Free Spirits 4-H Club member Belle Tryzbiak gets help in building a birdhouse that she will enter in this year’s 4-H competition at the Osceola County Fair from Mike Byerly.

Make no mistake — a lot of work goes into those 4-H exhibits you will see at the Osceola County Fair. And the final weeks leading up to transporting dozens of displays, animals, clothing and foodstuffs are really hectic for 15-year-old Melissa Carr, of St. Cloud.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, she and others got together to build birdhouses that are entered in this year’s fair.

For Melissa, the finished product is just one of a dozen she has spent hours working on during the past year. Being home-schooled by her mother, she said, gives her a bit of leeway in working on the various projects and they are always close by at the home.

“I’ve been in 4-H for six years,” she said, “I first started by showing my horse and have won some blue, red and white ribbons. This year I will show three chickens and a rabbit. I also have several photographs to enter that are of nature scenes around my house, as well as some 4-H activities.”

That’s just the start. Don’t forget the peanut butter and jelly cookies, a sewing project, two grapefruit trees and tabletop displays that involve pictures and details on chickens and citrus trees.

“My rabbit is named ‘Night’ and I’ve shown him for the past four years," Melissa said. "He won a second-place ribbon last year. I had planned on showing a calf we have, but will wait until next year for that. She weighs 500 pounds and I train her about an hour a day.”

However, Melissa said the poultry is her favorite entry despite the amount of work involved to get the birds ready.

“Their beaks have to look just right, their nails are trimmed and the feet and combs are bathed before the judges arrive,” she said.

Melissa also is competing in the consumer choices category. Participants are given a topic and have about 10 minutes, she said, to put together information on the subject and speak about it.

“I’m a little nervous since this is my first time,” she said.

“I believe 4-H has made her more confident about herself,” her mother, Marjorie, said. “I’m proud of what she has done so far. The 4-H program has so much to offer and this is the time for her to try a lot of things. She has accepted the challenges and is developing into a good citizen.”

Melissa is treasurer this year of her club and, in addition, serves on the 4-H County Council as co-historian, where her interest in photography is put to use documenting what takes place in all the clubs around the county.

But being in 4-H doesn’t dominate her week completely. In addition to school work, Melissa also is on the St. Cloud Swim Team and plays flute in the St. Cloud Middle School Band.