Hobbies that Begin with "F" - Blogging from A to Z Challenge

During the 2018 Blogging from A to Z Challenge, I will be focusing on hobbies that I have introduced to my daughters to through their childhood and teen years. Some were done as part of homeschooling, while others were areas that we explored because we were interested in the subject or activity. These are hobbies that anyone of any age could try as well.

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These are some of the hobbies that the girls have been introduced to during their childhood and teen years: falconry, felting, fencing, firearms, fishing, and flower arranging.

Falconry

We were having lunch with friends one day at the Scandia Café. When we left to go to our car, there was a gentleman who had a falcon in the back of his car.

September 13, 2012

He shared with us about the hobby of falconry, and let the girls touch the falcon. It was interesting learning about falconry - something that we don't see each day.

Felting

Sophia and Olivia began felting when they were 7 and 5 years old respectively. There are two types of felting - wet-felting and needle-felting. I taught them how to do needle-felting because it was something they could do wherever they were and they wouldn't get wet in the process.

For her second project, Olivia made a heart with different colors of wool. She used the barbed needles for needle-felting well, and didn't poke her fingers with the needles once. She was proud of her project.

January 25, 2008

For Easter one year, I taught the girls and their friends who were in a home economics class I taught at the homeschool co-op how to make needle-felted eggs.

They chose from a variety of colors of wool, and then used the barbed needles to attach the wool to the Styrofoam egg shapes.

 

March 30, 2009

The girls were so focused while they worked.

March 30, 2009

They did a base color and then added colorful wool embellishments to their felted Easter eggs.

April 6, 2009

They also made toys - like felted balls - that they could use for decoration and/or play.

December 3, 2009

Fencing

The girls did fencing on February 18, 2016, at the Minnesota Sword Club in Minneapolis. They had never done fencing before so it was a good introduction to the sport and hobby.

There was gear that they had to wear to cover their bodies and heads.

They practiced different positions and stances; and had fun fencing.

It was a fun way to spend a cold winter day in Minnesota.

Firearms

The girls' first introduction to guns was at an educational program held at Fort Snelling. These men are showing the type of guns that would have been used during WWII.

September 14, 2007

We were traveling throughout the New England States and visited a store that had guns on display. As we were looking at them, we realized that they were about as long as Olivia was tall.

September 9, 2011

One November 23, 2013, we went to the Minnesota Waldorf School for the holiday fair. The girls wanted to play a game with riffles that had foam bullets. 

The goal was to aim at the knights on the castle and hit them.

It was something that they don't normally do, yet they had a lot of fun trying to aim at the targets.

In 2018, Olivia is studying to get a license to use a gun so she can do trap shooting. She is going through firearms safety training during March and April; and will have a field day test on April 28th.

Her uncle (my brother) is loaning her two guns so she can get comfortable with them before the field day test.

So, on Easter (April 1, 2018), Olivia learned the proper way to hold a rifle and to stand as she takes aim.

Her younger cousin, who enjoys target practice, showed her how to load and unload a gun.

The one pictured above belonged to my dad, so there's a special connection there. Olivia said she preferred my dad's gun and would most likely use that one for her field day test.

Fishing

The girls learned about fish and their parts at a youth program at Interstate State Park in 2012. They did fish painting (using rubber fish) and learned about fishing.

June 15, 2012

On June 7, 2014, the girls and I stayed at Wild River State Park and did the I Can! Camp program. One of the activities offered during the camping stay was learning how to fish.

We did some fishing off a bridge in the park overlooking a river.

They learn to cast and how to bait a hook.

They didn't catch anything at that location, so we changed spots to the St. Croix River and the boat launch there.

It was a relaxing way to spend the day.

Flower Arranging

In 2013, we did a lesson about etiquette. The girls set the table using the good China dishes and silverware; and created flower arrangements.

April 4, 2013

We used a bouquet from the store and they made several smaller floral arrangements.

April 4, 2013

On May 9, 2015, we brought floral arrangements to the nursing home and decorated the tables in the different living areas.

It was Mother's Day weekend, so the tables looked nice for family visits.

We visited with some of the residents and their families while we were there.

We brought flowers also for people who were special to us and made a point of visiting each time we were there.

Often, when we go the farmers market, we will get a bouquet of flowers to bring home to create many smaller vases of flowers. These brighten up our home and lift our spirits.

Wednesday Hodge Podge

From This Side of the Pond

1. Have you ever been fishing? Did you catch a fish? If so did you keep it or throw it back? If you haven't been fishing is that something you'd like to try?

Fish out of water, big fish in a small pond, living in a fishbowl, packed in like sardines, this is a fine kettle of fish, plenty of fish in the sea, fish or cut bait...which fishy phrase most recently applies to some area of your life?

When I was in elementary and junior high school, my sister,  brother, and I would fish off our dock on Bass Lake in Plymouth. We'd catch sunnies which my dad would prepare and my mom would cook for dinner. Sometimes we'd catch bullheads and catfish which my dad would take off the hook and toss back.

When I was in college, I went on a date with a guy who took me fishing. I caught a sheepshead (also known as a freshwater drum). It was the largest fish I had ever caught. Didn't take a picture of it because it was before the age of cellphones.

This isn't a sheepshead fish.

It's a blue-spined unicorn fish at the Minnesota Zoo.

Thought it looked rather human-like with its

big "nose,", tiny lips, and big eye.

In terms of sayings, packed in like sardines would be most applicable. As I look at the bed, two of the dogs and one cat are either right next to me or sitting on my back. They have the whole king bed to choose from to have more space. They choose to be right here...squished - although comfortable - next to one another.

2. What's something you're always fishing for in your purse, wallet, desk, or kitchen junk drawer?

In the order above: my cell phone, my checkbook, an envelope, and twist tie.

3. Your favorite fish tale or movie?

I couldn't think of a fish movie, so my next thought was ocean. Immediately, Dolphin Tale came to mind. It's based on a true story, and follows the progress of a dolphin named Winter who lost her tail. She not only survived but thrived at Clearwater Marine Hospital. A boy named Sawyer (who found Winter tangled up in fishing line) faithfully visits her. He also becomes friends with a girl named Hazel and her family.

I like this movie because it looks at how - despite challenges - you can overcome obstacles.

4. Are you sunrise, daylight, twilight or night? Explain why you chose your answer.

Sunrise. Definitely am a morning person.

5. What's the oldest piece of clothing you own and still wear?

I still have t-shirts from the non-profit organization I started by back in the late 1990s. The t-shirts are probably from around the year 2000 - so 16 years old. I have a blue hooded sweatshirt too that is so comfortable. Unfortunately it's on its last legs after 20 or so years.

6. We've got one more month of (officially) winter here in the Northern hemisphere. Are you feeling the need for a getaway? What's been the best and worst part of your winter so far?

Actually the weather has been unseasonably warm this year. Yesterday it was almost 60 degrees. The lakes are opening up; and ponds and creeks are water and not ice now. This is beautiful weather - anything from the 30s to 70s is my ideal temperature range. I have no reason to go anywhere else.

Have been enjoying listening to the birds singing.

There are cardinals around which I'm very happy about.

The black-capped chickadees are prolific and

like eating at the feeders around the yard.

The best part of winter has been that there were only a handful of days under zero. That, too, is the worst part - those days are very difficult on the horses and people. It's just brutal when the temperature is 10 degrees below zero or colder and the windchill is 20+ degrees below zero.

7.  The Wednesday Hodgepodge lands on National Margarita Day...will you be celebrating? Frozen or on the rocks? Are you a Jimmy Buffet fan? If so, what's your favorite JB tune?

Nope...no margaritas or alcohol for me. Stopped drinking in October 1991. It will be 26 years this October.

I never really got into music by Jimmy Buffet. That being said, he did write the soundtrack for, and co-produced and played a role in the movie Hoot because conservation is an issue that's important to him.

Burrowing Owl.

Source

Sophia, Olivia, and I read the book and saw the movie which we all liked. It has a very good message and shows the power that kids can have to make an environmental difference.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

We've been having such beautiful sunsets this past week. Almost every night, the sky is transformed into this magnificent light show.

This was taken last week - before the snow in the pond melted and the heavy rain that has created a rather large pond. There were trumpeter swans in the nearby field - where Olivia and I saw them a few years ago. Yesterday, two geese were in our pond swimming and putting their wings under the water. They would then spread their wings and shake their bodies out. It looked like they were enjoying the water after flying back north.

What's odd is that we never see geese this early in the season. April is the typical time for their return. Not February. The trumpeter swans come through in March and April.

Looks like an early spring again this year.