The 10th annual Maritime Hand Mowing Championships were held at Ross Farm last weekend and what a glorious weekend it was! Saturday's events included scythe sharpening and peening workshops as well lots of hand mowing tips and tricks.
Sunday was the main event, with novice classes competing in the morning and the well attended open class in the afternoon. Before the afternoon festivities, there was an excellent and delicious lunch on offer. If I heard correctly, this is a Yorkshire pig, which was roasted whole over a propane/charcoal mix. The pork rinds/cracklin's were amazing.
Roast Pig BBQ!!!
Competitors were judged on 4 criteria: Time to mow strip, width of swath taken, height of stubble (lower is better) and evenness of stubble height across the swath.
The wind was sporadic which made for a sweaty and hot afternoon. 18 people competed in the open class before a decent sized crowd of ~50 onlookers. I was surprised I did not hear the phrase, "ready, set, MOW" all afternoon. Was I the only one uttering that phrase to myself?
I wish I had taken a break from the action to see the resident cooper in action, but that will have to wait for another visit to Ross Farm.
I hope you enjoy my captures from the afternoon. Check out Ross Farm's events page for upcoming activities. This weekend's family participation days look like a lot of fun for young and not-so-young folks.
A couple young whippersnappers check out a human whipper snipper.
Attendees and competitors taking in the action.
Ross Farm Wheat. To paraphrase W.P. Kinsella , if you grow it, they will come.
A judge watches a competitor reach the end of his strip.
A wide swath!
DvL publisher and founder, Dirk Van Loon (left), chats with competitors.
