Month: January 2017

I managed to derail my bow again the night before the 4-H State 3D tournament in Gainesville. Mom raced me out to Adventures Archery and we got it fixed. I was able to sight in at 10 yards but the rest will be left to chance. I was so upset but know this is my first of many tournaments and I am really going to have fun not to win!

I was hitting well at 10 yards.

We got to the tournament and warmed up. We were ready for a long day.

It was insanely cold for Florida!

I was with a great group of kids. I was in the middle o the pack for shooting. But I was defiantly off and some random person kept telling me what to do, people aren’t supposed to coach shooters. I was flustered.

 

In good spirits but flustered.

I finally started to figure out where I had to aim because my sight was wonky. I did get one awesome shot! 11 pointer! Perfect shot!

I didn’t get a ribbon but I had a good time learning how the tournament worked. We have now set up a small range in the side yard. I am having fun using that!

Still shooting at WAC each week as well. I THINK my sight is better but something is still off. We are working to figure out what is wrong.

 

 

 

We went to downtown St. Petersburg to check out the FWC Shark ID program. While we were waiting for it to start we relaxed and listened to the new Moana soundtrack.

The program began and we were all excited to see what we would learn.

We watched a 45 minute presentation on how to ID sharks and how to use a dichotomous key to help. Then we were turned loose with 25 sharks samples to ID them. Some were super hard and some were fairly simple. Since many were juvenile samples it was really hard.

Not bad we got 19/25 but a few we had almost right! We took good notes and know what to look at next time. Some of the ones we missed were because they were preserved samples or a identifying feature was missing. I think we did excellent!

This was a bonus question! We both knew the answer was Angel Shark!

This was an amazing program and really opened our eyes to how to ID sharks and how difficult it can be for the FWC officers to tell let alone fisherman!

Shark Identification Workshop with the FWC Research Institute

 

 

 

We loaded up the motorhome and headed to St. Augustine for the long weekend. We camped at Faver Dykes State Park. It was a quiet and sandy campground. Mom fought constantly to keep the sand and mud outside!

We went to the Castillo de San Marcos (St. Augustine Fort) and learned about the history and structure of the fort. It was neat to learn it was made of coquina, crushed shells and sand.

We saw the 10:30am cannon demonstration. We had front row spots so were really close! Not I just want to shout FEUGO all the time!

We walked the grounds of the fort and completely around the outside. We loved the cannon fire. They would heat up cannonballs in here and then shoot them at ships in the harbor when under siege!

Next we visited Fort Matanzas. The fort itself is currently closed because Hurricane Matthew damaged the docks and the ferry can’t run. We instead took some hikes along the trails and checked out the flora and fauna.

Next stop was the beach! You can drive your car not he beach, we did not! E got a whistle and blew and blew in the wind. I chased waves and looked for shells.

Back at the campground we played outside in the cooler weather.

On E’s actually birthday we visited the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.

We pet snakes.

We explored the entire zoo.

We fed the alligators. Boy were there a lot of different types of crocs and gators!

I was obsessed with the huge gator, Gomek!

We had a great time exploring and learning. We also earned two more National Park badges and did the extra work and got two cool patches as well!

We have been trying to get ready for a 4-H tournament coming up in January. I have been practicing as much as possible. We went out to Adventures Archery in Brandon and show on their indoor range.

We still shoot at WAC.

Something happened and my bow derailed. I was distraught to say the least. Mom made me grab a house bow and keep shooting so I wasn’t afraid.

We got my box fixed the next day and were back to shooting. Dad resighted in my bow with me and I am back on fire!

It is great that now we have a few friends shooting with us. I love shooting  at the 3-D targets. The match in late January is a 3-D match so it is good practice!

 

 

 

 

I gave my first half of the year demo on Lionfish. I have been slightly obsessed with them for a while now.

We are also back to ice skating with the homeschool class. I am having fun and proud that I haven’t fallen a single time!

It is great to see my friends at class and make new friends, too!