Off to the Panhandle!

We made it to the Panhandle yesterday in fear that we would meet with a tornado, as all we heard was that there was a possibility where we were heading.  On top of all that excitement, we also had to sadly leave behind one of our 4Hers due to illness.  We left a little later than planned but it was most likely a good plan.  We did have to face rush hour traffic driving through Dallas and even got caught up in a race car stadium traffic.  I must say we were glad to arrive at our hotel destination.  We picked a hotel with an indoor pool so the children were able to swim after the long 8-hour drive.

We woke up this morning and headed to one of the state parks, Caprock Canyon.  A very helpful park ranger (Le'ann) was able to take us around to find many of the plants that will be on our contest.  It was so nice to have someone from the area guiding us and learning with us.  The only plant along the way that really stumped us was the Sumac Little Leaf vs. Wolfberry.  We think we found the sumac but still in search of the wolfberry.  We will continue to look tomorrow.

We loved having a picnic lunch and then taking a hike into the canyon.  The 4Hers enjoyed wandering the canyon and finding new hide away spots, as well as high locations that made this poor mother scared to death.  There were also some great wildlife finds, like butterflies, frogs and tracks.  But most of all a snake in one of the cracks.  Knowing that this is rattle snake country at its peak season, I told the 4Hers (and their curious siblings!) to move away but they did manage to take some pictures.  Thankfully it was the non-venomous coach whip, however we did not know this until we showed the picture to the park ranger after our lunch break.

 

We then met with the park ranger again for a review of the plants and even found  few new ones.  Le'ann also shared some of the legends of the canyon as we made our return trip through the canyon.  We had thought we would only spend a couple of hours at the park but it turned out to be the majority of the day.  A great experience!

I cannot forget the interesting insect we found right before we left the park.  Due to our trip to the Panhandle, we had to miss our Entomology group insect collecting, so I wanted to be sure to let Mr. Joe and Mr. Kevin know that we did manage to collect a few insects by camera while we were away.

Tomorrow we will find another area to see how well we have retained the information.  There were so many pictures and I knew I would never be able to identify all the plants by the time I got home, so we had a review of the day by labeling the plant pictures.  I did not realize I had taken almost 200 pictures!!!!  We are all worn out and most are sleeping soundly as I type.

Oh...and the tornadoes did go through Oklahoma as predicted but the worst this area had was hail and strong winds.  And the winds were definitely powerful.  I am surprised the younger ones did not blow away.  Praying for those who lost their homes and also that the weather holds so we can enjoy the next two days.

A Week in Review

It has been a busy 4H week but I have not taken a lot of pictures.  I decided to post just so I would not forget all of our fun even though it might not be of much interest for most.

Last Monday, we had an Entomology meeting and the boys learned about different orders:

Dermaptera
Isoptera
Psocoptera
Phthiraptera
Hemiptera
Thysanoptera
Homoptera
Neuroptera
Coleoptera

I had to pull Sean out early so I could get him to the monthly County Council Meeting.

Then we had a parent meeting on Tuesday to discuss next year.  Our long time, much loved Club Manager will be leaving us next year!  Her youngest is moving on to college and that along with family obligations are taking her away from us.  We will miss her terribly!  So, we talked about a new manager.  As much as I would like to take this on, I know I am not the right one for this job at this time.  We then found that another mom will be taking the position.  Brenda, we look forward to a new adventure with you as our leader!

We also discussed our club end of the year event in May.  This is the night we review the year and give out project awards. We will be having a potluck dinner and it looks like it will be a formal event!  This should be interesting...more details to come!

This was followed by a Share the Fun practice.  I watch the 4Hers as they try so hard to get it all together.  I hope we can make this happen in the next 3 weeks.  I am sure you will hear more about this as the event gets closer.

Yesterday was another Monday of Entomology learning about the following orders:

Mecoptera
Trichoptera
Lipidoptera
Siphonaptera
Hymenoptera
Acari
Araneae
Scopionida
Solifugae

Then Monday evening we went to a meeting to learn the new format for record books.  As I begin to help the boys put together their books, you will hear more about this.  Let me just say that it is a hair-pulling event in the past.  In the end, record books are helpful so we go through the pain each year.  I hope these new changes and my blog will help us get it together this year.

Today we are had another Share the Fun practice.  We are hoping to work on props so it should be a fun evening!

Always trying to 'make the best better' even on those ordinary days!

Fishy Business!

If you have been following my blog then you know that we have really been gearing up for our next contest.  This one is a State Wildlife contest in West Texas.  We woke up before the sun this morning to get to the university Native Plant Center to up with a van that was going to Athens, TX.

This all day field trip was part of a program through SFA and Texas Parks & Wildlife-Nacogdoches Naturally.  Kerry was our guide for the day.  Her husband Jim joined us as well.  We were also joined by David and Joseph.  We were heading to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center for a tour and some fishing.  We had a nice college student, Josh, as our driver.  He happened to be a Wildlife major, so I asked him a ton of questions about his experience.  He was very nice to talk to along the way.  I learned a lot about how his future career really does relate to our projects.  It is always nice to know that what we are teaching the 4Hers is true to its purpose.

This was important to us because in part of our contest there is a possibility that the 4Hers would need to identify a Texas fish species.

When we are arrived, we were amazed at how pretty the facility appeared.  I guess we were just expecting a bunch of holding tanks with fish.  Instead we found ourselves a very nice park that also had large fish tanks that were designed like the native surroundings.

We began a walking tour around the grounds.  We were especially impressed with the VERY LARGE catfish.  They were as large as Brendan!  We also saw the most amazing fish that would open his mouth wide to feed...the paddle fish!  This creature already looked funny with its long flat snout, but watching it feed was incredible.  It looked as if its jaw was off its hinges.

We were then treated to short video followed by a dive presentation.  The diver talked about the various fish as he fed them in a large tank.  I loved that he talked about the 'bully' of the tank as he had to continually knock it back away to allow others to feed.  He talked about the different eating habits of the fish as he fed them also.  The 4Hers especially enjoyed watching the live fish being fed to the larger fish.  One of those little guys managed to stay in the tank for several minutes only to be chased by a larger fish and being eaten by a medium size one!  Poor fishy!

Then we had a shuttle ride through the fishery to see the different steps to the process of producing fish for ponds and lakes throughout Texas.  We were told that a 1-acre pond at the fishery would hold up to 125,000 fries!  That is one crowded bathtub!  All water in these holding ponds were from the Athens Lake.  However, the water is filtered and recycled back into the lake when ponds are drained.

The day had been somewhat overcast so it should have been no surprise that it began to rain.  It all worked out for the best because we were under a pavilion having a picnic lunch.  The skies cleared as we were cleaning and then we were able to take a nice walk through a wooded trail. Jim spoke to the group about the different plants and animals discovered along the way.  We even walked past a pitcher plant bog!  Yay!...I finally was able to view this plant and it was in bloom which made it even better!

We arrived in time to grab a fishing pole and bait to fish on the stocked pond.  This is a fish and release system set up for likely success rate for the youth (and adults).  Only one of our group caught a fish-Henry!  Unfortunately, I was not able to get to him in time to take a picture.  I imagine the fish will get bigger the more he tales the story like any good fish story!  A pleasant way to end our tour.

A special thanks to Kerry, Jim, Josh, and all the other college students who made this a memorable moment.  I am so thankful to have the opportunity to learn with hands-on activities!  By reaching out to the community and helping us have these opportunities you are a great example of 'making the best better!'

Mastery of the Grasses

Today we gathered for last official practice before heading off for West Texas for our Wildlife contest.

We have been in this project for eight years and have gone to the State contest at least 5 times (maybe more...can't keep track).  Every year we kick ourselves for not learning the grasses.  Every year we vow to learn them for the next year.  Every year we fail in our attempts.

It really comes down to time.  I have never really taken the time to sit down and look at the differences.  It is one of those moments we have all had at one point or another...they all look the same to me!

Well, that was until today!  I think we might have figured it out.  I studied the book of grasses I found, including the parts found on a grass.  I then thought about how I would describe each variety of grass, especially looking for details that make them different.  Here is what I discovered about these plants:

Broomsedge Bluestem:  stiff stem with little brooms attached to the top of the stem, decided the tufts coming out of the seed pods reminded us of dust bunnies left in the broom after sweeping (Hey, no one said we were being scientific here!)

Johnson grass:  crown of seed pods on top of stem with somewhat long spikelets. (rhizome root system)

Kleingrass:  crown of seedpods on top with beady seeds (knotty base that extends out before going up)

Little bluestem:  taller than expected given its name, longer brooms coming from the top of stem with long spikelets (fibrous root system)

Plains Bristlegrass:  tall stem that is capped with single stem of beady seeds (fibrous roots)

Rescue grass: seed pods branching out from stem in clumps (fibrous roots)


Ryegrass:  alternating seed pods going up either side of tall stem rhizome roots)

Sideoats grama:  seed pods only grow to one side of the stem with wavy stem (either single or rhizome roots)

Switch grass: crowned with seed pods branching out from stem, pod looks like the W in its name

Texas Wintergrass:  crowned with seedpods branching out from stem with long wispy spikelets

Vine mesquite: (I did not even know it was a grass until I found it in my grass book!) tall stem that droops with beady seed pods along tops, only specimen on our contest with obvious stolen rhizome root system

Wildrye:  reminds me of wheat, so easy to distinguish from the others.

That was what we did with most of our time.  We were able to review all the parts of the contest (a few changes for this contest).  We especially reviewed the land management techniques.  Very different from what we have learned in WHEP, so I hope 4Hers do not get confused with two contests.

It was a great practice.  Maybe we will have some informal meetings before we leave.  I know the boys and I will be practicing a lot in the next two weeks.  trying to make our personal "best better."

The Contest Missed

For the last eight years, we have added another project to our list of fun-Forestry.  It is easy to get involved in a lot of projects if you have a lot children who like different things.  Or, as in my case, children who love ALL projects.  However, to avoid complete burn out of this 4H mom, I told the boys they really needed to pick and choose carefully and only 3 projects.  So thankful that my boys do like most of the same fun, or even with this limit I would have had 9 projects to enjoy!  No one has that much time!

Forestry was the hard one to cut.  No one at my house really wanted to take it out of our busy 4H weeks.  However, the decision was finally made due to conflicts in other activities.  I am sure that is why I sat watching the trees today as the light rain came down thinking we were missing something today.  Then it hit me like a lightning bolt...today was the Forestry contest!

For those of you who do not know about this project, it is a very good project to introduce youth to the forestry industry.  The participants must be able to learn several skills to determine quality of lumber (mainly pine but hardwoods as well).  The 4H website describes it well:  "The forestry project stresses general forestry knowledge, tree identification, insect and disease identification (national level only), compass & pacing, and judgment about land management decisions."

So, when afternoon came around and I knew results would be in, I started calling around to find out how our 4Hers fared at the contest.  I finally got the call in a few minutes ago.  Our teams did not place in the top so would not move on to the next level.  I am sure they worked hard.  I know they had a lot of young newbies in the project this year and the new leader of the project (Wanda) was a great instructor.

In spite of the team not doing well, we did have one 4Her who did excellent.  David placed high point individual for 4H and overall (this is a FFA contest and they are judged separately).  He is our Senior this year and I know he works extra hard to understand the information and skills of the contest.  The best part for him was that he was eligible for scholarships this year.  He was awarded $3000 in scholarships for his outstanding performance today!  I am so proud of him!  Great job!  You represented us well.

So, although we did not participate in this project, I could not end the day without a shout out to the Forestry group. I hope you enjoyed it for all of us.  We were there in spirit!

A Show of 4H Fun

Well...we started out with a mess...two 4H events going at the same time.  However, we figured out a way to make it work.  I don't do this often but we split up and went to both projects.

I dropped Sean and Henry off at a Share the Fun practice.  Thankfully, they were planning scenery and I would not have been much help anyway.  I went to the County Fashion Show to take pictures and judge the entries.

The Fashion Show is fun at the county level because we try to have it at a nursing home.  It gives the 4H members an opportunity to give back to the community.  It also allows to have an audience for the members t practice presentation.  We also try to provide food for all involved.  I arrived in time with our vegetable tray to watch the set up.  It was nice to sit back and not worry about outfits for a change.  I took pictures of the county team create a Wow! Window.  In this contest, a group (or individual) creates a shop window to attract customers.  The team did a great job of creating a county fair theme.  On the day of contest they will have 90 minutes to set up their window, so tonight all adult hands were eliminated giving the 4H members a chance to practice set up.

Since I was a judge, I was called back to look at a new contest-Taps, Tassels and Tacks-Shoe Fun.  The idea was to design and create a shoe related to a certain theme.  This year the theme was Stars, Stripes and Clovers.  There were some very creative shoe designs.

I also judged the fashion boards.  These are created to present a themed clothing design.  This year's theme was Clothing Around the World.  This fit right in with Brianna's outfit, which was a specialty creation from Czech Republic.  We also had an entry from Rozalinn for an India design.  Both girls worked very hard to create their fashion boards.

I finished judging these categories just in time to watch the Fashion Show.  They started our show with our sweet little Clover Kid, Valerie.  She created a cute cupcake apron for herself and her doll.  I loved the way she walked down the lane with her doll cuddled in her arms.  She also did a great job answering our questions after the show.  I love working with the little ones.  Everything is so fresh and new!

Next was Brianna in her beautiful Czech creation!  She did a wonderful job of walking the lane.  She also did the best job for the night answering questions for the judges.  I loved her costume.  It reminded me of our days in Germany.  The girls still wear the tradition dress on special holidays or town celebrations.  There is a lot of symbolism behind all the colors and frills!

Treyton was our only Senior this year.  He had a costume as well, marching out in his General MacArthur costume.  He has kept his military hero theme going all year.  It all started with our Share the Fun skit.  Then he used it for a themed food contest earlier in the fall.  Now he showed off his costume in the Fashion Show.  It makes me think of how easy record book time will be for him if he keeps the theme going.

Rozalinn stepped out in her spring outfit.  She had a cute sun dress with jacket.  I loved the material on the dress and the rickrack really set off the dress for a unique look.  It looked so nice and crisp with the seams so perfect!  She has learned so much about the interview process from this project and her food project.

Jasmyne came forward in a black semi-formal with rhinestones.  She looked so beautiful!  This is her first year to participate and she did well.  It is hard to stand before three judges for the interview.  There is still plenty of time to practice.  All the 4Hers worked hard to be ready for our local show.  I am sure they will all represent our county well!

When I picked the boys up, they told me all about the ideas for the scenery.  It sounds like we are going to have simple decorations.  Since the idea is to honor the flag through out the skit, the main focus will be on the flag.  Each character will be in the costume portraying their historic figure and the background will not change.  The idea is a young man questions the importance of the flag to an older gentleman.  So they are siting on a park bench in front of the county courthouse.  The historical characters will come out in costume with props that relate to a scene with the flag.  Hopefully, we can continue this idea as we continue with practice throughout the next month.

We all have a lot of work to do to get ready for the District Round Up.  Looking forward to seeing all the hard work bring fruitful results.

How Did I Get Here?!

Sitting in the Entomology class today, I could not help but ask myself this question.  Ten years ago, I never would have imagined sitting in a classroom learning about insects!  That is what 4H has done to me...taken me in places I never dreamed of going...LOL!  However, I am happy with turn of events...my boys are learning about something they love.  They will appreciate these little creatures more now that they know what they are looking at when they go out in to the woods or in our yard.

Today, the boys learned about the different types of metamorphosis.  Did you know that all bugs do not mature in the same way?  There are three types of metamorphosis:

No metamorphoshis (egg, immature, mature):


Incomplete (egg, nymph, adult):



Complete (egg, larvae, pupa, adult):


They also learned more about the structure of insects and arachnids.  I was lucky to remember that insects were divided up into three parts, but the boys need to know a lot more.




And then they began their adventure into the different orders of insects.   This week they learned about the following orders:

Thysanura (silverfish)
Ephemeroptera (mayflies)
Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)
Plecoptera (stoneflies)
Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets)
Blattodea (roaches)
Mantodea (mantids)
Phasmatodea (walkingsticks)

It is amazing to me that the boys can learn all these orders.  However, it is even more amazing that they can spell the orders!  They have to spell correctly for the answer to count.  They also have to know the kind of mouth parts and if the insect is beneficial.  Pretty amazing!

And to think we would never have had this adventure if it were not for 4H.  So glad we are able to give the boys these opportunities.  An added bonus today was being able to see praying mantis egg sac.  It was really cool!  Thanks again to our leaders!

Also, Sean did a great job of reviewing our last class.  He and I put together a crossword puzzle with clues from last weeks class.  He gave out the worksheets at the beginning of class and then he gave out the correct answers at the end of class.