A Very Needed Update

Hello all you happy people! I think it was Droopy Dog from the Warner Bro. cartoons that use to say that. Well folks, I do indeed hope everyone is happy and doing well? I haven't had much time the last several weeks for blogging or even blog reading for that matter. I knew once summer hit that my job was going to keep me very busy. The 4-H program really hits full steam ahead during the summer months! June, July, August and September will keep me on my toes and hopping like a cat on a hot tin roof! On June 8, Countrychick and I headed up to the 4-H cabin which is located about 50 miles from our town. The cabin has been in the county 4-H program for 30 plus years. We are very lucky to have the cabin as it sits on U.S. Forestry land. The cabin is on a ninety-nine year lease and as long as we pay our permit fee yearly and use the cabin, it will remain in our program. Unfortunately the cabin has seen little use the last 10 years or so. When I got this job back in November, the cabin was on my radar for fix-up and use. Because of its location, we can't access the cabin until late May or so...hence the trip up the mountain on June 8. We met several other volunteers up there for a day of clean-up. Clean-up was an understatement.....it was more like a gutting of the place. But many hands make light work and our task was mostly accomplished in one long, hard day of work. I will say one thing, pack-rats can and will take over a building and make it their own!! The following photos are just a sample of our day.......below was the traffic jam headed up the hill.

The road winds it way up the hill switch back style. All of our recent wet weather had the hills blooming in vivid color.

Yellow was the color of the day and looked so pretty against the bright blue sky.

The cabin in all its glory! We were in the process of taking everything out of it.....pack-rats and all!

Countrychick and her mandatory cleaning mask! I would not let anyone in the building without one. By the time we left, you no longer needed a mask as the cabin smelled fresh and clean!

I was armed with plenty of cleaner and rags! These two young ladies are in the 4-H program. They worked on fixing the fence with their dad all day. I was very impressed with their ability to work and stay focused on the task at hand. They come from a hardworking ranch family and are very use to daily hard work and chores.

The views from the cabin are breathtaking! This photo was taken looking northeast of the cabin.We headed back down the mountain late in the day exhausted but happy that the cleaning task had been completed. There is a three day 4-H camp scheduled for the end of June and now they will be able to enjoy the cabin to its fullest. I did have to order new mattresses for the cabin as the old ones...well lets just say the pack-rats made short work of them.
The following weekend after the cabin clean up found me two hours from home at another camp event. Our state 4-H program holds a camp for a week in July at beautiful Lake Tahoe. I had to travel to a camp training and spend the entire day learning all of the ins and outs of the state camp program. It poured rain for most of the day and I was exhausted when I got home from driving in the torrential down pours! This past week I put on a Cloverbud Day Camp for 5-8 yearolds in our 4-H program. I had the help of my great friend FunnyFarm Lady who is one of my 4-H volunteer leaders and also my county 4-H Ambassadors helped daily. For three hours each day we provided hands on learning and activities for the youth. The kids had a blast, we had a blast and yesterday we ended the week with a pizza party. I have forgotten how much energy little ones have. I was tired at the end of each day, but it's a good kind of tired. So my days have been busy which leaves little time for blogging when I get home in the evenings. As an update to our recent rainy weather.....it is still rainy and stormy almost on a daily basis. We still have hay on the ground that was cut three weeks ago. Every time we think the weather is going to warm up and be sunny, we get hit with another thunder storm. The photo below is from this afternoon. I had to drive Countrychick out to the hwy to meet a friend and on my back the sky was getting dark right over our hay fields.

I plan to cook ribs for dinner on the BBQ....now I just need to get the weather to cooperate! The wind has really kick up since I started this post! Crazy weather!! Enjoy your Saturday evening.