4H, Hayrides and Birds of Prey

Yesterday, was our second 4H meeting of this new year. We are covering First Aid this year, and unbeknownst to me, I am teaching it. I thought I was just consulting and assisting, not teaching. Needless to say I felt out of sorts. The last picture is me, unfortunately. Thank goodness it was only minor cuts and scrapes. Next month is choking. The kids got their group awards, different from county wide awards in August.


Some of you may remember that last year we volunteered at the Lower Suwannee Nature Refuge. This year we just don't really have the time to do it once a month, but am hoping to get some volunteer time in there. Well Ranger Pam has a nice new shiny classroom, and today she hosted her first class, and it was awesome! First we went on a hayride and nature search, kids had a journal type worksheet to write on, down to the Suwannee River. There the kids learned about how temperature, turbidity, diffused oxygen and PH of the water, effects the wildlife that lives in the water. It was an awesome little experiment. Then back to the classroom for a Birds of Prey class. The lady that does the class has a bird sanctuary, where they rescue and treat injured birds of prey, then release them to the wild when able. She was marvelous, and the kids had a ball getting pictures of all the birds. Ranger Pam even managed to get in a small pollinator class, before the end of the day. I only got nervous once. The classroom is quite small and the birds where quite large. But, the handlers had complete control, and I was put at ease very quickly. A tiring two days, but the weather was amazing too! Now back to more traditional school the next two days. I can not wait for the next class. I don't have to do any planning or thinking, LOL!