Ranger Maddie

Today was a red letter day for Maddie! Brian took the day off from work so they could go to Saratoga Spa State Park and help with fish stocking. In the end there were so many people she only got to stock 1 fish! Both of them still had a great time though and have plans to go back next year. However they have to be there earlier Brian says! While that wouldn't have mattered as far as the amount of fish to stock it would've shortened the wait time considerably. 45 minutes to wait for 1 fish!

Heading out with lots of hot chocolate!

In the evening we went to help another 4H club with cloverbuds make nature journals. That was a lot of fun because they were very enthusiastic and the parents were all hands on helping and paying attention to their kids not their phones! 

When their journals were done Maddie passed out a color hunt from Mud Puddles to Meteors and took the kids on a nature walk around the nature trail in the park. I had told her we were going to do this but I don't think she fully realized what that meant until we all looked at her and said "Lead the way!". Her eyes lit up and off we went. 

Here she is teaching the kids an easy trick to identify a white pine.

Want to know the white pine trick? WHITE=5 letters if the bunch of needles has 5 in it then it is a white pine! Pretty neat, isn't it? 

That was a long, fun, and happy day for Maddie Grace! Today its back to the schoolwork.

Washington County Fiber Tour

Today Maddie and Brian agreed to go along on a couple of stops on the Washington County Fiber Tour. First we went to Alpacas of Haven Hill and met the alpacas. They have 19 on their farm along with horses and dogs. They also have a cute little shop where they sell items made from their alpaca's fleece.

Brothers! They just got done hitting each other about the neck and decided to look innocent. 

I could not resist this guy with his teeth. 

The girls! They liked to pose for the camera.

Our next stop was St.Mary's on the Hill Cashmere Goats. Not only did we meet the nuns but we also met another group of 4H kids. 

This made Maddie's day! 

Another one I couldn't resist! Snoozing upside down. Its hard work entertaining all those people when you are only a few weeks old.

This guy refused to look at us.

This one put up with Brian and I for a minute then went over to nuzzle and lick Maddie to get her attention. 

This little guy worked really hard and finally got into the feed box.

Our last stop was the Battenkill Carding and Spinning Mill. I didn't take any photos but the machines were really neat! We got to see the process of taking a fleece, cleaning it, carding it, spinning it and making it into yarn. It was a lot of fun. Even Maddie and Brian had fun and we might do more next year!

District Public Presentations

Today was the big day for District Public Presentations. This included about 6 counties and many kids! Maddie not only presented but also was a room host. Her duties for that included greeting the presenters, making sure they got set up OK and introducing them to the audience. She did great not only as a presenter but as the room host too!

introductions

Setting up and presenting

Here is the video of her presentation! Enjoy!!

Yarn Along Outside!

I wish I had time to knit outside today but the day care kids will not allow that! It was a beautiful day though and I couldn't resist taking the pictures outside next to a pumpkin that has sprouted itself in our yard! Squirrels + leftover Halloween pumpkins=pumpkin sprouts I guess!

I am working on my Little House shawl and loving it.

I just finished The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate and am now reading The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate at Maddie's request. They are wonderful stories and make me think of Maddie all the way through.

What are you knitting and reading? Anything sprout in your lawn unexpectedly?

Linking with Ginny at Small Things.

Lovely Sunday

Ahhh..the weather is beautiful outside! On top of that we managed to get all the chores done yesterday! So off we went to the Indian Kill this afternoon for a hike. Maddie took her camera and got some good shots too! Brian also explained to Maddie how to stop and take a heading with the compass so she would have some of that under her belt before Forestry Camp next month. We spotted skunk cabbage, coltsfoot, a large plot of Japanese Knot Weed (an invasive plant), nuthatches and chipmunks. Maddie and Brian thought they spotted a kingfisher but I happened to be taking a photo of the coltsfoot and missed it!

coltsfoot

skunk cabbage

skunk cabbage

taking a heading! 

Hiking Sticks...4H Style! .

Tonight we met with our 4H group to make hiking sticks. The kids were really excited and had a great time. One of our parents offered to cut saplings for the kids to use and I brought things to decorate them. The nice part is the kids can keep working on them as much as they like and will be able to enter them in the fair this summer.

I love how all the sticks came out different. There are different woods, different heights, different decorations. Lots of fun! Now we must plan a hike!