Cow Palace

Weeds taking over the neighborhood baseball field. The first sighting of apples amid the peaches at the farmers' market. A shiver on a summer night that turned suddenly cool. Summer passes incrementally. Days that used to stretch wondrously and endlessly - It's 8 o'clock, and it's still light out! - begin to shorten, almost imperceptibly at first and then all at once. You think summer will never end but then, a couple of heat waves and a tropical depression later, it's over. The swimming pool, the bleachers, the gin-and-tonic no longer beckon.

Cherisse, in her quest to become Supreme Champion Animal at the Maryland State Fair, did yesterday what all competitive cows must do.She wore makeup.Squatting under Cherisse's rump with the intensity of a surgeon, one of her tenders dabbed Hydra Perfecte Concealer -- a nice creamy beige color -- to her udders. Four helpers looked on, giving advice.Nope. Wait. Over to the left. You got it. Add another touch. There.The team, led by owner Doug King, was far from finished after this quick make- over -- with only 15 minutes to go before the big competition in the dirt ring, these farmers had to give their Brown Swiss cow contestant the works.

This is said to be the year of the woman in politics, but based on what I saw in the Cow Palace in Timonium yesterday afternoon, it is also the year of the woman in pizza. The women of Poppy's Place, which is in Harford County, took first place in the March of Dimes Best-Tasting-Pizza-In-Town Contest Cook-Off. About which more in a moment.First, a question: Of the three presidential candidates, which do you think packs the pizza away?President Bush? No way. Too skinny. No zits.Ross Perot?

Model trains, not turkey, top the Thanksgiving menu for the Schumm family of Harford County. They have, for the past nine years, forgone the traditional dinner so they can treat thousands of others to a visual feast at the Kennedy Krieger Institute's Festival of Trees, which opens Friday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. For the past several months, the Havre de Grace residents have been building a massive train garden in a storefront space donated by the operators at the Perryville Outlet Center in Cecil County.

It was an ugly beginning to a beautiful All-American evening of wife-carrying in Timonium. Inside the State Fairground's Cow Palace - amid notices for the "Junior Angus Show" and "Heifer Competition" - 50 couples competed Thursday night in Maryland's first Wife-Carrying Contest. But before the teams dodged the first course cone or horse fertilizer, a radio station promotions director broke a leg after she and her partner fell at, on and over the finish line. The crowd thought it was a harmless fall.

Billy Joe Heath can picture beauty in a bovine.Making others see it takes fly spray, hair spray and sometimes a little spray paint.A cow make-over isn't easy. It also draws a crowd."Are they trying to get that cow to pose?" asks a woman watching Mr. Heath, a professional cow photographer from Silver Run in Carroll County, at the Maryland State Fair last week."They ought to charge admission to this show," comments one man.The city folk don't get it. Why are six people making a fuss over an animal that obviously doesn't give a hoof about showing her best side?

DALY CITY, Calif. -- The Washington Capitals did not score 10 goals, for a change, last night. But they were perfectly content with a 4-3 victory against the NHL's newest worst team ever, the San Jose Sharks.The Capitals headed home to Landover, Md., with eight points more than they had when they left nine days and four games ago."This is a tremendous road trip for us," Capitals coach Terry Murray said after his fourth straight win. "There was an urgency coming in, with our division being so tough and the standings being so tight, and to go home with eight points is just fantastic."

Baltimore County Police are investigating a stabbing incident inside the Cow Palace at the Timonium Fairgrounds Saturday night. Officers were called to the Cow Palace building about 6:30 p.m. for reports of a stabbing. One man was stabbed in the head, suffering serious but non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police believe the incident began during the Maryland Oktoberfest event, which was scheduled to end at 6 p.m. A second man was suffered non-life-threatening injuries after he was stabbed in the arm. Police said a third man was taken into custody and is being held at the Cockeysville Precinct.

When Jean-Luc Cornille takes the floor, he knows his 20-year-old dancing partner will wait for his cues.It's one of the nice things about waltzing with a horse.Yesterday, Cornille, a 50-year-old trainer, and Lafayette, a French warmblood, hoofed it up at the Horse World Expo, a Timonium event that offers something for both horse experts and greenhorns. The three-day indoor extravaganza at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Cow Palace concludes today with tips for riders, performances for watchers -- and a whole lot of horses.

The Maryland State Fair is expected to attract nearly half a million visitors this year. Here are ways to beat the crowds and enjoy the fair. •Plan your time at the fair by visiting the Maryland State Fair website at marylandstatefair.com and check the schedule of events. •There is parking in and around the fairgrounds in Timonium, but not enough of it. Take the light rail and get off at the fairground's Cow Palace gate. •Visit the fair after school.