Today we were reading Salamander Rain - A Lake and Pond Journal by Kirsten Joy Pratt-Serafini.   I bought several nature books from half.com that are published by Dawn Publications.   They are all really nice nature books with beautiful illustrations.

Today we were reading about the wood frog.  They are found in Alaska, and I think we saw one at the homeschool retreat.  When their body temperature reaches freezing, the body cells produce this glycol-type substance that acts like an anti-freeze, keeping the cells from being damaged.   The water inside the cell does not freeze, only the water outside each cell.  Then the frog stops breathing, the heart stops beating, and the muscles stop moving - the frog looks frozen solid.   When spring arrives, the frog thaws.  The books says that how the frog starts breathing and heart beating is a mystery - of course Tristan quickly stated that God makes the frog start breathing and heart pumping of course!  

Reminds me of the vhs/dvd set Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution .   They are so incredibly interesting - my boys love watching them.   We rented them once,  and I hope to buy the whole set someday.   When one starts to learn about the complexities of nature, how anyone could not believe in a Creator is beyond me.

Along the same lines, the Moody Science videos are extremely useful too in proving a Creator rather than evolution.  My mom has these at the public library where she works, and we especially liked the City of the Bees.   This is another collection I would love to have someday.

Since I'm already discussing creation vs. evolution, came across an interesting quote the other day:

"To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances… could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree."  - Charles Darwin

I haven't read this book, and don't own it (yet), but found it here:   America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations By William J. Federer