Hubby is on his way home tonight with a five-day-old Holstein bull calf. The calf is for my oldest daughter who will bottle feed it until he is weaned at approximately 10 to 11 weeks old. The next youngest daughter will also get one within the next few weeks. Both girls will show the calves in our county fair this Fall. The calves shown below the playlist are last years calves, Speck and Cupid. They were sold soon after the fair last Fall. The girls are both actively involved in 4H and the program that the girls will be showing in is called the Bucket Calf Project. Children are supposed to purchase their calves in the Spring and raise them throughout the Summer. The child must halter train the calf to lead, journal weekly on the calf's progress, as well as feed the calf and clean it's pen. We have found this program to be such a beneficial and affirming project for the girls. Last year our oldest daughter won the showmanship award in her age group. She was awarded a very nice buckle with a $50.00 cash award. We were all so proud.

There will be times that I will have to remind them to go out and walk their calves or remind them repeatedly that they need to journal, but that too seems to be part of the experience. This is our third year participating and it really does seem like a group effort. We all get attached to the calves and somewhat emotional at the time of sale, but I know the children are all learning a valuable lesson in responsibility. I'll let you know how it goes.  Blessings! Julie