Nature Study - Pond - November

The weather was a bit drying toward the end of the summer into early fall this year. As a result, the water in our "pond" was down some. We decided to try and walk around our pond. Usually the water is too high and there are only a few places for us to get down to the waters edge.

As we walked along, we saw quite a few ducks, mostly Mallards, but a few others. We also saw this Heron enjoying the afternoon sunshine.

The Bittersweet berries were so colorful along the bridge.

A few of the many ducks we saw. We walked along slow and as quietly as we could, but with five of us, the ducks soon flew off as did the Heron.

Dan found this really fun hiding place under an overhanging tree. The tree would normally be dipping into the water.

We continued to walk around the waters edge exploring around the drift wood and fallen logs.

There were a lot of ferns and moss along the way.

The day was very still and the water reflected everything.

Mushrooms and other fungus doted the ground and trees.

Deer tracks were plentiful in the muddy spots.

The opposite end to where we usually explore was quite dry and the river coming into the pond was running much lower than usual.

Dan found a spot that was not very dry, sinking into the mud up to his knees. After quite a bit of coaching and a fair amount of tugging on his part, he was able to get out. I must say the other children were getting a lot of pleasure out of his predicament. He took it all in good humor and was laughing himself.

This mushroom was in a form of decay, but had the most beautiful colors.

 

After we made our way all the way around, we decided to drive up the road and check on the island that at certain times has a small land bridge that you can cross. We walked all the way around, encountering a few fisherman who were also taking advantage of the access. It was a beautiful day. We had quite the adventure and everyone had a great time.

Pumpkin Carving

Each October, a friend from church holds a pumpkin carving party. Dan and I attended this year. There is always tons of yummy food to snack on, adult conversation and the kids have a great time carving their pumpkins and playing.

Dan did a great job of carving and he sure looks like he was having fun.

Nature Study - Pond - October

This year I wanted to add a pond study to our nature study outings. I read about this on angelicscalliwags. They have been doing a weekly year long pond study. I love the idea of following one particular place through a year of seasonal changes. We are hoping to do ours study at least once a month. During better weather, we might make it more often.

Our pond is not really a pond, but an inlet area to a local reservoir. It is separated from the main body of water by a small causeway. It is very close to home and should work well for our study.

Today was more of a scouting mission and we did not do a lot of gathering or investigating, but we did find a few things. Hannah and Dan love that they can get right down to the water. Hannah collected some lily pads.

Rachel ventured to the other side and found a path down to the water. This is a regular fishing spot, so there are paths in several places, which will make for easy access to the water.

Rachel found this interesting plant. We took a sample and after keying it out, found it was a Buttonbush. The seed heads are very interesting.

This very tiny spider was walking along on top of the water. I had the camera on super-zoom and he was quite small, but we wanted to add him to the pictures.

Here is my and Rachel's journal entries for the day.

Dart Frog Vivarium

I have been enjoying my little Dart Frogs very much. The pair we have is Dendrobates tinctorius 'Patricia'. They are very easy to keep and fun to watch. They eat flightless fruitflies which I am raising. They need misting a few times a day and temps in the mid-70s in the day and cooler at night.

The most difficult part of keeping Dart Frogs is getting their tank just right for their needs.  They need high humidity and like live plants and plenty of places to hide.

For me, the tank set up is half the fun. I have been reading on forums and watching on YouTube about a technique using Great Stuff insulating foam to build up a background. I finally decided to give it a try.

I started with a 18"x18"x24" Exo-terra Terrarium. I had wanted the 18"x18"x18" size, but could not find one local. Dart Frogs are mostly terrestrial, so they do not need the extra height like many reptiles. Other equipment needed, Great Stuff foam, black 100% Silicone sealant, protective gloves and Eco-earth substrate.

The first step was to clean the tank with rubbing alcohol and allow to dry. Then I covered the back and a little bit of each side with a layer of the silicone. This step is probably not essential, but I didn't like the idea of the cream colored foam showing and the silicone allows for better adhesion of the foam. I allowed this to dry overnight. This step was very smelly and I would highly recommend doing outside or in a well ventilated area.

I then arranged some cork bark flats and a few rounds I had left over from the last tank set up. Then comes the fun part...the foam. It comes out very fast. I secured the cork pieces and then made little shelves and humps here and there. I also stuck a small plastic pot in the middle and covered this with foam.  This will make is easier to plant something higher on the back. This step did not take too long. Again, I let it set over night.

The last step was messy. The temp was nice today, so I moved it outside and I'm glad I did. I cut away any areas that didn't look natural or that I thought just seemed out of place. The foam cuts easily with a serrated steak knife. I then began applying the silicone to all areas of the foam. I would apply a small area with silicone and then use a gloved hand to spread it in and around all the little grooves. Gabe helped me with this step by applying the Eco-earth to the silicone. I did not allow this step to set overnight as the silicone dries quite quickly. A few hours later, I dumped out all the extra Exo-earth and used a small paint brush to clear away any extra. I missed a few spots and touched up where needed.

This is the finished product after adding all the substrate material and planting some bromiliads, vines, ferns and other plants. I added a larger piece of wood and some rocks. Right now it looks a bit sparse, but soon the plants will fill in and look much better. I also will be added some moss.

I am happy how it came out and am already planning for another. The new frogs are scheduled to arrive tomorrow. I hope they like their new digs.

For a more detailed tutorial on this technique, check out this YouTube video.

Nature Walk - The Island

Today was a cold (36 degrees,) breezy day. The sun came out this afternoon and we headed out for our weekly (we try) nature walk. We have had very little rain this last summer and fall and with not much in the way of snow runoff this spring, the reservoir near our home is much lower than usual. Because of this, there are areas at the reservoir that are now accessible. One is a little island that is usually, well, an island. Right now there is a land bridge between the shore and the island
.

It was fun to explore the little island.  There are a lot of pine, oak, birch and beech trees. We spotted a couple of campfires that I'm sure are from local fisherman that frequent the reservoir.  It is a lovely spot.

Rachel is my most dedicated nature study student.  She will explore, collect and sketch in her nature journal. I do not force the children to draw, but try and encourage them to notice things and make some observations.  We often come home with pockets full of rocks, cones, acorns, feathers, leaves and plants. Our nature studies are a work in progress.

Most of the trees along the shore look like this one.  Most of the time, these roots are dangling in the water, but this year they are high and dry.

Gabe found all sorts of obstacles to practice his Parkour moves on.

Gabe is my most reluctant nature study student, in the traditional sense.  He doesn't like to sketch but he does take some incredible photos. He has a great eye for detail, motion and light and is quite diligent; taking picture after picture until he gets the shot he likes. As always, he takes what we are doing and makes it his own. The above shot is an example of several photos he took today.

Surprisingly, with our recent cold weather, there were still a few flowers blossoming.

The reservoir was so beautiful today.  Soon the lake will be frozen and dotted with ice fishermen, but until then, we will enjoy our nature walks there.

This is my nature journal entry.  I am not good at sketching, but have been trying to let go of my need to have it look just so. I've read in several places this week about fear being a major stumbling block to creativity, so...no more fear, just enjoyment in doing the best I can.

Newest Pet - Poison Dart Frogs

My Poison Dart Frogs, Dendrobates tinctorius 'Patricia', arrived this morning. Poison Dart Frogs are not poisonous in captivity.  The poison comes from the insects they eat in the wild.

I have been planning for a month or so, setting up their habitat with appropriate soil, sticks, leaves, hiding places and live plants. I also bought flightless fruit flies and culture to start raising our own flies.

The folks at Josh's Frogs are very careful with their frogs.  The frogs were suppose to be shipped last week, but the weather was warmer, so they rescheduled for this week, when the temp was suppose to be cooler. They arrived in great shape, looking healthy and very alert. I would definitely recommend this company if you are looking to buy frogs.  They have great service, healthy animals and a great selection.

Here is one of the little guys in his shipping container.  They are very tiny right now, but will get larger when full grown.

We released them right into the habitat without touching them as it can harm their skin if they are touched too much. We added some fruit flies and they immediately started chowing down.  They are so incredibly cute.

This is their habitat.  It is a 12"x12"x18" Zoo Med Terrarium.  It is a bit bare right now, but the plants will fill in soon.

Here are my new babies, enjoying their first meal with us. Looking forward to raising this new pet.

Family Day

Sunday was family day at the base. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and cooler. We headed over to the base right after church and met Brian at the guard house. There were so many families there, many with very young children.

We wandered around looking at all the interesting aircraft.  The above photo is the new refitted LC-130 with 8-bladed props.  It is so much quieter and I guess more powerful. Brian has been working very hard on the testing and promotion of this new design.

We took a walk through of one of the planes.  No matter how many times we see it, the cockpit is still very impressive with its many, many switches and controls.

I just love the look of the Hercules.

They had a wonderful lunch for us with steak, pork, shrimp, burgers and hotdogs, in addition to many salads and veggies. We all had ice cream and some had shaved ice and cotton candy.  We sure sugared them up for the day. It was all so yummy.  For once, Dan said he was full.

We are so proud of our airman and it is always a pleasure to see where he works and the people he works with.

A Pleasant Visit

We had a wonderful visit with Stephanie and the little Woodys today. What a pleasant surprise to find out they were in town. We met at the park and shared a few hours chatting and catching up. Being a lover of traveling myself, I was especially happy to hear all about their trip across country this summer and future plans. So excited for them and all the things God has planned.

What a blessing this family is to me and to the kids. We all had a great time. No one wanted the time to end.

Thank you Steph and gang for making some time for us. I came away from our visit much encouraged and very much blessed. We so appreciate your friendship.

Compassion

We have been a Compassion family for many, many years.  It has been so wonderful over the years to receive letters, drawings and sometimes even pictures from our sponsored child and to read how God is working in their lives.  We have three sponsored children right now, a little girl from India, a little girl from Indonesia and a little boy from Togo.

Compassion is a wonderful organization that works through local churches to provide a safe place for children to go to receive nurishing food, educational help, medical care and most importantly Christian training that helps them realize that they are loved and cared for and to develop self-confidence and social skills.

Please stop on over to the Compassion Sponsorship Page. Pray over some of the children there. Have your children join you as you pray for these precious children. And then please consider sponsoring a child today.  You will be blessed as well as a blessing.

Nature Walk

I'm finishing up the final details of what I hope will be great schedule for the new school year.  Each year I have great ideas and the best of intentions, but follow through has always been a weakness of mine.  We shall see how it all goes. The plan looks good on paper.

One of the activities I have wanted to do for years is Nature Study.  I love the idea but like art and music, it has often been put on the back burner for things like learning to read and do basic math. As we've accomplished some of these basic tasks, I have been able to add in some of the other things.  I am very hopeful that this year will be one of getting the basics done in addition to some of the subjects that make our lives fuller and richer.

We will be following The Outdoor Hour, at Handbook of Nature Study.  Barb posts challenges each week that will help keep us on track and give us ideas for nature study.  We will be drawing and making nature journals.

Today I talked to the kids about nature study and what I hoped for this year.  For the most part, they were enthusiastic (there is always one that moans about my plans).  We took a walk and discussed how our nature study would go and what I expected from them.  It was a nice walk. There was a deer in the brook, Chipmunks and squirrels in the woods and tons of insects of every kind. We saw many butterflies including this lovely Great Spangled Fritillary.

I am also hoping to blog more about our school year and family life in general.