Calgon took me away!...Well, not really Calgon more like 4-H took me away!

You know how life can sometimes interfere with things?  Well, life interfered with my 1st attempt at a blog.  4-H, summer, livestock, county and state fairs all seemed to push this to my back burner for awhile.  I talked with my friend Lisa who blogs over at Grassy Branch Farm (I am totally jealous of her AWESOME blog by the way!) who has given me the inspiration to try this again.  I just have to sit down and write, even if it is just a few words to tell you about our day.

WOW, what a summer it has been!  We finally got the fair under our belt.  Sheep, hogs, and chickens that were so carefully taken care of were all on display.  But that's not all...woodworking, veterinary science and a conservation project called "Let's Explore the Outdoors" were also.  Some of Austin's accomplishments included 2nd place breeding sheep showmanship, 1st Intermediate chicken showmanship, 6th hog showmanship, Grand Champion crossbred hen, Reserve Champion crossbred rooster, 3rd overall Berkshire hog, Best Intermediate woodworking project (he made his hog showbox) which also was a state fair representative,  Best Vet Science project which also went to state fair.  He also received Outstanding 4-H club environmental officer, along with our club receiving Outstanding 4-H display booth and the Silver Club award.  He was also on the safety speaking skit team of 4 from our club that won both county and districts and got to participate in the state contest their 1st time ever doing it. We are so very proud of him and his accomplishments.  He is already starting on projects for next year.  We just turned the ram out with the ewes so we will have babies in the spring for projects! 

Here are a few pictures from this year's fair.
 

During all this fun activity we also installed a new pool!  It was great to come home to after the fair and cool off with family and friends.  Now to start landscaping around it.  I would like to turn it into my own little Key West in my backyard.  Plus we are adding some new chicken friends to our little farm.  Patrick ordered Austin some new bantie chicks to add to his collection for his birthday and a friend gave him a silkie rooster.  He has already been raising 2 little ones in his room that were hatched in the coop 2 weeks ago.  That boy sure does love taking care of and raising his animals.

Well, that has been our summer in a nut shell so far.  Hopefully, I am on the right path to keep on blogging and things become more interesting.  Lisa, I may be calling you for assistance!!! =) 

Thanks everyone for reading and have a wonderful day!