Summer is half gone with the ripest curve of the season still ahead. There's plenty to do and learn – plus enjoy the peak flavor of produce grown in gardens and on farms. Enjoy the outdoors as the long hours of sunlight slip away a minute each day – the earth is shifting and the season will turn.

One of our favorite events is the Middlesex and New Haven County 4-H Fair ongoing through Sunday, Aug. 4. Stroller friendly and easily walkable, there's a full line-up of livestock, competitions, home arts exhibits, tractor pulls and more. Live music with line dancing on Saturday night. Sunday, 8 a.m., is the premier showman contest; garden tractor pull, 9 a.m.; draft horse pull starts at 10 a.m. The animal parade (fun) is at 2 p.m. in the livestock barn. Admission, free; parking is $5. The fair held in Durham is the oldest of its kind in the U.S. run by its young 4-H club members. The first fair took place on Aug. 30, 1924 in Middletown, Conn.

For an “eyes and ears” eating adventure and fair fun, try the annual Potato and Corn Festival at Totoket Valley Park and the Augur farm, Route 22 in Northford, this weekend through Sunday, Aug. 4. Potato sack races, corn shucking, hay rides, pie eating and jump rope contests, live music, tractor pulls. Food and craft vendors and a fireworks finale. Fee for parking on site, but there is a free shuttle.

The Connecticut State Parks Centennial Celebration kicked off August at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill. A “Centennial SoJourn” for a hike-bike-paddle-camp 169-mile trek (a mile for each community) launches on Thursday, Aug. 15 and continues Sunday, Aug. 25. Begin at Quaddick State Park and wind up at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport with 20 state parks stops along the way. Parks (107 of them) offer incredible diversity – mountain trails to oceanfront beaches and meadows – play an important role in providing relief and greenspace outings for a densely-populated region. They are also an economic factor, according to 2011 study by the University of Connecticut that reports that for every $1 spent on the park system, $38 returns back into the local economy. (Note: The value for social and mental well-being for humans, equines and canines is probably not trackable. Load up your family and pack a picnic – make some memories and see if they don't remember it all when grown.)

With recent high humidity and temperatures plus rainfall, insects and arthropods (I hate ticks) are breeding like, well, flies. Don't let that stop any outdoor walk or activity, just use some common sense.

Bring bug spray.

If near the shoreline when the ocean breeze quiets, be forewarned that even multiple applications may not deter the female horse or deer flies (and mosquitoes) as there are literally clouds of hungry flying biters seeking a blood meal (depending on weather and other conditions). They don't discriminate either – heading for cattle, horses, dogs, or humans. As they may have first fed on deer, a bird, rabbit, fox or woodchuck not only are they maddening, but may also serve as vectors to transfer any pathogens brewing in their tiny guts.

Be as scrupulous with sanitation at home, in camp or at the barn. Empty or stir up anything that holds standing water. Visit a feed store and ask for help with feed-through fly control, soothing shampoos, cleaning supplies – and work with your veterinarian for strategies to protect health and well-being. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station offers a plain-talk informative handbook that is available in electronic format at www.ct.gov/caes.

A special event is the Vermont Fresh Network Forum on Sunday, Aug. 4, 5 to 9 p.m. inside the Coach Barn at Shelburne Farms. Meet farmers, chefs and artisanal food producers and sample a bounty of local products grilled, braised and baked into delectable offerings by Vermont's finest chefs. To register call (802) 434-2000. Also note that the farm has a children's farmyard and a 15-minute tractor wagon ride to get to it – and more than 10 miles of walking trails that are open year-round, weather permitting.

Check in at the farm's Welcome Center, which was the original North Gatehouse for the agricultural estate of W. Seward and Lila Webb. Inside are products, crafts, books on nature, agriculture and the environment.

Until mid-October access is included in general admission, but no dogs are allowed. (Off season, leashed dogs are welcome.)

Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit education organization with a mission to “cultivate a conservation ethic for a sustainable future” on a 1,400-acre working farm. It is also a National Historic Landmark on the shores of beautiful Lake Champlain.

Notable: Reserve your spot for the next Windham Textile and History Museum Mill of the Month that will explore the Gurleyville Grist Mill site, owned by Joshua’s Trust along the Fenton River located in Mansfield. The trust owns a miller's house and land holdings in the area. The blue-blazed Nipmuck Trail crosses the property and follows the river where the remains of several mill sites and raceways may be seen. Call (860) 456-2178 to reserve your spot on this tour.