Mar. 31, 2008
Feeding Fenzy
We had a small field trip to the Nature Center on Thursday for a class called Feeding Frenzy. That was really quite funny for a name because there was only one or two animals actually interested in eating! 
We did get to touch several different reptiles and amphibians and learn come cool facts about them. For instance, did you know that an American Toad uses his eyes to help him swallow? How cool is that? And frogs don't really zap insects flying by with a really long tonque. And I always thought the cartoons had it right!
A lot of our group had to miss the trip for various reasons, but here are some pics of those of us who did make it
This is Isaac petting the toad who was not at all interested in eating his crickets. One of them escaped off of the table much to the dismay of one little girl sitting in the front row.
Here is Taylor petting a corn snake. The animal keeper tried to feed him a dead mouse, but he wasn't hungry- even with the keeper running the mouse all along his body. Luckily the next snake gave us a bit more action. It was called a black rat snake (I think.). And he was VERY interested in eating. It was very cool to see him strike at the mouse and eat the whole thing. It was the highlight of the day.
Now you might think this would really gross me out, but I had a much more harrowing experience already that morning. I was at the kitchen counter making sandwiches for our picnic lunch when I heard the cat come barreling into the kitchen through his kitty door. I didn't think too much of it since he often comes through in a hurry. But then I heard some noises that didn't sound as familiar- mostly thumping. As I turned around I saw feathers flying everywhere!
He had brought in a bird! It wasn't even all the way dead yet. Now I don't really have a weak stomach, but this was too much for even me. I went directly to the bedroom to wake up John. He had only had a few hours sleep, but there was NO way I was going to deal with that bird. If John hadn't been there, I would have loaded up the kids and left until he came home. There is just something about a bird being killed in my kitchen that set my stomach to churning. So needless to say, the mouse was no big deal at all!
Here are some other pics from the field trip.
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