This contest is now closed. Congratulations on your free tickets, Beth and Lauren!

A couple of years ago, a friend of mine went to the Mother Earth News Fair and came back saying she was going to be a beekeeper.

Her neighborhood is full of lawns that are sprayed with neonic-packing “yard care products,” so she asked a friend if she could place the hive out on her property, a spacious lot a few miles away in an area without an HOA agreement. They talked about it. Someone ordered bees and acquired a hive. Now it’s attracted a community of new beekeepers. But my friend is not one of them. Along the way, she let it go.

That’s okay. Even though she’s not the one with a white suit and a shelf lined with jarred honey, there’s a new hive on her side of town because she learned something and decided to explore it.

It’s inspiring to know that when we don’t quite make it, when our intentions end up to be loftier than real life allows, change can make a way forward anyway.

It’s a relief, actually. I’m the queen of unfinished business. We need a new fence: the slats on our lichen-covered fence are so brittle, you can snap the tops off with your hands. The living room we painted six years ago needs a touch-up, even though we still haven’t put a first coat on the interior hallways. This year I finally let go of the vegetable garden and filled two of the beds with perennials. At least I can try to keep up with pruning and watering a few culinary herbs.

I mention all of this because next weekend, I’m going to the Mother Earth News Fair myself, for the first time. I was offered a press pass in exchange for writing about the event on the blog. I’m excited to find out about all the possible projects…and also a little worried. What if I don’t have time to build my own solar panel after all? What if I’m ready to fill the basement shelves with jams and stewed tomatoes but, in the end, it remains a repository for dusty wine bottles?

That’s okay. Something else might stick. I might take on a project a year from now. A reader might be inspired to convert her lawn to a native garden because of my impressions. You never know.

The folks at Mother Earth News have also offered to send two readers and their guests to the Fair!

Here are the rules. Visit the Mother Earth News Fair site and check out the offerings. If you’d like to win a pair of tickets to the Puyallup event ($60 retail value at the gate), leave a comment on this post, noting which workshop or speaker intrigues you most. I know WordPress can be a bear when it comes to commenting. If you’re having trouble, here are two more ways to enter. Like my page on Facebook and leave me your comment there or follow me on Twitter and tweet me (@jennicrain) about it. The contest closes at midnight this coming Wednesday, May 28. That’s just in time for the May 31-June 1 Fair. I’ll announce two winners, who will be chosen at random, on Thursday. Please only comment to win if you live close enough to attend the Puyallup Fair and plan to go. If winners don’t respond within 24 hours, I will choose a new winner at random.

See you at the Fair!

A note on the photos: Our yard is blanketed in pink. Pink blooms serve as mulch around stones on the short path beneath the horse chestnut. Stand on it, next to the pink rhododendron, and the buzz of bumblebees is so loud, you can feel it.