Monday, September 29, 2008

Give back to the Lowell Ranch

CALF is asking for help at the Lowell Ranch:

"Hi,
We all have enjoyed the gift that John and Bea Lowell have given; their property to use for the furthered agricultural education for all of us.

It is now time for us to give back to John and Bea.

CALF is hosting a work day, Saturday, October 4, 2008, 8:00 till completed.
Our Harvest Days Barn Dance is only two weeks away, October 11, 2008, and we have some sprucing up around the ranch that needs to take place...

Please let me know if you plan to attend and I will give you more details.
Thanks... "

Leah Braton
Executive Director
303-688-1026 Land line
303-525-8678 Cell phone

Friday, September 26, 2008

Help needed for Western Region 4-H Leader’s Forum

The state office is asking for support for this event. Here is their plea:

"WRLF needs your support! Colorado is hosting this event next February but we need your help now. The planning committee has a $20,000 fund-raising goal to help offset the registration fees for volunteers attending the event. WRLF only comes to Colorado every 13 years and we’d like to invite 4-H clubs, councils and foundations to join us all in financially supporting the event. If all our clubs could contribute $10 - $25 and councils contribute $50 - $100 we would be very close to meeting our goal. Please support our Colorado 4-H leaders with WRLF. Thanks!
― Dale Leidheiser"

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Get to know the 4-H staff: Mary Baldwin

Just when Mary thought I had forgotten about this series, I accosted her this morning and extracted some of her life story for our reading pleasure.

Mary was born in Wauseon, Ohio and raised in Fayette in the same state. She's lived in three other states including Michigan, Kansas, and Colorado. She and her husband of "many" years, Gary, have been back in Colorado since May 2005.

They have two children, Melissa and Katie. Melissa is married and lives in Wichita, Kansas. She works as a medical technologist specializing in genetics. Katie is a world traveler currently attending Purdue University in Indiana. She plans to move to Washington DC in January with her new husband to work for the USDA.

Mary has a unique and interesting work history that includes her own craft business, working in unemployment insurance, taking notes for an eye doctor during patient visits, teaching english as a second language, and working as a postal worker in a small town where she gained a reputation as the speediest worker they'd ever seen! Also, she and her husband and his bothers currently own a business located in Cherry Creek.

In the old days, Mary used to love to go water-skiing. Now she loves to go fishing and is an avid reader.

Favorites list:
  • color: blue
  • food: calamari
  • movies: The Searchers, Pretty Woman, Miss Congeniality, Star Wars, and pretty much anything with Harrison Ford in it
  • Surprising fact: She's been "frogging" before in search of that delicacy, frog legs. While she had a lot of fun, no frogs were ever captured.

And so there you go - that's all three of the current 4-H staff! We'll get to know the new agent as soon as we can here on the blog.

Friday, September 19, 2008

CALF Harvest Days, BBQ, and barn dance

Perhaps our volunteer organization can support this volunteer organization and attend CALF Harvest Days, Barbecue and barn dance. This annual event is scheduled for Saturday, October 11, 2008, from 4:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m.

There are many family activities to choose from: live dance music, pumpkin patch, hay ride, draft horses, corn box, petting corral, stick horse rodeo, Mountain Men demonstration, and face and pumpkin painting.

Harvest Day Activities tickets: Adults $8.00, 12 and under $4.00. Over 90 and under 3 free.

Harvest Day Activities tickets to include BBQ Dinner and Barn Dance: Adults $20.00, 12 and under $10.00, over 90 and under 3 free.

The Lowell Ranch on Plum Creek is located at 2330 South I-25, 3 miles south of Castle Rock on the East I-25 Frontage Road.

Contact CALF at 303-688-1026, 303-525-8678 or CALFinfo@aol.com

The generosity of 4-H families is unparalleled....

Really - I always brag about the Douglas County 4-H community. And so I thought of you all when I read about a problem in our local communities.

All the food banks in our county are running very low, and in fact, this is a common theme this year.

In an effort to help, all DC libraries are waiving library fines in exchange for non-perishable food items from Monday, September 22 through Monday, October 20.

Food banks are most in need of boxed dinners, pasta, rice, and canned meats. Drop off these items at the Bookmobile or at any of the library branches.

To see the original story, go to http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/News/About-Town/Story~523315.aspx.

Thank you!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Invite your non-4-H friends to our Shooting Sports Day Camp

Shooting sports has grown by leaps and bounds here in Douglas County. It's a fun and educational project, and we're working hard to spread the word that this is a project kids can do no matter where they live in Douglas County.

A hands-on Shooting Sports Day Camp has been arranged for kids not already in 4-H to attend. It's on October 11th.

Please take a look at this press release for more details and then tell everybody you know! http://denver.yourhub.com/Franktown/Stories/Goings-on/General/Story~522312.aspx

Monday, September 15, 2008

New kids' cooking show produced in Denver

I've noticed that we have quite a few young cooks here in 4-H. There is a new kids' cooking show on local television called The Kitcheneers. It's on Comcast Channel 8 on weekday mornings at 7:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. It's hosted by a seven year old and is aimed at kids 6 - 12 years old. The focus is on education youngsters on foods in a fun and entertaining way.

I have not checked out their website, but I wonder if there's a way for some 4-H kids to be part of the show, or at least the audience (if there is one). If you want to check it out, the website is http://www.thekitcheneers.com/.

For the full article, go to http://denver.yourhub.com/Parker/Stories/Goings-on/General/Story~521156.aspx

4-H goes to Highlands Ranch Days

Every year, the Highlands Ranch Community Association hosts a popular event called Highlands Ranch Days where they focus on the western heritage of that area. Believe it or not, Highlands Ranch used to have lots of, well, real ranches. They always invite 4-H to have a booth there.

This year, we displayed several poster boards, some projects like a cake showing cake decorating techniques and an entomology project, and hosted a craft project relating to rocketry. Pretty soon, Mary and I decided we were in the wrong line of work after we opened the very popular 4-H Tattoo Parlor and then did nothing but that for hours and hours! Lots of kids went home with the 4-H clover logo emblazoned on their faces.

We also had several animals on display including friendly sheep, show chickens, rabbits, goats that acted more like pet dogs, and Cocopuff the miniature horse. This is one sure way to get people over to the booth. Kids can't be stopped, so parents and teachers come along and then we rope them in with all the great things about 4-H. Several people signed up for more information, and we're hoping SOMEBODY will be interested in starting a new 4-H club in the area (please, please, please - with fingers crossed).

A big thank you to several 4-H families for volunteering to help by bringing animals and patiently teaching the public all about them: Bramwell, Collins, Weinroth, and Goodson. We also had help running the booth and craft table from Stacia Bodnar, Lisa Stead, and Elizabeth Roth. Many thanks to all of you.

Come back next year!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Have you missed us?

Hello! It's been a little slow on the blog this week. The main writer, Melody, has been out of the office to attend to family matters and the other writer, Mary, had to hold down the fort because Kathe was gone on vacation at the same time.

So what can you look forward to next week? New pictures from Highlands Ranch Days added to the right column; a posting on how HR Days went; a new poll IF I can get it to work correctly; any other new or updated information I find as I go through emails; any community headlines that may be of interest.

The week after that, we'll get to know Mary in the "getting to know the staff better" series. I know, I know - I promised it would happen this week, but circumstances prevented it from getting done.

Thank you for your patience about the uncharacteristically slow blog.....

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

4-H quilters, check out this Castle Rock quilt show

For those interested, there is a quilt show in October in Castle Rock called "A Harvest of Quilts."

"A Harvest of Quilts" offers exhibit and demos. The Castle Rock Quilt Club and Philip S. Miller Library present "A Harvest of Quilts" from 9 am to 5 pm, Friday, October 3 rd, and 9 am to 3:30 pm, Saturday, October 4 th. The exhibit is free and is designed to contribute to the community's knowledge and appreciation of the art of quilting.

For more details, please go to this story on yourhub: http://denver.yourhub.com/CastleRock/Stories/Goings-on/General/Story~516135.aspx

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

4-H'ers, you could ride to school with an NFL player

CSU sent this info to us, and we're passing it on. How cool would it be to arrive at school in a limo with one of the Broncos?

The NFL Take a Player to School program is a joint initiative between JCPenney Afterschool and the National Football League centers on inspiring youth to make the most of their in-school and afterschool time by making smart and healthy choices and by setting goals and working to achieve them. There is no purchase necessary and the program is open to all kids ages 6-13.

Between July 28th and September 29th kids can pick up an entry form at any JCPenney store or go to jcp.com or NFLRUSH.com to register (no purchase necessary). Thirty-four lucky students from around the country will have the opportunity to ride to school with an NFL player in a limousine and join him in leading their class during a special Take a Player to School gym class. The players will share personal experiences with the students and emphasize the important roles that academics, health and fitness played in turning their dreams into reality.

CALF hosting two more tours of Lowell Ranch

CALF recently conducted a tour of Lowell Ranch, but if you missed it, there are two more tours scheduled: Thursday September 4 at 9:00 a.m. and again Friday September 5 at 5:30 p.m.

Here is your chance to see what the Lowell Ranch is all about.

If you have questions, please contact Leah Braton at 303-688-1026.

32nd Annual National Youth Horse Leaders Symposium

Announcement from CSU:

The 32nd Annual National Youth Horse Leaders Symposium, presented by the American Youth Horse Council (AYHC), will be held on March 27-29, 2009 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The University of Nebraska will host the event.

The 2009 event boasts more than two-dozen internationally and nationally respected presenters assembled to share their keys to successful youth horse programming and horse management. Attendees will find resources, referrals, and networking to improve their ability to Help Connect Kids Through Horses. A weekend program for teen leaders is always a favorite bringing youth participating in many different horse disciplines and breed activities together to learn leadership skills and effective horsemanship techniques.

The Symposium will again include a variety of presentations including live horse demonstrations, roundtable sessions, and classroom presentations on a variety of topics.

For more information go to: www.ayhc.com, call 800-TRY-AYHC or email info@ayhc.com.