April 14, 2011

Day 26

Day 26 — A childhood memory

I have lots of great childhood memories, but one that stands out in my mind is participating in 4-H for many years. My sister and I were in a 4-H club with lots of other farm kids. We did community service, tours, etc, but nothing was as big as preparing our projects for the fair. We brought vegetables, sewed clothes, baked, took pictures, but the biggest project of all was our sheep. We kept them on a strict diet, walked them to get their muscles toned, and worked with them so that they wouldn't freak at the show.

The one memory that stands out the most was walking the sheep. We have some VERY hot summers in Iowa, mix that with high humidity and it can be darn right miserable outside. On a side note, I'm always hot, and I HATE being hot. So walking those stinking sheep up and down the dirt road in the field was basically my defintion of misery. Eventually the sheep knew that once we got to the end of the road they got to go back to their pens, in the cool barn. Once they had the route down we would take their ropes off and they would run at full speed back to their pens. It was pretty awesome.

Although I may have hated walking the sheep, the 4-H fair is something that will always stick in my mind as a fond childhood memory. Spending time gardeing with my Grandma Maxine, sewing with my mom, and raising the sheep with my dad and sister are all amazaing memories.

1 comment:

Matt said...

I am surprised you didn't find a way to ride the sheep back up the dirt road!