Would The Original Cindy Please Return?

I know you're all thinking this is a post about the return to blogging! Sorry to disappoint, but I'm simply making a statement about the Cindy I used to be! That would be the person I was before 4-H invaded my world, pre-animals, prior to my older sister influencing my kids into thinking that raising chickens was the way to riches & power!

So, here I am, long after the fair is over, with my 4-H Fair Report! Stick with the post until the end, and you can see just how warped my world has really become!

Kevin is waiting patiently, holding his roaster gently & lovingly! And the next picture is of Kevin way down at the end of the judging table, laughing at a joke the judge made about Kevin's Dinner Table! (how sick is that ... really now!)

Next is Abbi, waiting patiently with her big roaster! I like how she completely has allowed him the freedom to run (or fly) if he so chooses!

Both kids received Honors (purple ribbons) for their roasters, so they brought the birds back to the table to compete for Grand Champion. They didn't get that award, but it was fun to watch them up there side by side.


Abbi's Speckled Sussex gave her a quick cool-down as the judge made his way down the table!

... and then on to Rabbit Judging! Abbi is peeking above the judging boxes, way at the end.

Abbi caught the "rabbit bug" from her friends Shannon & Katie!

This was her first year in Rabbit Club, and she entered with a Lionhead breed, which we learned is not an official ARBA (look it up ... American Rabbit Breeders Association) breed. We knew this going in, and it really didn't matter to Abbi. She loved the rabbit she named Alakay, and just wanted to have fun! And of course, Beginners' Luck blessed her with Best of Breed! Now remember that it is not an "official" breed, so her cute little bunny couldn't compete for Grand Champion. But it didn't matter because Alakay is something special to us!

We ended the week with the 4-H Animal Auction. Abbi couldn't (and wouldn't have wanted to) sell her rabbit because ... it's not an official breed! :) But each of the kids sold their "pens" of 3 meat birds, and got a nice little college fund going. Probably not enough for a private Mennonite college, but money in their accounts none-the-less.

Also at auction, I was asked by the Poultry Club Leader if I would be willing to sit at the table and make sure the auction receipts were coming off the printer in a nice orderly fashion. "Heck yeah," I said, "I can do that!" And lest you think that this was a very insignificant responsibility, I handled a crisis quite capably when the printer ink began to lighten a bit. I had to go find the Fair Board Member in charge of printers to come and shake the ink cartridge a little to help clean things up. Problem solved!

Here I am getting my very important and detailed instructions prior to auction.

And now back to the Post Title ... Would the Original Cindy Please Return? I'm not sure what has happened to me in the past several years. I am not and never have claimed to be an animal lover. I'm certainly not an animal hater either. But I think animals have their places, and it's usually in a barn, a pasture, a zoo, or anywhere enclosed where they are nice to look at, but I don't have to pet them, or even like them. I've always wanted a dog and a few cats here at our little farm on Highway 35, but that was simply to appease my begging kids and to catch a few mice now and then! We have certainly filled those expectations many times over ... the road is oh so close, and the cars oh so fast! :( But believe me, we have learned a lot about grieving, letting go, and shopping for a new creature!

Well, slowly this whole animal menagerie has crept into my life, kind of like a bad virus or something! It started with Mitch and his Aunt Julie partnering in the chicken raising business. Then Abbi began to grow up and she was genetically programmed to L.O.V.E. animals, all kinds! I'm pretty sure in her previous life she penned the hymn, "All Things Bright and Beautiful"! It started with goldfish and a parakeet, then moved quickly like the speed of a silver bullet to bigger beasts, like a HORSE! If I blame Aunt Julie for the chicken project, I believe I should firmly place blame on Uncle Terry for the ongoing horse experience. Abbi's first horse, Ginger, was a great old horse that lived to the amazing age of 26. Now Abbi has recently taken ownership of 5 year old Lucky Kaia. That's why we didn't (PTL!) have a horse at the fair this year. I wasn't excited about the thought of chasing a raging toddler of a horse around the ferris wheel and down food row. Abbi also has a flock of egg-laying chickens that number about 15, depending on the day. Everytime we turn around the dog has killed another one, so it's been kind of hard to keep track of the numbers. In addition to the horse and chickens, Abbi has 3 rabbits, 2 dogs, and 3 kittens. I've learned how to wash chickens, what age they change from a pullet to a hen and a cockerell to a rooster, and how to raise the fence to keep the chickens from flying out into the waiting jaws of the dogs (snow fence, pvc pipe, & wire tires do the trick). I've learned about electric fence for the horse, what a hackamore bit, lunging, and wrong lead are. Not changing diet too quickly for the rabbits is important, and laying ice bottles in their cages on hot steamy days makes them feel like they are staying at some swanky resort like Sandals.

The Grand Finale came tonight at the "end of year" Poultry Club Banquet when I allowed my name to be on the ballot for board member-at-large ... remember my outstanding job at the auction? Must have impressed the existing board, 'cause yup, you guessed it ... I was voted in! All I said in my campaigning speech was that I was married to Dave , had four kids, and was learning to love animals at the fair. Didn't they hear the "learning" part?

I've got a long way to go!

If any of you find my old self wandering around a nice air-conditioned, sparkly clean Target, please give her a hug and tell her "thanks for changing your heart for your kids"!