts and crafts and kids’ activities in Joe Stephenson Park until 5 p.m.

•At fireworks show will start at dusk at Bayfield High School.

Silverton

•A 5K and 10K Blue Ribbon Fun Run will start at 7:30 a.m. in Memorial Park.

•A parade and water fight will start at 10:30 a.m. on Greene and Blair streets.

•The Silverton Gun Fighters Show is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at 12th and Blair streets.

•The fireworks show will begin at 9:30 p.m.
For more information, visit www.silvertonevents.com.

Other locales

•A fireworks show will take place at sundown at the north end of Vallecito Lake on County Road 501.

•In Arboles, a parade will begin at 10 a.m., after which there will be a barbecue with food and band at the TARA Community Center. For more information, call 883-3070.

My fondest recollections of childhood July 4 celebrations were spent at my grandmother Lucille’s in Miami, Oklahoma. My counsins and I were each given about $25 to spend at the nearest fireworks stand (and in Oklahoma, that wasn’t far). After, we’d go back to the house and shoot them off to our hearts’ content. I liked burying Blackcats to watch the dirt fly when they exloded. My brother recalls how a local police officer showed up to remind my grandmother that this activity was illegal in the city limits. She told him to start writing tickets because her grandchildren were going to shoot fireworks. She and my grandfather were pillars of the community, so she got away with that kind of thing. I wouldn’t expect such flouting of the law to get a blind eye here in Durango. Capt. Micki Browning in her column Sunday discusses enjoying the holiday safely and responsibly. Fun as blowing a hole to China was, I don’t anticipate making the same opportunity available to my kids. But the grandparents may have other ideas.

The Animas Museum on Saturday is holding an event intended to have kid appeal.

Outside the museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. a living-history demonstration will take place that will include churning butter and baking using a fire pit and a dutch oven.

Bobbie Hamilton, administrative assistant at the museum, said all the recipes are around 200 years old and the demonstration will include reproductions of what people traveling in wagons would have had with them.

The museum will hold similar events in upcoming months, every last Saturday. Themes will include candle-making, quilting and sewing. Hamilton said the goal of the demos is to get more kids interested in the museum.

I was especially intregued by the idea of churning butter. Maybe it’s the economic times or the push to eat local, but I find doing things the old-fashioned way appealling. I was surprised to learn that making butter is quite simple (OK, with a food processor — not exactly the old fashioned way). Here’s a video that shows how it can be made in less than 5 minutes. I tried it at home, and it came out perfect the first time. Though my preschooler was asleep, I’m sure the next time he’ll enjoy watching how the cream whips to a firm lather then suddenly separates into liquid (buttermilk) and a big clump of butter.

The chef in the video argues that homemade butter tastes better than the store stuff. Maybe it’s psychological, but I would have to agree.