Girls in Science

Okay. I haven't posted anything from WREN yet. I didn't go to it! I was sick the day before and Mom wanted me to be ready for Girls in Science (GIS) on Sat. so that is what I'm going to write about this week. I didn't type yesterday because I was so sick I thought I was going to die. Actually maybe not - I couldn't think straight. It was a migraine headache and a stomachache.

Anyway GIS was a staged crime of murder. "Mrs. Pringle's Deadly Party! Who Killed the Mystery Guest?" I was in the Beakers group. They came up with some pretty funny names: Footprints, Magnifying glasses, and Fingerprints! Very scientific! We all had name tags with a number (1,2, or 3) on the back. Each of the three groups went with a group leader (mixing up all the groups) to the crime scene, which was actually set up in three different rooms that looked the same. The crime was that Dracula was killed next to the refrigerator.

Mrs. Pringle was rich because her brother had died in a freak bungee jumping accident and left her heaps of money. (Some people still think she killed him for his money.) She wasn't well-liked by anyone because she was never nice. Someone actually said he did not wish her to die, but he was surprised she wasn't the victim! If Mrs. Pringle had died, her "best friends" would have gotten equal amounts of money in her will.

We got to interview the four suspects. They were Mrs. Pringle's "best friends," but none of them really actually liked her at all. One of them was really snobbish and acted scared. Talk about looking guilty! Once when someone asked her favorite animal she ran out of the room. The rest of them just answered questions and acted like they were scared that someone was going to rush in and hit them with a softball bat.

I went to four labs to solve the crime, so I'm going to write a post for each one.

The Ranch

On Friday we went to the Craig and Liza Jane's ranch. We got there and saw four dogs (three were cattle dogs) running all over the place, but at at a whistle from Craig, they all ran to his side and lay down. Then Craig and Liza Jane started telling us about the ranch, their cattle, and the history of the ranch. Pretty soon Craig asked us if we'd like to see the dogs work. He walked out into the the field called the dogs and told them to "bring em' up." The dogs were off like a shot and pretty soon the cows were in the pen.

Craig and Liza went to get the horses so they could show us how to rope. When they came back, Craig roped a heifer and let it jump around him for a while, then Liza threw a trap for it. She had to throw her rope right in front of the back legs so the heifer would step into the rope and then she pulled in her slack. Craig dismounted, instructed his horse to stay, and pulled the heifer down onto the ground. Then he demonstrated doctoring and how to tie the front and back feet together. He took off Liza Jane's rope and rocked the cow up and down until it relaxed, then he took both the ropes off and went over to his horse - he had time enough to get to his horse before the cow got back on its feet.


Next we went over to the outdoor arena. When we got there Craig and Liza told us a little bit about team roping. Then they showed us. It was awesome!


After that we got to chase cows. We got into pairs and stood in two boxes and someone let the cows out of a chute. The pairs had to chase the cows on foot into a chute at the other end of the arena. Once the cow was in the chute, one of us snuck up and opened the gate into a pen while the other stood behind and kept the cow in the chute. When we were finished we had to put up both our arms so they would stop the time. My team was second to last, but we both had fun.

Then we loaded up and went down the road to the indoor arena and barn. When we got there we were divided into two groups - one going to Sunrise Tractors and the other staying there. I was in the group that stayed. When the other group left my group was divided in half. One half went in to learn how to rope and my half watched Craig work with a horse that had never had anything done with it. It was amazing! He took off the halter and waving his arms made it go in a circle around him. He made it slow down, go faster, and turn around. After a while he stopped and the horse came into him. Craig said it was because the horse felt safe with him and wanted to be with him.

After half an hour we switched places and my group went in to rope dummies. Liza taught us the parts of the rope, how to swing it, and to throw it like you mean it or you won't catch it. Roping was really fun (and hard)!

Just as we finished roping the other group came back. Now we had to go to Sunrise Tractors. My group jumped in the van and left. When we got there Penny handed out cards that had descriptions of a tractor on them, we had to find our tractor and tell the rest of the group about it. When we finished we went over to the garage to see one of the first semis. That was cool!

Thanks for the pictures Penny!

Thank you for letting us come to your ranch Craig and Liza. It was the very best WREN I've ever done!

I'm a Weed Warrior!

WREN Weed Warriors

Being a Weed Warrior isn't all that fun! Well, it is if you call tripping and falling backwards into a cactus and hardly being able to walk the rest of the day fun! Luckily it wasn't me, it was one of the other girls there.

Our weed warrior group traveled to Camp Creek in Imnaha. We learned how to identify some invasive weeds that are common in Wallowa County. As we hiked we looked for the following invasive weeds:

Common Bugloss (above), Scotch Thistle (bottom left), knapweed (bottom right), and cheat grass (not shown).























After lunch the real work started. We had to pace out half an acre and rake out all the cheat grass, pull out all the rosettes, and plant native plant seeds so they would take over the invasive weeds and grasses.

We did this three times, in a harder place each time. But it was really fun!

P.S Next week we're going to the ranch. YEE-HAW!

Survival Day

Survival day (WREN) was about how to survive if you get lost in the wilderness. Search and Rescue (SAR) people taught us all about being lost, what you do to prevent it, and what to do if you are lost. To prevent being lost you would want to make a flight plan, have someone with you, and make sure that you or someone you're with has a map of the trail, or knows it well. If you do get lost, sit down, try to think and don't freak out. If it's cold, build a shelter by using your instincts - what would keep you warm? Try to build your shelter on a slope and build your fire downhill from you because hot air rises. Don't go too far uphill or you will be too hot. Doing these things could help you survive.

The SAR team taught us survival skills. First we learned how to make smoke signals. We hiked up a hill and found a good stump to light cottonballs on. Our leader rubbed vasoline all the way through a cottonball and lit it. That cottonball lasted for three and a half minutes. Then we lit a wet cottonball with vasoline on it, and that one lasted ten minutes, I couldn't believe it - it was wet and it burned longer! He showed us the match he was using. It is called a magnesium match. Magnesium matches are made of magnesium, which is flammable. On one side of the match, you can flake off pieces of magnesium and on the other side you can use it like a match box and strike a fire (Right - magnesium match).

We hiked some more and found a stump from a Ponderosa pine that had pitch in it. Our leader showed us pieces of wood with pitch in it and passed them around so we could smell them. We asked if we could each have a piece of the pitch wood. One of the leaders started chopping up the wood with her hatchet and the hatchet missed the stump and hit her ankle. The other leaders bandaged her up and one of them brought her to the hospital. We learned that you should always cut away from you.

After we lunch we learned which wood is best to start a fire. If it sounds hollow, it burns well. Ponderosa pine is the best choice and most commonly used because it burns well and it has a pitch stump. To light your fire, you start with the small pieces of wood and add the larger ones slowly.

Put together a kit for hiking or for the car. Your kit should have the following:

1. Space blanket
2. Garbage bag
3. String
4. Rain gear
5. First aid kit
6. Extra batteries
7. Flashlight (You may also want a candle.)
   
8. Colored ribbon
9. Magnesium match
10. Signal mirror
11. Duct tape
12. Paper and wooden matches
13. A metal edge (to start your fire with)
14. Saw
15. GPS and/or compass
16. Whistle
17. Non-perishable food items, chocolate
18. Water
19. Tin can
20. Iodine tablets or water filter

We also learned about cairns. A cairn is something to mark a trail, such as a pile of rocks. Cairns do not look natural because if you cannot see the trail they help you find your way.


After we learned about cairns, we were almost done. We watched a demonstration of the search and rescue dogs. Two people from our group were chosen to hide. They zigzagged to their hiding spot so the dogs had to follow their trail. The dogs found them both really fast!

Then the SAR people had to leave, so Penny divided us up into two groups and we went to build our shelters. I built my shelter in a hole in a slash pile that was left by loggers. When we were finished, we built a fire with one match. My match went out, so I had to borrow fire from someone else in our group.

All too soon we had to leave. Survival day is so much fun!