Go check out this post!  It's not even "Easter" yet and somebody left a pretty little egg on Jodi's deck.  She can't seem to I.D. the little, er, um......unhatched thingy. 

Can anybody guess what kind of egg it is?  Go see the photo here.

This is the kind of thing that gets us "unschoolers" going.  We like a challenge, especially one that just happens to .......happen!  Unexpected events make for some great learning lessons.  On the spot.  Unplanned interruptions.  Teachable Moments!  Thats what I was searching for.  Teachable moments.

Get out those bird books Mom! 

Homeschooling is Life,

Nancy

A neighbor child today told my son that he was making an ant farm so we were talking about them ourselves......and gosh, we concluded that you really probably wouldn't get much milk out of them and even if you tried you would probably end up squishing them while trying to find the udders.

Blessings!

Nancy

Bandita, in the basket and Little Lady Midnight, aka "Midi" looking as shiny and beautiful as ever.

And I don't let either of them lick the dinner dishes.  Honest.

Aren't they precious!  One of these days I will have to tell you all about my kids too.

Hugs,

Nancy

I found a match---El Serpiente appears to be a Western Terrestrial Garter  snake.  You take a look and tell me if you think he's the same critter!  I found this really cool site on Snakes of Colorado, but it didn't have a juvenile form of this particular snake, so I wasn't sure........the grown up version loses a lot of his definition.

ANYHOO----I am done now, so don't worry about any more slithery things showing up on my blog.  But, being the homeschool Mom that I am, I had to milk this teachable moment for all it was worth.  So.....for now, no more snakes.  Promise!

(And please Lord, no more visitors of this kind in the neighborhood, K?)

Nancy

I figure each of those fence boards are about four inches wide, so.....he's not quite as long as I thought.  El Serpiente is about 20 inches long I would say.  His tail is just out of the photo.

I think he is a variety of Garter snake, (no, not a Gardener snake.  Everyone keeps calling them that.  Cut it out!  GARTER.)  Ok, so let me know if you can positively I.D. him, ok???

Nancy

I had no idea this would turn into the domino effect!  From ugly little birds to ugly dogs---you have to see what Maggie posted.  This one takes the cake today, but read what she says.  It will bless you!

Have a wonderful day homeschooling :)   And speaking of cake, we are having a little birthday celebration, my baby turns 7!

Nancy

Isn't he just the ugliest thing you ever saw?  I am sorry, I love birds but I think fledgling Robin's are the most akward, ugly little creations.  Well, some things are so ugly that they are cute too---know what I mean?  Like tadpoles, and baby squirrels and .......wet puppies........um........kids with spagetti all over their faces.......ok, so I have run out of examples.

When we were camping a few weeks back, this cute (ugly) little green caterpillar dropped down out of an aspen tree, right onto our cooking table.  So I promptly did what any good homeschooling mom would do; put it in an empty water bottle, with some leaves.  "Let's take this home and see what it will become!"  So, it turned in to a little brown case and of course my 6 year old kept insisting it looked dead.  Well, it did. But we kept looking at it every day, and it still looked dead.  But this morning, (Fanfare and drumroll please......) I looked in the bottle and the little "case" appeared to have a hole in one end.  And yes, there was a creature in there.  Not a beautiful, colorful butterfly, but just a lowly pale tan looking.......miller moth. 

Well, it was still one of God's little miracles, this metamorphosis we witnessed.  A few years back, we found a caterpillar that turned out to be a two-tailed swallowtail.  Now THAT was a treat!  So I took the little miller moth out and put him near the aspens in our yard, and hopefully he will be happy there.

As for this ugly little robin, his birdy parents built their nest in a spruce tree in our neighbors yard.  We enjoyed watching and learning.  Today, we found the nest on the sidewalk---the wind must have blown it out.  It looks very nice in my window box by the front door.

I know you are probably thinking I  shouldn't be calling him so ugly----but after all,  I ran around taking pictures of him didn't I?  So, maybe I don't REALLY think he is so awfully ugly....right?......

Talk to you later!

Nancy

You may need to go back and read my June 10 blog about "the Invasion of..."

This may or may not be one of the little critters we rescued from the van.........but whatever the case, I spent several minutes pursuing this little beauty as "she" (or it) scurried up one stem and down another.  It's little legs were going so fast, it was just a blur.  Up the stem, over the flower, down the stem.  Up the leaf, around to the other side and back down.  Over and over, this little bug had such a determination it amazed me.  Imagine if I had that much drive, how much I could accomplish in a day!

Here is a neat page I found about how to identify ladybugs from Carolina Farm Stewardship Journal.

There has been some discussion on the blogsite about the Proverbs 31 woman, and with good reason!  We can learn so much from her life, whether it was real or a parable of sorts.  But what can we learn from this beautiful little creation? 

Proverbs 6:6 talks about the ant, another small wonder that accomplishes much! 

"Go to the ant, you sluggard:  Consider her ways and be wise, Which having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the Summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.  How long will you slumber, O sluggard?  When will you rise from your sleep?  A little sleep, a littl slumber, A little folding of the hands to sleep --- So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need like an armed man."  Proverbs 6:6-11 NKJV

Now don't think I am calling you a sluggard or anything....unless you truly feel this applies to you (I am right there with you!)  And it is these small things, and the small voices that sometimes speak to us in the most loud, clear way.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!!

Nancy

Hello all you dear people out there in bloggerland!  I know you are there :)

Would somebody PLEASE comment on my blogs, before I get a complex???

(Anissa, I mean everybody else.  You are my best commentator!)

Today, we had a very fun little experience.  We were coming home from picking up a container full of live lady bugs from a friend........actually at the bank drive through, when my oldest child took the container from the youngest, "just in case," and OOPS.  It slipped right out of her hands!  It kind of looked a bit like Gena's blog template

Lady bugs, lady bugs where have you been? 

 All over the inside of Nancy's Van! 

 On the floor boards, in the windows, even in her purse. 

I tried to convice my daughter, it could have been worse!

(It could have been a container full of .......baby snakes or something!

Thank God for Lady bugs. 

Have a blessed weekend y'all!

Nancy