Must See TV: 2 Stars Are Born

  It would appear that our virtual Embryology Experiment went rather well this year.  Not only that our last two born, which happen to be our first two ducks every incubated, have become famous.  Besides their social media following, and virtual following, Morrison and Thurston Howell, III find themselves in the local paper.  Way to go guys!  Special thanks to Jamie Baxley who thought this was an entertaining story.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

  The following article was written for the Robesonian and Robeson Journal for print this following weekend.

As I write this, it is 40 degrees outside, but by the calendar, spring has started, so I have the Beach Boys playing to keep me in a summer mood. It may seem a little too early to talk about summer and all the fun we can have, but in all honesty, by the parent calendar, we may be a little late having this conversation.

Of course, every program offers different summer opportunities for your child, and you want to find what fits their interests, your budget, and everyone’s schedules.  Here at 4-H, we offer an array of fun and (accidentally on purpose) educational programs in a small and nurturing environment.  Our day camps have no more than 20 youth (several less than that) and are reasonably priced, especially when you realize the cost includes lunch, two snacks, supplies, and all admission for any outside activities we do.  Compare the cost of one week of day camp to a week of day care or babysitting and you’ll see a savings.

The one camp that is a little different is our overnight camp.  We take 60 youth to Reidsville, N.C., for 6 days and 5 nights. While there, the campers swim, rock-wall climb, hike, horseback ride, zip line, learn about archery, and much more.  The cost for this camp, which includes transportation, lodging, meals, snacks, and all activities (not to mention a 1 to 6 ratio of counselors to campers) is $400.  That price tag is a little shocking at first, but imagine if you went camping at a camp ground for a week and had to provide your transportation, meals, snacks, and activity fees (for more than 40 activities).  By the time you add it up, you would see this would be one heck of a deal.  Thanks to our partnership with United Way, we are able to make this camp more affordable.  Without their help, this week of camp would cost well over $500 per child for the week.

Some programs even offer youth a chance to inadvertently step outside their comfort zone.  For example, our Junior Master Gardener Program will hit something they like and something new.  This week-long day camp includes animals, science, cooking, games, and even a national certification when they are done.  Our Cooperative Extension staff will join together to offer hands-on fun for these youth, and when they are done, they will have knowledge that no one can take away from them for the rest of their lives.

So parents, I would encourage you to check out all the incredible summer opportunities out there for your child and help build a summer calendar for them they will remember for the rest of their lives.  For more information about our 4-H summer programs, you can come by our office to pick up a brochure (455 Caton Road, Lumberton, NC 28360), download it from our website at robeson.ces.ncsu.edu, or contact Shea Ann DeJarnette, Extension 4-H Youth Development Agent, with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Robeson County Center, at 671-3276, by E-mail at Shea_Ann_DeJarnette@ncsu.edu, or visit our website at http://robeson.ces.ncsu.edu/.  North Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University commit themselves to positive action to secure equal opportunity regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, sex, age, veteran status, or disability.  In addition, the two Universities welcome all persons without regard to sexual orientation.

Loud and Proud

  It is not unusual to say 4-H members are loud and proud.  Sometimes during various programs we might even say too loud and proud.  However during 4-H County Activity Day, there is no such thing as too loud and proud, as more than 40 youth registered to compete at this event and almost 30 qualified to move on to District competition.
  You could cut the tension in the room with a knife as our judges came in to the battle ground.  In Public Speaking we ended up with 10 competitors.  Speeches ranged from The importance of Agriculture to Hair Styles, and even various sports.  Those moving on to District Competition will be in 9-10 year old age group, Jada McKinnon of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club; in the 11-13 year old Division Marquita Baker and Lashod Baker of Voices in Praise 4-H Club; in the 14-18 year old division, Michicko Hill of the Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club and Shantasia Baker of Voice in Praise 4-H Club.   Others who competed included Taleek Harlee, Laci Rozier,  and Kyleigh Smith.
  The presentations were also stiff competition, but interesting topics.  Everything from horror makeup to how to play softball, and even the power of positive thought.  Below is the list of competitors, their topics, and clubs.

In the non competitive cloverbud (5-8 year old) division:
Camri McKinnon, How to Make a Fruit Smoothie, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Christopher Walters, A Daily Workout Demonstration, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Ava Monroe, Gymnastics, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Alyssa Monroe, How to Make a Smoothie, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Adara Smith, How to make Playdough, Spiritual Generations 4-H Club

In the 9-10 year old age division:
Tacomah Hair, How to make a Smoothie, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club

In the 11-13 year old age division:
Alicia Monroe, How to Play Softball, St. Pauls 4-H Pony Club
Maggie Underwood, Gause Rifle Physics, Dirty Rascals, 4-H Junior Master Gardener Club, All Around All Stars 4-H Arts and Crafts Club
Brooke Canady, Special Effects Make-Up, Explore NC 4-H Club, Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club
Laci Rozier, Spinach Dip, Explore NC 4-H Club, Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports Club
Jordan McKinnon, Turkey Char-grill, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Aaron Johnson, Deflating a Football, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Nadia Bennett, Cheerleading, Spiritual Generations 4-H Club

In the 14-18 year old age division:
Meagan Butler, Horses, St. Pauls 4-H Pony Club
Alex Evans, Dyslexia, All Around All Stars 4-H Arts and Crafts Club, Dirty Dozen 4-H Shooting Sports 4-H Club, and Dirty Rascals 4-H Junior Master Gardener Club
Jaylyn McNair, Turkey Char-grill, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Chenilin Hill, Thinking Positively, Inspirational Youth Leaders 4-H Club
Jamal Bennett, Electrical Engineering, Spiritual Generations 4-H Club

Those who placed first or second in their age division will have the opportunity to move forward to District Activity Day which will be held at Lenoir Community College in Kinston on May 14.

Gardening by Headlight

  The Dirty Rascals really did it this time.  They got down and dirty all for some savory rewards later.  This month the club's meeting centered around building a raised bed garden.  That's right, they built in just under an hour with the help of club leaders a 4x10 raised bed garden.  As the volunteers started cutting lumber the members laid out newspaper as weed control under their bed.  The news paper will help kill the grass and weeds where the bed will sit, and will allow drainage for what is eventually planted in the garden.  Newspaper is also biodegradable, so they members are recycling while being considerate of the environment.
  After the paper was laid down it was time to learn how to use power tools. That's right power tools.  The members took turns attaching the bracing for the garden with screws and then helped attached the boards together making the rectangular walls of their raised bed.  Then it was time for some serious maneuvering as we laid out edging, flat, to make a grass and weed barrier around the outside edge of the garden, and to help protect it from lawn mowers and weed eaters.
  Once the volunteers determined it was a square (or lined up) as it could be it was time for the hard dirty work.  We emptied lots of bags to top soil, potting soil, and cow manure with compost, into the frame.  We wanted to make sure we have a mixture of soil that is fertile, but not too dense since it is essentially in a container.  The sun was setting quickly so one of our volunteers turned his truck around so we could garden by headlight.  The members worked hard at mixing all the different soil types together and layering it out to settle.  When we got down we had just the right amount of soil for our garden.
  Putting down our outside tools it was time to go inside and get the seeds started so we would have something to plant in our garden in April.  After going over our plans we realized our popcorn and radishes would be planted in the ground.  Our cucumbers won't take long to come up so we decided to wait on planting those seeds.  So that left our tomatoes and green bell peppers.  We started sowing our seeds in the Aero Garden seed starters.  This is our hydroponic garden that we have at the office that lets us start seeds in a safe nurturing environment then we can transplant into our raised bed garden outside.  We planted green peppers, mortgage lifter tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and big boy tomatoes.  We can't wait to see which ones work best.
   We do want to give a big shout out thank you to the Robeson County Master Gardeners' Association.  They helped fund our raised bed garden which will be used as a teaching garden at the Cooperative Extension Office.  We also want to say thank you to Lowe's Home Improvement that gave us a discount on the items we needed to build this garden and we will be back for the rest of the items we will need soon.
  At our April meeting we plan to start our seed and transplant our tomatoes and green peppers.  We may have extra, if you are interested in buying one of our starter plants for $2 please let Mack Johnson (Mack_Johnson@ncsu.edu) know and your money will go to our club efforts.  If you would like more information about this club please contact Wendy Maynor, 4-H Program Assistant, at Wendy_Maynor@ncsu.edu or (910) 671-3276.

 

Can You Feel the Egg-citment?

  We are very happy to say second and third grade embryology are back in Robeson County classrooms.  About 20 classrooms currently have incubators and eggs, working hard to hatch chicks this year.   This is during round 1 we will have a second round that has 30 classrooms signed up also.

  However there is something special about this year.  Not only are there incubators in classrooms, but we also have a live virtual feed.  If you would like to check in on the eggs you can click on this link (or paste it in your browser):  http://ustre.am/1uNJp.  You can see us turn the eggs at 8:30, 12 and 5 pm weekdays.  Our eggs will be hatching the week of March 20, and our ducks (yes this one and only incubator has ducks) will be hatching about 5 days later.  So tune in and catch some breaking news!

Arts and Crafts Prepping

Today was the monthly meeting for the All Around All Stars 4-H Arts and Crafts Club.  This was not your typical meeting.  Instead of being just crafty this group got a chance to practice their presentations and work on the artwork for that.  Alex Evans, a senior competitor in the group, is working on a presentation on Dyslexia.  She practiced her presentation, received feedback from the group that included teen helper Megan Hurst who has 13 years experience in presentations and what it takes to have a gold medal.  By the end of the meeting the group felt a little more confident about the competition that is coming up on Saturday, March 12.
For more information
about this club please contact the 4-H office at (910) 671-3276 or Wendy_Maynor @ncsu.edu.

For All of "Those People"

    Sometimes you are milling around on the internet, or possibly even Facebook and come across something that rings so true that you must share. Although this holds true for all our folks who work with not only horses, but also animals, I dare say it also holds true for all our 4-H Families, who are working hard to make great kids and great memories along the way.
    Please note we are sharing this from Life Behind Ears blog written by Sinclaire Dobelbower an agriculture communications student at Texas Tech. If you would like to read this article directly from the source, Life Behind Ears, please click on the link and enjoy.

An Open Letter to “Those People” At Horse Shows

MARCH 2, 2016 / LIFEBEHINDEARS

PHOTO BY DEANNA BUSCHERT

Dear “Those People” at Horse Shows,

You know who you are. It isn’t hard to pick you out from the crowds. I see you in the warm up pen. I see you in the bleachers. I see you at the trailers. I even run into you in the hotel lobbies from time to time. In the last few years that I’ve been around horse shows, I’ve become pretty good at picking you people out.

I see you, people who work full time and still make it to shows on weekends. You are worn out from a week of balancing responsibilities, yet you’ve still made time to ride and take care of your horses every day in preparation for this show. I see you sacrificing your hard-earned weekend to spend it on the road doing what you love while you secretly are jealous of the people who just get to do this for a living. I see you sacrificing your much-anticipated paychecks to feed bills, entry fees, and vet visits. I see you telling yourself that it will all be worth it, and I want you to know that it is. Don’t let anyone tell you that what you do is only a hobby just because it is what you do on the weekends. You’ve got more dedication and perseverance than you realize. Don’t forget it.

I see you, parents of show kids who dedicate your time, money, and weekends to making a dream come true for your children. I see you keeping track of class orders, wardrobes, and pieces of tack. I see you working as chauffeur, lunch maker, scorekeeper, and videographer. I see you exhausted from the ups and downs of the weekend and still making sure the horses are taken care of and the kids are all accounted for. I see how you want nothing more than for your kids to do well, but don’t forget about the memories you get to make with your children during this. It may seem tiresome and expensive now, but you will look back on these times someday and be so grateful for it. Your kids will thank you, too.

I see you, novice and amateur riders who are new to this whole thing and you feel like everyone knows it. I see you trying to navigate your way through the barns looking for wash racks and warm up arenas. I see you trying to figure it all out on your own, but don’t be afraid to ask for help. You will thank yourself for meeting people at shows, and you will be amazed at how it will pay off in the end through connections and friendships. Don’t let the intimidation of being a beginner keep you from having fun. Your journey is just beginning and you need to be soaking up and enjoying every second of it.

And I see you, show veterans. You’ve made a name for yourself in the industry and you are pretty much celebrities at shows. I see you sporting your show shirts covered in sponsorship patches. I see you tearing up the Open division on your expensive horses you bred and trained yourself. I also see everyone looking up to you. You are a role model for all of the young and amateur riders. How you handle yourself when you win – and when you lose – will make an impression on everyone who looks up to you. You set the standard for the industry, so the way you walk, talk, and how you treat your horses are important.

So to all of “Those People” at horse shows, keep doing what you’re doing.

Sincerely,

The Ones Who Notice