In a world increasingly disconnected from agriculture and where food comes from, we think it's important to report the stories of life to our readers. Fairs and festivals, open farm events connect people with livestock, food, earth and the cycle of life. After all, many youngsters and their families may only see a live pig or sheep, horse or cow once a year. As fledgling humans grow up and take their place in the community, they may be the folks who shape land use issues, vote on pending legislation, and operate a business – so exposure to the many facets of agriculture is particularly important, in our opinion. (Don't even get us started on those questions about “male cows.”)

Take your family to a fair, better yet, a 4-H fair such as the Middlesex and New Haven County 4-H Fair in Durham, Friday, Aug. 3 through Sunday, Aug. 5.

The lively give-and-take at a market does something more than exchange money for goods, it seems. People talk to each other.

Life is to be savored, and that means heading out to find real things that grow, move and snort. Because, as Lincoln said “in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.”

Which reminds me of a memorable sight years and years ago – acres in bloom across a plantation-style farm on the outskirts of a city in Virginia. The fields were full of bright blue flowers, flax plants most likely cultivated to harvest and process to make linen. The farm has since gone under a sprawling mall complex, offices, commercial development.

The memory of it remains.

Worth It: The story of a farm with sweet corn, tobacco, pigs – their connections to farmers' markets, family and the Connecticut River Valley's soil.