Thoughts on the Common Ground which concluded Sept. 23, starting with the mundane. Above are photos of some scenes on Sunday.

Signage was better this year, and motorists didn't get lost. The parking operation was much more organized, and it was easy to get in and out.

Single admission was up $1 to $10, but that is doable. The food prices were reasonable, too, with my crabmeat sandwich on a whole wheat bun costing $8. It was huge, tasty, and worth the cost.

The tent hosting wildlife adventures was most interesting to Your Scribe, but I don't plan on any winter camping along the St. John River in February. It's incredible to watch canoes being built out of wood, though I still say the plastic-composite will last a lot longer.

This is one of the few organized events in Maine that has a booth lobbying for recognition of Cuba. I like that. And we should support Cuba, too, because the Europeans, Chinese and others are setting up shop there now awaiting the death of Fidel.

Those sheep dog exhibtions are fabulous, as is the team that explains the training of the dogs and their actual work in the field. The Fair, incidentally, has a no-pets rule. It if didn't, it could devolve into chaos.

I like the emphasis on bicycles but Maine will never be a bike state . . .I also liked the demonstration by stonecutters. For some reason, though, my camp doesn't have many stones for the cutting.

I skipped the wellness presentations. I tripled my life insurance last month and my subconscious told me it was all right to pursue more hedonistic activities.

The Fair is a Mecca for knitters and weavers. There were a dozen tents and booths demonstrating the material and skills necessary to create lovely socks, scarfs and sweaters. Some knitters and weavers seemed tired of answering (dumb) questions, but it was late Sunday afternoon when I observed this reticence . . .

The guy on stilts made me nervous. He was fine in the fields but annoying walking through the food lines.

The exhibition of farm animals was great, in part because the stalls and corrals were clean and manned by volunteers. Many fairs have a passive approach to cleaning up after their animals, but Common Ground had teams that monitor cleanliness.

There were numerous presentations focusing on energy, water and shelter. I picked up a Bison Pump brochure with my new well in mind (more on that another tilme), but I learned a pump would cost about $900 more. That's too much. Plus, I don't have electricity which most of the Bison units require.

Though the fair is run by organic farmers, the longest lines for food seemed to focus on French fries, onion rings and Italian sausage. Hunger can make a visitor revert to (bad) old habits.

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