View from the Top

Wow! Where do I even begin?  This summer has certainly flown by so far. I've been so busy the past couple of weeks, so I'm sure y'all are looking for an update.

The beginning of June welcomed our ham house with quite a scare. The Country Ham Project has taken my interest this summer, so I try to go out to the ham house regularly to check the progress of the hams and make sure they are in good condition. However, on that rainy, cold morning I was welcomed by an unwanted visitor. We discovered several Larder Beetles near our hams. In a panic I called the UK Meat Specialist, Dr. Gregg Rentfrow, to see if our hams were still salvageable. Luckily, we had caught it in the nick of time. We spent the rest of the afternoon transporting our hams from the house to a local walk-in freezer that was large enough to accommodate 36 country hams. Our hams stayed in the freezer for two weeks in order to kill any larvae that may have tried to overtake the hams.

Farm Tour Stop #1: Vice's Dairy 

During that two weeks we were very busy, so busy in fact I almost forgot about our poor country hams. The first week of June brought several different meetings that I was able to attend. I learned about how the Fleming County 4-H Council and the Fleming County Livestock Improvement Association committee works. On Thursday, June 4th I tagged along with Gwen our EFNEP assistant for a Farm Tour of several different farms in the county.

The second week of June meant sewing camp and State Teen Conference for our teen group. While Staci took the teens to conference I was able to hang back and try my hand at sewing. I began the week feeling nervous about helping our 4-H'ers sew, since I have little sewing knowledge. However, on Tuesday I began to get the feel for a sewing machine and how to match and pin seams. I can't say I'm a professional at sewing but I do know how to make a pair of elastic waistband shorts thanks to guidance from 4-H'er

A bead bowl from Arts and Crafts Day 

s who know their way around a sewing machine. It's the little things!

The third week of June was equally as busy as the first two. Fleming County had eight kids participate at the state livestock judging competition at the Madison County Fairgrounds. I'm very proud to say that Cody Burke and Jessica Conn placed in the top twelve and will be attending Top Twelve week in July. Congratulations Cody and Jessica! We also had our Arts and Crafts day on Thursday. Everyone that attended had a great time making wreaths, bead bowls, and other fun crafts.

These three weeks mean my internship is halfway over! Let's just say the view from the top of my internship adventure is bittersweet. I've learned so much in such a short time and made some great friendships here in Fleming County.

See Y'all Soon,
Katie D. Conn