My vet assistant

 Last weekend was the 4-H beef check-in day.  This is when all the young 4-H'ers bring in their new beef animals to be identified and enrolled in the 4-H beef project.  Each animal gets weighed and receives a visual ear tag along with an electronic identification tag (EID).  For animals going on to state fair or other shows, we also need to collect hair follicle samples to have for a DNA test.  The heifers also received a permanent ear tattoo that will help identify them as they enter the herd as breeding animals.

Since I am on the 4-H council, I usually help at the annual weigh in event.  Nate wanted to go along so they put him right to work.  His job was to assist the vet in collecting the DNA samples and matching the envelopes to their ear tags for verification purposes.  He did a great job of getting things organized and I'm pretty sure he learned a lot.  He was also allowed to apply ink to some of the tattoos and learned how to properly tag and tattoo an animal.

I'm proud of him for wanting to learn new things about our beef industry and I'm thankful for awesome volunteers that are so willing to work with our young 4-H'ers to teach them along the way.  Dr. Jamie was super patient and took the time to explain the "whys" of all she was doing. 

4-H is full of teachable moments and it takes a tremendous amount of volunteers to make the most of them.  You'll notice there are no ribbons or shows in this post.  4-H is about so much more than that.  I can only hope the youth, volunteers, and supporters continue to focus on that!!

A girl and a horse

There are few things in life that can match the bond between a little girl and her horse.  They can share secrets, a good cry, a hug, or a long talk.  I've seen Ally and Paige do just about all of this since the horse has come to live with us and I sometimes wish I'd have had that same opportunity as a kid.  I have no regrets though because it makes me appreciate these moments all the more.  I can see the life lessons we're all learning and wouldn't trade it for the  world.

Here are just a few things we've learned lately...

If you stray from the path, it's ok to let go of the reins.  Your best friends will always lead you back home!

Your attitude flows directly to those around you.  If you want others to cooperate, you'd better show them your're a team player! 

It's ok to spend $70 for a new pair of shoes every 6 weeks...

Never run when you can jog. Never jog when you can walk. And never walk when you can stand still.

Love those who love you back, especially if they give wet, slobbery kisses!

No matter what... always have fun.  The friends you make along the way are worth more than any ribbons or trophies you'll ever receive.

What have you learned from your horse lately?!

Nine year olds and jigsaws...

I know it sounds like a dangerous combination, but with proper supervision, it actually turns out to be really cool.  Ally really wanted to do some woodworking in 4H this year so I started searching for beginner wood plans on the internet several weeks ago.  I found some boring basic plans that would work but then I came across the perfect plan... a vintage step stool!  It didn't look too hard so we decided to give it a shot.  The plans came from Ana White.  You can find the step by step plans here.

Here she is with all her wood supplies before she made the cuts.

Measure twice... cut once.  At least that's what my dad taught me.

She had a little help but did a great job with the power tools!

Sand Sand Sand... then sand some more!

And when you get tired you grab the electric sander!

She needed a little muscle from her dad to help put all the wood screws in!

The FINAL product!!  She did two coats of paint and distressed the edges to get the "vintage" look she was going for!!

I know we haven't practiced math facts like we should have this summer, but looking back on this project I realized we did fractions, math, measurements, and problem solving without even realizing it.  And I got a new jigsaw out of the deal so everyone is happy!!

Time for a hair cut...

4-H fair time is fast approaching and it will soon be time to give the show calves a hair cut!  We recently had the chance to attend a Kirk Stierwalt clipping and fitting clinic.  It was a pretty intense 3-day educational seminar covering everything from hair care, clipping, equipment, feeds and nutrition, showmanship, daily training and routines, and much more.   

It was a great hands-on clinic for the kids and their families.  Ally got to try her hand at clipping one of her heifers.  Luckily, Nila stood real still and didn't seem to mind the 6 hour hair cut!  Pretty sure I couldn't get any of the kids to sit still for that long!

There were about 18 families that came from 3 states to learn from the Stierwalt family.  It was yet another opportunity to make friends all over the country!  The best part was watching the kids learn about livestock and how to market their project.  It's not so much about the clipping and fitting, but about teaching them about what goes into raising beef.   

These kids know how to have fun and how to get the job done!

Fair Daze... Part IV - The Bike Rodeo

When you hear "rodeo" in this part of the world, you think bulls and cowboys and bucking horses and lots of ropin'. So when I heard so much about the bike rodeo these past few years, I was envisioning some crazy kids ropin something or other while trying to stay upright on their fancy BMX bikes. Which of course is exactly what Nate-Dawg does on a regular basis around the farm, except he has a Wally World version of the BMX bike... and an ice-cream bell attached. So.... when 4-H enrollment time came around last spring and the kids just had to do the bike rodeo we had all heard about, I figured why not. How bad could it be?

Turns out it had nothing to do with ropin and wranglin stuff.  They just had to ride patterns around cones and do straight lines as fast as they could and as slow as they could without breaking pattern or falling off.  Come to think of it, it was a lot like the horse show!

Ally on her hand-me-down recycled bike.   Complete with ice cream bell to warn the dogs to get out of her way!!!

Why do those helmets make them look like little aliens?!

If you look close you can see the little wood boards they have to ride between and go as slow as possible without falling over!

Turns out country kids seem to be better than city kids at riding bikes in funny patterns.  Must be all the dodging pot holes and rocks and dogs in the driveway.  Paved sidewalks and streets are BORING.  Give 'em a hay bale and a board and they turn it into a jumping ramp.  Creativity and athletic ability all wrapped into one!  Anyway, both kids participated and had a great time with their friends.  They also walked away with more ribbons.  What do you do with all those ribbons anyway??? 

Fair Daze... Part III - Nate-Dawg Style

Nate isn't old enough to be in regular 4-H but at least he gets to particpate via Clover Kids.  This year he did the bike rodeo (another post coming), cookies, flowers, and a poster on caring for his dogs.  He has been extremely patient this year following us around at Ally's activities but I know his 8th birthday can't come soon enough so he can show horses and cattle too!  I'm sure it will be here before we know.  However, I might just be too tired to do it all by then!

Ribbon from the bike rodeo.  He kicked butt!

At the fair with his cookies!  They were delicious!

Here he is with his poster on caring for his dogs, Lexi & Trapper!

Another ribbon for his flowers and homemade container.  He also took some flowers to the open class and got a purple ribbon!!

Fair Daze... Part II - Girls and Guns

I know... it sounds dangerous, doesn't it??  When I asked Ally what projects she wanted to take last spring, one of the first things out of her mouth was "Shooting Sports"!  This is odd because a) we don't own a gun, b) neither Gail or I shoot anything, and c) I expected her to say "baking cookies". 

Being the supportive, open minded parents we are, we said no sure of course you can! First step was safety training, next step was BB gun purchase, and third step was practice practice practice... all of which we did about 2 wks before the contest!  She did great and it was fun for Nathan to do too.  We spent several nights together out shooting targets in the back yard.  They had to shoot 4 positions... prone, standing, kneeling, and sitting.  They get 10 targets per position.  Boy did we learn a lot!  I think we might just do it again next year!! 

I have to give the county and the volunteers credit for the program.  There must have been 30 kids shooting that morning at the fair and I think 20 of them were beginners.  It was fun to watch them and they all had a great time!!!

Loading the gun... one BB at a time!

Practicing in the sitting position.

Checking out the results!!

Shooting at the fair - kneeling position.

Some of the kids waiting on results!

Ally and two of her friends showing off their targets and ribbons!!

Fair Daze... Part I - The Cattle Show

Things are still a zoo around here with trying to recover from the fair and also cramming two months worth of activities into the remaining 9 days before school starts!  I have LOTS to brag about from the county fair so it might take a few posts.  Allison did an awesome job with her first year of 4-H and Nathan had a blast participating in Clover Kids (pre-4-H) for the first time too.  These are just a few shots from show day.  All the 4-H kids worked so hard all summer getting ready for the big day.  I'm proud of all of them!  Hopefully I will get more posted soon, but this will have to do for now!  We're off to a bridal show in central Kansas today!!!

Here she is with Nila.  And for those of you that know cattle, Nila is only 1/4 Hereford. The rest is Angus and Simmental!

Ally and Rocky.  They don't get any cuter than this!!!