more holiday pics ...

Thanks, Tracey, for sharing this great picture of Noah & Cookie!
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Here's the photo I received in a card from Isabella & Gabriella, which I just scanned:

I still can't figure out how they got everyone to pose so nicely!!
(click on the picture for a larger view.)
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Happy Holidays!

Wow, so December just flew right by and I never posted on the blog! Sorry! Our Holiday party scheduled for the 19th got snowed out, so we'll celebrate with a HAPPY NEW YEAR party at our next meeting, on January 9th instead! Looking forward to seeing everyone then! We can take a club photo with everyone wearing their new Upton 4-H Club T-shirts!

Here are some of our Christmas pics...

Does anyone have any pictures they would like to share, especially ones including your pets?! Please e-mail them to me and I will post them!

Rabbit & Cavy Club info

The Cuddly Critters Rabbit & Cavy Club held its monthly meeting last night.

We learned about Winter Care for Outside Rabbits, and then we learned about different Body Types of rabbits.

Some new friends in our club: (l to r)

Sam with his Himilayan bunny "Hoppy", Arianna with her cavy "Cookie Dough", Markenson with his Flemish Giant "Thunder", and Taylor with her bunny "Oreo"!

Some upcoming dates to keep in mind:

• Friday, December 5, 2008: Cuddly Critters monthly meeting (please note date change!)
  
• Friday, December 19, 2008: Upton 4-H Club Business Meeting & Holiday Party
• Friday, January 9, 2009: Upton 4-H Club monthly business meeting
  
• Saturday, January 24, 2009: Statewide Rabbit/Cavy Workshop at Blackstone Valley Regional Tech HS in Upton
• Saturday, May 9, 2009: Statewide Rabbit/Cavy Quiz Bowl & ID Contest at Memorial School in Upton

More info to follow ....

Thank You & Congrats on Records

THANK YOU and Congratulations to those members who completed and turned-in RECORDS for the 2007-08 year!

Records for 12 of our members were delivered to the Worcester County 4-H Office on Monday morning. At last night's meeting we recognized those members:

• Charlotte
• Jacob
• Brynn H.
• Allyson
• Gabriella M.
• Emily
• Rachel P.
• Devon
• Brianna
• Victoria
• Gabriella S.
• Isabella S.

Editable Record Forms can be found by clicking here!

Upton 4-H Cares About Community!

Our Club is participating in the
Massachusetts 4-H Food Drive

“4-H Cares About Community”

As part of this statewide service project, the Upton 4-H Club has collected and donated 110 pounds of food for the Upton Food Pantry, located at United Parish. Gabby, Tori, Gabriella and Noah helped deliver and sort through donations this morning, and then helped the staff stock the shelves. Helping at the food pantry was a really great experience and we will continue to collect and donate items even after the statewide drive is over. Food Pantry staff told us that they are seeing a big increase in people who are requesting the assistance of the pantry in the past few weeks.

Our help is appreciated!
Thanks to all who have donated so far!
We have collection boxes located at the Upton Town Library and at Fin & Feather Sports in Upton.

*UPDATE: the Statewide Food Drive officially ended on Nov 15. Our grand total of donations to the Upton Food Pantry was 175 pounds of food! Food pantry staff are currently working on a "Wish List" of high-demand items for us: On Dec 19 our Club will be having a Holiday Party. Instead of exchanging gifts, we will bring items from this wish list and decorate a box to put them all in, to deliver to the food pantry!*

Outdoor Adventures Program off to a Great Start!

After a fantastic Fishing Derby 2 weeks ago, the Upton 4-H Club's New Outdoor Adventures Program had its first official meeting this afternoon, with close to 30 people in attendance! Jeff LeClaire taught us all about Archery, including Safety Rules, parts of a bow & arrow, different types of bows & arrows, the role a Range Captain plays and the importance of following the commands. Then we headed out into the cold and practiced on the range. It was really fun! (and not as easy as it looks!!) Future meeting dates are in the works, with lots of great plans and ideas! It was really great to see so many Dads in attendance at this meeting, too, and their willingness to get involved.

Fishing Derby

The Upton 4-H Club

held its First-Ever

Youth Fishing Derby
this morning at Pratt Pond / Kiwanis Beach in Upton!

35 kids, ages 3-15, showed up and braved the chilly weather! It was lots of fun and we're already working on plans for next year! Everyone received a 4-H participation ribbon! Lots of special ribbons were awarded for the top 5 biggest fish of each species caught, and prizes of fishing equipment were awarded for the top 2 fish of each species! There were 6 species caught in all: Blue Gill, Large Mouth Bass, Perch, Trout, Pickerel, Calico Bass.

Click here to see a slideshow of the event!


Participants, with their ribbons and prizes,
at the end of the Derby. (click the photo for a bigger view!)

Cuddly Critters ...

At the October meeting of the Cuddly Critters Rabbit & Cavy Club, Tori talked about Cavy Care, and we had a few new cavies at the meeting .... along with their owners who want to join the club!

Thanks, Arianna & Jennifer, for bringing 'Cookie Dough' and 'Chestnut' to our meeting last night!

Katie was there were her cavy, 'Max', who was happy to meet some new friends!

There were also lots of bunnies, and everyone learned about trimming bunny & cavy toenails!

Here, Nicole (holding her Mini Rex 'Snickers') and Devon (holding her Jersey Wooly 'Abby'), look at the ARBA Standard of Perfection to learn more about their breeds.

CCC Day at Upton State Forest

Thank you to the Giglio, Millett and Stratton families for representing the UPTON 4-H CLUB at CCC-Day yesterday, at The Upton State Forest! Thanks, also, to the Suazo, Killeen and LeClaire families, who donated supplies for the day, even though they were unable to attend! It was such a beautiful Autumn day ~ I am so glad that we participated in this historic event, sponsored by the Friends of the Upton State Forest, honoring the alumni who served at the CCC Camp during the 1930s!

Our Club members spent the day providing info about 4-H, and sharing Nature Crafts ... leaf rubbings, rock painting, and pinecone birdfeeders ... with families who visited our booth.

Senator Ed Augustus stopped by to say hello, and posed for this picture!
(We also wanted a picture with Smokey Bear , but he left early ... maybe off to fight a fire somewhere?!)

We saw 3 live falcons,

and attended the flagpole dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony of the newly-named CCC Way (the main trail heading into the State Forest parking lot).

We also had fun with Letterboxing, and found the first 2 boxes in the new series of 5 boxes placed in honor of the day. We're planning to go back, possibly next weekend after the Fishing Derby, to scout out the other 3!

October Meeting Info

At the next meeting of The Upton 4-H Club (October 3, 2008) Jeff LeClaire from Fin&Feather Sports will be here to teach us the basics of freshwater fishing!

The first half of our meeting will include learning what species of fish live in Pratt Pond, and how to identify them, what items you should bring to our upcoming Fishing Derby, and how to cast a line!

This promises to be a fun event!

During the second half of the meeting we will be working on RECORDS! They are due at the Worcester County Office by Monday, November 3rd! Click here for access to editable record forms. Please bring a copy of your 4-H Story (a requirement for your completed records) to our next meeting, even if it is only a very rough draft. We can share stories and help each other with editing. You have one month left to complete the final draft!

Cuddly Critters Rabbit & Cavy Club

The Upton 4-H Cuddly Critters Rabbit & Cavy Club meets on the 3rd Friday night of each month to learn about proper care and handling of all different breeds of rabbits and cavies (guinea pigs). Here are some pictures from a recent meeting.

Click here to see pictures of Tori & her dad building a new bunny hutch!

Introducing ....

our 2 newest club members: Lucy
& Thomas ... and their 2 newest pets, Wilbur and Hamlet, a pair of potbellied pigs!
Welcome to the Upton 4-H Club!!


Some of our other members have new animals as well, including Gabby's goats ... please send a picture for us to share!!