Sunday was the 4-H Youth Dog Show. The categories from left to right, Novice meaning the owner is in their first year with working with their dog, and winner of the first place ribbon for the Beginner category is shown in left pic entrant #15. Center shows the Intermediate group taking their dogs for the run. This group has 1-2 years experience with working with their dog. Can you guess the winner of the Intermediate group? Right shows one of the advanced entrants #48. These entrants have more than 2 years experience working with their dog. Check below to see the winners of Intermediate and Advanced and the Champion Purple ribbon winner of the day! Honestly, I think they all deserved First Place!

Above are the 4-H entrants in the intermediate division where they have 1-2 years experience working with their dogs. Pic on left shows entrants #18 and #38 finishing their run with their dogs. Center pic is entrant #38 and pic on far right is entrant #18. In each division, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced, the categories the dogs are judged for are General Condition, Coat, Teeth, Ears, Nails, Posing Gaiting, General Appearance, Attitude and Poise and the owner is judged for General Knowledge about dog care. Can you guess which dog took first place? I wasn't able to pick. Both dogs looked just perfect to me! Check below to see the winner TBA!

This was the advanced group that competed in Sunday's 4-H Dog Show competition. The advanced group is for those that have had more than 2 years of experience working with their dogs. On the far left you see 2 entrants with Great Danes, in foreground is #8 and behind her is #9. Look at the size of those Great Danes! The young man #48 in the distance had the Gold Retriever hidden by the size of the Great Dane. I did manage a close-up pic of #48 presenting his Golden Retriever for examination by the judge (see top row and right pic). Center shows 3 of the entrants taking their dogs for the circle run, from left to right is #8, #9, and #33. On the right, the young lady #33, is presenting her Golden Retriever for examination by the judge. Can you guess the winner here? Check back in to see the winners of the Intermediate and Advance groups and the Grand Champ winner of the Purple ribbon (the 3 first place winners compete for title of Grand Champ) to be posted next! For right now, test yourself and see if you can pick them! Nice job 4-H Club! The dogs were all just so beautiful!

In the first pic to the left is the First Place Blue Ribbon Winner for the intermediate divisions. In the center is the First Place Blue Ribbon Winner in the Advanced division. Pic on the right shows the Grand Champion Purple prize winner with her Gold Retriever. The First Place winners from each group Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced took part in the competition for the Purple Ribbon in the Grand Championship of the day. Congratulations all! All of the contestants had beautiful dogs and deserve credit for all the hard work they have done with their dogs. The dogs were all in perfect condition and looked well loved and cared for!

Dan Grady's Marvelous Marionette Melody was a big hit with the crowd. The clown did all kinds of tricks on the tightrope, Fred and Ginger danced without missing a step and the bunny never fell as he completed his roller skating routine. Dan started out in children's theatre 27 years ago and then took a job in New York working with marionettes. He is still using marionettes he has had designed and made from day one along with new ones that he adds to his collection. Dan is from Maine and came down to Noho just to entertain the fair crowd with what he loves to do, and he's good at it!

Security guards Todd & Lynn were brightly dressed along with their crew as they kept the fair running smoothly. It's a large fair and they staff plenty of security. Todd was especially good with giving directions. Yep, the fair is over there! It was a pleasure to meet these two. They were just so friendly and helpful. Thanks Todd & Lynn.

Above is Barry Roberts providing free hay rides with two beautiful Belgium Draft horses. One weighing 2480 lbs. and the other at 2500 lbs. Wow! Barry owns Muddy Brook Farms and when not at the fair the family offers a variety of programs and services to the public all involving horses of different types. After a hay ride just a few steps away, you could jump on the saddle and go for a pony ride. If you are small enough, you can opt for the miniature horse which is pictured above. That's right this is a horse not a pony and it's way smaller than a pony!

Granny's pigs are off and running! And here's the "Granny's" Pig #3 that won the race! He's getting his prize, yes a food package. This little piggy named Elvis Pixley is as happy as any pig could be right now! Granny's pigs are well taken care of and these little piglets are about 6-8 weeks. The pigs are only allowed to race for 2 months and then they retire to a leisurely life on the farm in Florida. The fair runs every year from Friday to Monday on Labor day weekend.

Downtown is always monitored by foot patrol. On left, two officer's are walking the walk. It's the downtown foot patrol's up and down the sidewalk routine walk. Officer Allard is set up at the crosswalk in the center of town. He's checking for expired registrations and inspection stickers. But check it out, he's looking at me and it's looking like he's going to point the finger at me. Hey, I'm not expired. Maybe it's my shoe. The right shoe didn't pass the nickel or dime test for tread. Yep, that was it. "Honest, I promise to get the shoe fixed, if you let me go with just a warning". Phew, he let me off without a ticket. Gonna have to find a way to dodge him till he forgets my face. Today I learned you should never let Highway Safety see you walking in circles. On bike patrol is Officer Jiminez. The downtown is routinely patrolled by both the foot patrol and bike patrol. In the last pic, I got 2 officer's in one shot. Makin' my job easier, less walking around and it saves on my batteries. There was a big public event May 2 and it was well patrolled by the foot patrol. On left is Officer Yasutomo, and to her right is Officer McGlauflin.

I love to make up stories to go with the pics of our Officer's. The fact is, our town is what it is, awarded "Best Small Arts Town" and in the top 100 year after year because our officer's do an outstanding job. It's not easy to be a cop in Noho. NPD has high standards for it's Officer's and our Officer's keep Noho ranking high!

If you visit Northampton...I guarantee you you will have just as much fun as I do everyday. Noho is the only town I have ever lived in that I never want to leave!

To all our officers of the Northampton Police force...thank you for your dedication and service and for helping to keep this town an enjoyable and safe place.

These two ladies are returning from a fun time in downtown Northampton, and as they hit the crosswalk to head home...Boom! they quickly change their mind and their direction for a 30 second walk to the ice cream parlor "Herrell's".

Northampton is all encompassing with everything necessary to fulfill the most insatiable thirst for the ultimate social time! The parking garage is right behind the Ladies. To my right (which of course you can't see) as I take this pic is another large parking lot. Many people worry about coming to Noho, because of parking, well the parking here is way plenty enough! You just need to know how to find it, and it's easy because it's right behind the biggest marketplace in Noho,

"THORNS Market", central main street, right in the heart of Noho!
The parking garage you see in the pic has a walkway right into thorn's market and THORNS is also equipped with an elevator.