The Simpler Things in Life

Hello Everyone,

If you drive through rural Pennsylvania during the fall someone somewhere is harvesting corn or getting ready to.  Just recently my family has been in the process of getting all the corn harvested, before deer season of course.  It becomes a family affair, Dad is on the tractor, my brother and pap have the dryer running and were filling the bin.  Then there is me, I either end up keeping my younger cousins out of the way or running errands for the men. Fun Fun!!!

Loading out corn

The council team had the amazing opportunity to meet with Sectary of Agriculture George Greig and tour the Department of Agriculture.  My personal favorite part was seeing the rabies portion of the veterinary lab.  My mom being a vet and all I have seen my fare share of rabies cases in her office. It was really neat for me to be able to see where they end up after she ships them out.

Our cool lab coats!

The holiday season brings out a lot of hustle and bustle.  Everybody says you should stop and smell the  roses along the way.  Well it wasn't actually roses!  Thanksgiving morning the most beautiful sunrise appeared.  The barn has always been a peaceful area for me and that sunrise made it so much better. 

This sunrise made me thankful for so many things, thankful for my family that has supported me through everything, the place I call home, and for getting to live my dream day in and day out.  This picture might not be everyone's paradise but is sure is mine.  

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays maybe because of all the delicious food. I have two thanksgivings every year one with my dad's family and one with mom's.  Anybody could guess that I eat a lot in one day, you can't just turn down tasty food.  I can't forget to mention Black Friday.  For the ones out there that spend hours and hours waiting for great deals and standing in lines and huge crowds, I give you props.  I waited an hour for one tablet smashed up against the people around me and that was enough shopping for me.  

Deer season is around the counter, I'm almost ready to spend Monday morning sitting in a deer stand freezing my butt off.  I hope all the hunters have a safe and successful season.  

The holidays are here so enjoy some time with the ones you love.  

Happy holidays and happy present wrapping,

Megan Anderson 

  

Signs of Winter

Hey again all!

November is drawing to a close quite quickly. Christmas break is right around the corner, but I would like to take a moment and remember all the excited things that happened in the month of November!

1.   I went to Disney World with my high school marching band. It was a 22 hour bus ride and raining in Florida, but it was a good closing to my senior year in band! 
2. I got to tour the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture with the amazing state council team and learned so much of the "behind the scenes" work that goes into food safety and other agriculture related subjects.
3.  One of my cats had four kittens. Let's be honest, who doesn't like a tiny ball of fluff. 
4. Thanksgiving! I was able to see so much of my family and enjoy the best meal of the year. I had so much to be thankful for this year.
5. My 18th birthday was also conveniently on the same day as Thanksgiving! Which meant tons of delicious food and now I can buy lottery tickets what more could a girl ask for!
6. The first snow fall! Although this happened when I was in Florida, I am a sucker for the first snow fall of the season. I can't wait for a white Christmas.

All in all November was an amazing month full of fun surprises, but also very busy! I can't wait for the Sharing and Caring season of Christmas to come around! I'll update about my December journeys soon!

Happy Holidays!
Kaitlin Rogers

P.S. Here is a sneak peak into Cinderella's Castle! 
                         

Thankful

Hello Pennsylvania 4-H!

As Thanksgiving just past it is of course the time of the year where we think about what has happened this year and what we are thankful for. This year I am thankful for many things, first of all my family's health. I am so thankful that there minimum trips to the hospital this year. Being selected to serve on Pennsylvania 4-H State Council is definitely one thing I am most thankful for.

Being on State Council allows me to be apart of many opportunities not many 17 year olds are able to be apart of. Just two weeks ago I toured the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and learned about the multiple amazing agriculture opportunities Pennsylvania is apart of.  After that tour I came hoe and barraged my family and friends with "did you know facts about Pennsylvania".

I am also excited that I got the opportunity to teach other 4Hers in Bucks and Delaware County about what it means to be a leader in your clubs. I was able to work with Lydia Lion to teach these 4-Hers about other opportunities in 4-H! I am so thankful for the all the opportunities that I have been given and will be able to experience in this coming year.

Forever 4-H,

Alexandra Adams
2013-2014 Pennsylvania 4-H State Council Vice President of Internal Affairs

My 4-H Life!

I joined 4-H about 8 years ago! Im so glad that I am involve with 4-H because without it I wouldnt get the experience that I have now. Ever since I joined 4-H I made alot of friends. I also show animals for my fair which I love doing. I have been showing animals for about 6 years and I am going to miss it very much. I show pigs, goats, lambs, and this year I will be showing a cow for the first time so I am very excited about that. I joined 4-H because my sister was involve with it before I started getting into it. I have been attending to a lot of 4-H events every year, which is so much fun because I get to meet new friends from different county and also learn about leadership skills, team building, public speaking, and the one most important thing is parlimentary procedures. The events that I went to was State Leadership Conference, TAC, and also Teen Day Away. This past summer I decide to go to State Days to get into 4-H State Council. I was really nervous that I wouldnt get it, but guess what I did get in and I am so happy about that because I get to meet important people that is involve with argiculture. I am going to miss 4-H very much! I will showing animals at the fair, my friends that I made through 4-H, and all of the fun and important experience I have learned throughout my 4-H life!


Divya Reitz
New Reporter

I Mustache You A Question...

But I'll shave it for later.

Badum tisss.

Hey guys, now that I've gotten my lame No-Shave November joke out of the way, lets get down to business (to defeat the puns). Wow that was terrible wasn't it?

Anyhow, It's time to get cereal with this.

November has come, and its about to be gone so let's recap. On the 18th I talked at my counties Recognition Night about my experience on Council, and I think it went splendidly. I talked about all the things we'd done so far and all the things still to come. I invited them all to consider Capital Days and SLC and State Days, so helpfully the crowd from Franklin will be, well, an actual crowd this upcoming year.

On the 20th we toured the PA Dept. of Agriculture and met the Secretary! It was a very exciting building, and we learned a lot about what the Department did. The etymology was really cool if slightly terrifying. We saw a GIANT beetle with leathery wings and a very large locust. Like Biblical plague type locusts, although I've been reassured that these type won't be swarming any time soon. Whew.

On a more personal note, we've already put up the Christmas tree at work! I was the one who got to set it up in our lobby actually! T'was very exciting for me. I felt a little bit like Santa Claus to be honest.


Here's looking forward to Christmas,
Sincerely,
Your State Council Historian,
Amber J Pound

The Assorted Occurrences of November

Hello again Pennsylvania 4-H!

This month was quite eventful and still is (which I'll get to later)! A few weeks ago on November 20, all met at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in Harrisburg. The first thing we did was that we met with the PA Secretary of Agriculture, George Greig. We talked with him about what kind of life he grew up with, different aspects of his job, and what he's working on right now with his job. 

The Council with Secretary of Ag, George Greig!

Then we went and toured the food safety, plant, and vet laboratories. The first one analyzed different grain and feed samples to see if the claims on the packages were true! Then we went to a lab that dealt with monitoring different pests and insects within our state. We got to see these huge, huge beetles that they had preserved (they were not native)! Next we went to the virology labs and looked at different equipment that is used to identify diseases. The last lab that we toured was the vet lab! We looked at room where they tested anything from live specimens to blood samples to eggs for various things such as disease or DNA!  

Us in our handy dandy white lab coats! 

So more recently there is the National 4-H Congress! That's actually where I am this very moment! Live from Georgia! So far it's been a complete blast, and it's only the third day! We kicked off Friday night with getting acquainted with as many of the 700+ delegates from across 45 states and Puerto Rico as possible! Then we had a pretty beastly awesome motivational speaker followed my a very interactive speaker (games and moving). That's a quick synopsis of the events thus far! I can't wait for what else is left to come!

Until next month then! So just in advance, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Jesse Isenberg

2013/2014 Pennsylvania State 4-H Council
Vice President of Operations

A Lot To Be Thankful For

Hi Pennsylvania 4-H!

Happy Thanksgiving! Well, happy post-Thanksgiving. Which is better than regular Thanksgiving cause the food is already cooked and you can eat leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast. 

So this month I'm going to share with everyone who reads this some things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving. Brace yourselves. 

1. My family.  This one's a given, they're pretty chill people who drive me places and feed me (which are excellent qualities).
2. Stretchy pants.  I would not be alive today without them.
3. Snapchat. It brings joy to my life to send everyone I know embarrassingly ugly pictures of myself for 10 seconds.
4. 4-H. Of course I'm thankful for it! I've given a lot of time and love to 4-H and I am grateful for all that it's given back to me.
5. Pillow Pets.  They are beautiful inventions (especially the unicorn ones).  Enough said.
6. That guy who plays Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl.  Also a beautiful invention.
7. My new college friends.  Because nobody else on this planet voluntarily puts up with my obsessive Snapchatting and freakishly annoying laugh. 
8. The Star Wars movies on blu-ray.  Without you, I would have nothing to do this Thanksgiving break.  Except homework which is slightly less important.
9. Pink lipstick.  Cause it's pretty.  
10. Sarcasm. Without which I could probably never write anything in any of my blog posts. 

I try to be thankful for the little things.  What are you thankful for?


Until next month,
Sophie Hutchinson
Council Representative

What an Exciting Month!

Well this has been one heck of a month! I've been to two different counties officer trainings, and we toured the PA department of Agriculture (how cool is that?)! We had Delaware and Bucks county officer trainings this month! It was so cool to see the members get involved and excited about their different offices, and even Parliamentary procedure! All of the members seemed to really enjoy all the activities that went with the different workshops.
The Department of Agriculture was awesome! While we were there we met with the Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. George Grieg. We also met with various different people from various different departments. The department I found the most interesting was the bug department. It was a little weird seeing all those creepy bugs, but it was pretty cool to see how many affect us in the state.
Well, that's been my month in a nut-shell.
Hope Yours was great too!!

Lydia Lion
PA4-HSC Secretary

An Exciting Month It Has Been

What a month November has been. I had such a surprise this month while I was showing rabbits at the Lebanon valley rabbit breeders show on Saturday November 9. At this show I took second in reserve in show this was a huge shock to me and the biggest award that I got at showing at an ARBA sanctioned show. In the month of November was a very rewarding time for me and to be thankful of what good parents I have they showed me how hard work pays off and that was proven to me the night of the 15 at our 4-H achievement banquet. At this event I had the opportunity to talk to all of the members in attendance from various 4-H clubs in Schuylkill County and tell them about what we do in my county 4-H is manly all livestock and horse clubs but until next month we will be starting a Poultry and also a shooting sports club. I explained how in 4-H there are people with a little or no agricultural background. Witch in our county is unheard of because we all have some sort of an agricultural background because 4-H in our county was all that it consisted of. It was nice to get to sit down at the annual PA farm bureau meeting and talk about agriculture to the Young farmer and rancher committee. We also went down to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and spoke with the Secretary of Ag Sec. Grieg. While there we also visited the different labs there and learned what they do. Now I’m getting ready to jump on a plane and head down to Georgia for National 4-H Congress I can’t wait to meet new people and learn how 4-H is in other states compared to here in our state of Pennsylvania.

Happy Holidays,
 Brendin Freeman

 

Eventful November to Remember

What an eventful November it has been!  This month I've filled my calendar with family, friends, school, sports and 4-H.  At moments I wasn't sure which way was up, but I got it done with the help of my family and some great friends!
Perry Co 4-H conducted it's Farm City program this month.  I presented for 1st and 3rd grades at Blain Elementary School.  Also November means time for Livestock Quality Assurance training.  November was also the official kick-off of my first 4-H Market Steer project with tag day.  275 days and counting until Perry County Fair!
State Council participated in the PA Farm Bureau Young Farmer Committee meeting and toured the PA Department of Agriculture office in Harrisburg. It was neat to finally find out just what they do in that building.
School is nearing the end of the first semester.  Time to really crack the books!  My school field trip this month was to a Gettysburg Ghost Tour.  I didn't see any ghosts, but it was cool to see history. Besides Wrestling season is starting - which equals aches and pains.  Go Newport BUFFS!
Farm life has it's moments of excitement too!  I went to pick up a load of hay for the goats and steer from Tyler Shaw.  No problems until the truck decided not to start when it was time to go.  Unfortunately, my dad is a little stubborn and tinkered around for three hours before calling in a tow truck.  But on the upside it gave me more time to visit with he Shaw family!
Farming also includes helping others.  This month I've put my free time to use helping a friend clean out her barn and helping another move. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wyett

Connections everywhere!

Hello Pennsylvania 4-H!

November is here yet again as it always seems to be after October! So, this month I went to something that was really new for me. The National Junior Horticulture Association Convention (NJHA for short). It was the national level for the plant science presentation ("Tree Identification") that I won with at 4-H State Achievement Days. This year it was hosted in Williamsburg, Virginia. To begin my journey to the convention my mother and I had to  make a very long six hour drive! (Meaning that my mom drove and I slept, haha). After we arrived at the hotel that the convention was held in I practiced a few times to make sure I felt ok about it. Something pretty cool was that I saw someone there that I knew! It's kind of funny because I knew her from the National 4-H Forestry invitational, and then here I was doing something with trees again and I saw her again! Small world huh? 4-H really does make lots of connections! Anyway, next day it was rise and shine early! By the time it was my turn to present I was in the zone and ready to go! So, I presented and felt like I did really well. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for the awards and had to go back home. The wait at home to find out how I did was nerve-racking! Finally, I received a phone call from my 4-H leader (who had also gone to the convention with her children) and she told me that I was selected as the Grand National Award winner in my category (which was illustrated talks)! Grand National means that I received first place in my category and the judges thought that I did such a good job that they gave me the extra title of "Grand" instead of just national. With this honor I received a $100 check and a medal! I was very excited and glad that I went. I would definitely recommend this convention to anyone who has the opportunity to go, because there are so many more things that you can do there other than just competing.

Until next month then! Eat lots of turkey!

Jesse Isenberg
2013/2014 Pennsylvania State 4-H Council
Vice President of Operations