This morning early there was frost on the ground. Later the sun made all the frost melt except the spot where the fences shadow was on the ground. So it made the shape of the fence on the ground. Here is a pictures of it.
Today we went to look at our lettuce in the garden to see how it was growing. It was under a cold frame made from boards and a window. We also still have strawberry plants, broccoli, and carrots.
A while ago the ducks started laying eggs. The eggs are bigger than chicken eggs. Derek found the first egg. Devin found another one that afternoon. Sometimes the eggs have two yolks. Today we went to town and got some different food for the ducks so that they will lay more eggs. Here they are as babies.
A few days ago we went up the roads to someone elses house to pick grapes. We got almost ten galons of them. They are not very big. We are going to make jam out of them. It was fun to pick them.
Recently we saw a Pileated woodpecker. It was on a tree stump in the front yard. Then it flew to a big dead birch tree. I liked to see him pecking on the tree because he was so big. Here are some pictures of him.
Me and my family went on a hike up saint peters dome. On the way up we saw a porcupine. It was in a pile of rocks. We think it has a home up there. We took pictures of it. Here is one of them.
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Sep. 22, 2009
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Birds Coming to the Bird Feeder Again
There have not been any birds coming to the bird feeder for awhile but just yesterday they started coming again. There have only been Chickadees and nuthatches. Here are some pictures.
Here is the bird trap but I have not caught anything with it yet.
We have been getting lots of apples from some apple trees on a road near are house. There are lots of apples and we have been making apple sauce. It is a lots of fun.
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Sep. 10, 2009
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Black Swallowtail Caterpillar Getting Bigger
My black swallow caterpillar is getting bigger. He is almost as big as the monarchs are when they make there
chrysalises so I think it is about time for him to make his. Here are some pictures of him.
One day this summer we went for a walk to look for monarch caterpillars. On the way back we decided to pick wildflowers. When we got back we ate lunch. While we were eating we found on the flowers two black swallowtail caterpillars. We did not find what they ate and they died. We bought some parsley but they did not eat it. Then just now we found another one on some dill. It has been eating the dill and growing. Here is a picture of it.
There have been a lot of Compton tortoiseshells around here this year. They would sit on the eves of our house. This year we have also seen Monarchs, Tiger Swallowtails, American Coppers, and Little Wood Nymphs.
One day we went for a walk to look for caterpillars. On the way back I saw a green grass snake on the road. I tried to keep it as a pet but it did not work. it was fun to watch. Here are some pictures of it.
We found some baby birds outside in a nest in the shed this year. There were four of them in the nest. One day we went to look at them and one of them flew out of the nest. It was fun to watch them grow.
We have a bunch of monarch chrysalises. This morning I looked and two of them were black. When they are black, it means that the butterflies are about to come out. On one of them you could see the orange wing more clearly than on the other. I looked at them a few minutes later and the dark one was a butterfly. The other one had turned darker. When I looked in about one half hour later, there was a crumpled butterfly hanging from a broken chrysalis. That was the second chrysalis. Later they flew away successfully.
This is the first chrysalis just before it came out.
The chrysalis on the right is the second chrysalis.
One day when we were coming home we saw a bear at the top of the hill just past our house, so we went up there to get a better look. We watched it for a little while, then went home. The people who live up the road said that there is a mommy bear and four cubs. One night Bingo our dog was barking and barking. When we went out to look there was nothing there. When we went back in Bingo started barking again. This time when we went out there was a bear in the yard. We scared it off. Here is a picture of it from when we saw it up the road.
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Jul. 2, 2009
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american lappet moth Caterpillars
One day we went for a walk. We were looking for monarch caterpillars. While we were on the walk I also collected different kinds of wild flowers then when we got home I found two caterpillars on them which I figured out were black swallowtail caterpillars. We couldn't find food for them two days later we went for a walk and found a American lappet moth caterpillar. Here is a picture of it.
I got some tadpoles and that hatched out of some eggs that I got from the pond. They have been changing fast and now some of them are baby frogs. Others are frogs with tails. Some only have back legs and some have no legs at all. Here are some pictures.
Yesterday we gave some ducks that we got that we are raising to lay eggs there first swim in a kitty pool it was not really a swim because it was not deep enough for them to swim they did not now how to get in so we had to chase them around and put them in then to keep them from getting out we had to blocked them in with sticks until we got them all in then we backed up to see what they would do and they started to splash around for a while until they decided to get out it was fun watching them. Here is a picture of one in the pool.
There have been a lot of spring peepers in the pond. They are very loud and very small. They are so small that they could sit on a dime. They are so noisy that if I walk by on the road they hurt my ears. Some times we go out in the canoe and try to catch them. They are hard to see because they are so small. I still have never seen one peep just heard them. Here are some pictures
This is a picture of a spring peeper that we caught it is on the window.
I also found this flower.
Here is the bird trap but I have not caught anything with it yet.
Here is a chickadee that is by the bird feeder.
This is a picture of a spring peeper that we caught it is on the window.
Here it is next to a penny.
