From My Nature Journal

   Trudging down to the trickle with the little girls today was worth the effort. They begged me to go with them and I almost said no because of my leg, but the thought of capturing a crayfish on the digital camera was too enticing.
    Elizabeth gathered her equipment – two garden shovels and a ball jar – just in case we caught one. Prairie Crayfish can dig six feet into the ground, but Elizabeth was determined to try and unearth one herself. At times the kids have scooped one out of the trickle at feeding time (once they even found a mother with babies all over her tail), but so far this season we’re still on the hunt. Last year, Robert found one crawling along the gravel in front of the grain barn and we took the opportunity to draw and paint it from life.
   While the girls dug in the soft, muddy earth, I wandered past the Crayfish chimneys to the edge of the soybean field. Suddenly, I heard a loud squawk. As I entered the meadow a startled Pheasant flew up from a honeysuckle bush, his heavy body propelling off into the hedgerow. I gasped. Even though I wasn’t quick enough to take his picture, his presence is permanently fixed in my mind’s eye.  
    Soon the girls joined me and we rambled through the meadow, delighting in the tiny honeysuckle bushes growing there. We came upon a large flowering shrub with pale yellow trumpet-like flowers and slender green leaves. Bumble bees were buzzing all around it and their heavy bodies made a nice contrast against the delicate blossoms. “I love this place,” Elizabeth commented and I know exactly how she felt.

Specimens sighted on our walk:

Honeysuckle
Red Wing Blackbird
Pheasant
Bumble Bees
Goldenrod Galls

All Material Copyright © 2005

Jill Novak
All Rights Reserved

8:30 PM - May. 29, 2005 - post comment

Hey girl!

Hey!

What a treat to see YOU here! I SO enjoyed your post! What a blessing to be able to keep up with you even closer!

WE MUST DO TEA SOMETIME! :)

Love,
Cindy...who loves this Blogging THING! :)

CindyRushton - 7:47 AM - May. 30, 2005

Links

Friends