Emmerson's Journey

We went to Repliconand came home with hamsters! I adopted 2 Campbells/winter white hybrid dwarf hamsters. They are both male. WE HOPE!  They are so amazingly calm and loving.  This is just a temp cage for them. We have larger cages coming in the mail in two days. I mad a huge maze for them! I am also building some ramps for them to get to the second level in the new cages.

This week we had archery club and then the kick off for the Forest Ecology Team. We had a great 1st meeting at Brooker Creek  with Ms. Lara teaching us about different plants and trees.  We did study groups at the end while we cooled off. I helped with Breighton to teach the insect/disease rotation. We also had the State traditional Archery Tournament up in Newberry. I was on fire on the front half in the FITA range. Mom was my lane judge. Pulling arrows. I had to shoot at 10 and 15 yards. Next yearI move up to 20 and 30 yards! I think I am ready!  One of my arrows got Robin Hooded by another boy. Thankfully only the nock was ruined. I enjoy scoring on the tablets. They are so much easier to use. In 4-H even the 8 year olds score their flights.

Going into the woods I had a nice solid lead. This is the best I have ever shot on the front! My strength is in the woods! In the woods I held my own and stayed focused. I shot amazing. I just KNEW I would win! Waiting for awards is the hardest part! I did it! 1st place! Normally I am one of 1-3 kids in my bow class. So this was a huge win for me. It shows how much I have grown and my skills developed. I am excited for the All around match next month! 

Our 4-H club helped put up a bat box at the Ochs garden this week. I dug most of the hole and then helped put the pole in. When B goes to class at SPC, Mom and I find a new place each week to sit and work on school work. I am enjoying the attention and focus. I am flying through my math class and enjoying tackling Latin as well. I don’t care for civics but am learning a lot. We stopped off at Brooker Creek to work on the project some more. Mr James gave us a few Mantid babies. We are raising them at home now. The State Fair was this weekend too. We went for the donuts and animals. We didn’t stay long as the crowds were insanely crazy!  We picked up some insects for the Brooker display. This was in another exhibit and a thought it was awesome! We got new bows this week too! I absolutely LOVE mine! I grew quite a bit since I got my last bow and it was time for an upgrade. At 4-H we made body scrubs and enjoyed some fun with out 4-H family and friends. Back at the practice range. I am REALLY liking the new bow. B and I led a class on Macro Invertebrates at the extension office. We had a great time teaching the kids about water quality, insect life cycles and more. Mom said I was a great leader. I hate to let people use my nets but I did a great job sharing and helping the kids use them safely. We caught quite a few critters! We finished the Brooker Display! It was a lot of work but we are really happy with the outcome! After we wrapped up we took all the trails we could at the preserve. Some were a bit wet but we got through it! 

I had a blast at the Insectathon this year. This was my last year as a Junior. I had a good time trying the Linean games pre-contest. It was a long fun day but it was filled with insects so it was awesome! When awards rolled around I was hopeful. Amazingly both my art projects got awards. I got 1st and 2nd place. My specialty collection was awarded 1st place. My overall collection received 2nd place. I didn’t;t loose any points but someone had 1 more insect order them me. In the all around I also earned 1st place. Our little gang certainly brought in the awards this year! 🙂 Go Pinellas! When we got back to the motorhome we went out and went nighttime insect hunting. We found some centipedes and that was it. We finished up the cabinet this weekend too!

Our dear Emmerson turned 11 this week. Where has the time gone. We had enjoyed so many adventures along the journey. Emmerson is no longer stuck to Mom’s side. He is coming into his own person. Fiesty, sassy, and still very much his own person! Goodnight 10 and good morning to 11! 10 fingers and a tongue!? The 1st Luna Moth emerged on Es  birthday! It quickly dried its wings and was so beautiful!   After lunch we had a 4-H meeting. Everyone sang happy birthday! We raced home and got cleaned up and headed to Tampa. A fun evening at the Straz. First dinner was amazing. I loved every bit of it! I was cold in the theater! I stole Mom’s scarf but could pull it off well! My birthday gift was 3rd row seats to Les Miserables! I had SO much fun! What an amazing performance. We stayed after for the meet and greet. The next day was draggy. Too much birthday fun! We had out first 4-H county Council meeting. Then I was off and running on my Lego set. We are also helping Dad build a cool cabinet to store the Cornell drawers. I had a fun time using the drill press.