Posted by Cindy on May 29, 2009
Here are some more very cool discoveries from a recent nature walk.
Can you see inside the hole? The picture below this one shows the mushrooms that were growing in the hole – and they were huge even if the picture doesn’t show that very well.
We wondered who enjoys this cozy little burrow.
Ants were busy, busy, busy going back and forth on this little path they had created between two ant holes.
Conks aren’t a good sign for the health of the tree, but they sure are pretty to look at!
We have several old brick piles from a house we tore down on the farm. Take a look at this amazing and fuzzy orange fungus! We believe it might be called Spreading Yellow Tooth.
Can you see the puff of pollen floating off of the plant? Every time we stepped on one of these plants, pollen dust went flying through the air like a little bomb.
What cool nature finds have you made lately?
Posted by Cindy on May 22, 2009
It’s been in the works for about 6 months (and actually still needs a roof), but the big kids officially have a tree house!! It’s very rustic – which I love. The kids are already planning to deck it out in Boxcar Children-style! I’ll post indoor pictures when it’s complete.
Have a very blessed Memorial Day weekend! I hope the weather is beautiful where you are and you get to spend time with family and friends!
Posted by Cindy on May 20, 2009
This month’s Creation Club focus was on creeks and creek banks. Sadly, though, the creek bank was grown up more than I had imagined and we didn’t get to do nearly as much exploring as planned. For me, it didn’t matter because I can enjoy any nature walk. For the children expecting to explore a creek in wet and wild ways, they were a bit disappointed. Below are a few pictures from our walk.
These were bright red mushrooms!
This one is bright red, too, although the color didn’t show up quite as well in the picture. See the little snail sitting on it? Can you see the worm holes in the wood?
This was found in the yard once we returned. Our best guess is a Brown Headed Cowbird. Any other suggestions?
And this one wasn’t found yesterday, but I couldn’t resist posting it. We found it at Melissa’s house this week when we went for a visit. It’s a cowboy hat shaped mushroom! Eli tried to pick it up to put it on his head!
Posted by Cindy on May 19, 2009
Field Day at our co-op is always such a fun day! In their class rotations, the kids go around to seven different activities.
- Tug-of-war
- Long Jump
- Softball Throw
- 50 Yard Dash
- Three-legged Race
- Sack Race
- Obstacle Course
The moms sign up to either work a station or escort classes from station to station. Those who escort also keep records of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place so ribbons can be given out at the end of the day. Everyone gets a participation ribbon so they don’t feel left out if they don’t place in any of the events. The escort also gets to decide who receives special awards at the end of the day for things like Most Enthusiastic, Most Encouraging, Most Christ-like Attitude and a few others.
We have a little awards ceremony and snack celebration to finish the day. It’s a long co-op day, but very much worth it!
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Filed Under: Co-op
Posted by Cindy on May 17, 2009
If you take a walk anywhere on our farm these days, you see plants covered in what looks like spit. It’s especially obvious on the stinging nettle and alfalfa plants.
Caleb decided to investigate inside the spit on our recent nature walk and this is what he found.
Crawling on another of the same plant were the same bugs, only brown. They’re hard to see in the photo below, but look about midway down on the right side of the plant.
We made many guesses about the identity of these little creatures, but decided to find out the exact identity when we got home. They are…..
Spittle Bugs (named for the spit-like protection the nymph forms around it’s body), which are a type of aphid
Below are a few helpful websites for learning more about spittle bugs.
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2005-05/1116730719.Zo.r.html
http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/youth/bug/bug049.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphid
