Posted in Nature Study

Hummingbird Nectar Recipe

1 part sugar/4 parts water

Boil the water first, then measure and add sugar, at the rate of 1/4 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water.

Let cool and store excess in refrigerator until ready to use.

Do not add food coloring, honey (which ferments), or artificial sweetener, which has no nutritional value.

You will need to clean your feeder about once a week. According to the National Audubon Society, this should be done by rinsing with one part white vinegar to four parts water. If the feeder is dirty, try adding a few grains of dry rice to the vinegar solution to help scrub it clean. Follow the vinegar wash by rinsing three times with clear, warm water before refilling with sugar solution.

Posted in Nature Study

Scientists in NZ are today, dissecting a rare colossal squid which was caught last year (Feb.07) in the Ross Sea.  The entire event is also being filmed for a future Discovery Channel episode.  The boys and I have become totally engrossed with watching the thawing and dissection of this massive, amazing creature that is nearly half a ton!  It is totally fascinating.  We are especially enthralled with reading the accompanying blog because so many of the questions we are asking are answered there.  I guess living in the southwest desert, one can only become entranced with the fact that a creature like this could live in the depths of the ocean, which btw my kids have never seen lol or tasted.  I only remember being in the ocean - with a life vest on - ONCE and I was in sheer terror thinking about how far down the inky black water went below me and what crazy thing was ready to nibble at me.  Never mind that I am absolutely terrified of the water when I can touch the bottom with my feet -- yep! Desert rat through and through LOL Watching this dissection made me wonder how many more creatures are in the deep that we have never even seen.  Definitely something out of the science fiction books or at least out of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

You can visit this museum link & watch the dissection here: http://tinyurl.com/4ay2jc

Fact sheet on squids:  http://www.tonmo.com/science/public/giantsquidfacts.php

AND http://www.corvettemuseum.com/deep_creatures/squid.htm

Coloring page:  http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/gothykredd/sea_17.gif

AND with a whale http://www.corvettemuseum.com/deep_creatures/color-2.htm

To Label http://www.allaboutnature.com/subjects/invertebrates/squid/label/

© Copyright 2008 Jacque Ward http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/wacque/ 

Posted in Nature Study

Often times when Charlotte Mason said that we need to get our kids out into nature and let them discover the world, I seem to forget that, that world can be right in our own backyard.  And while I have had Wild Days (by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe), sometimes "wild days" don't have to be getting in the car, driving to a faraway canyon, packing a lunch (& cookies) or going to the closest nature center, park or field; this can be so much easier and so much closer even if you don't have a "wild" backyard (or a backyard that needs taming like mine LOL).  I hope this encourages you that you don't have to go to the extremes every time to have a CM type nature day (or hour). 

We have had this on going study of classifying the trees that are growing in our yard and down the street in our neighborhood.  I've let the kids take photos of the trees in their various seasons; we have gathered the seed pods, pressed leaves from the trees, sketched blossoms and made bark rubbings.  Then we write what information that we found out in our own version of a tree field guide. 

I'm sure I could make this so much more technical and really turn it into a "Study" of sorts but really what we are doing is enough:  getting outside, looking closer at nature, noticing details and learning what the different trees are.  Maybe one day we will get deeper into it but for now it really is about fresh air – even if it is cold winter fresh air LOL. 

Sometimes it has taken us a few seasons to figure out what the tree actually is.  I have found that the best way to document all of this was to use those sticky photo albums that are so awful for regular photos and we can use the glue gun to adhere larger bits right on top, like seed pods, while still protecting the leaves and information under the plastic.  Often times the best books that could help us determine what the trees were, were so technically written that it was impossible for us to figure out but I found these great Plant Glossary pages to help decipher and we have included those in our personal tree guides as well.  Here is hoping you have a Wild Day in your own backyard!

This is a page from ds5y.  Obviously not too informative but he enjoys it and is proud of his book.

This is the older boys page with the pictures of the same tree in the different seasons. 

We are still missing a season LOL

And this is the "technical" side with the information.

Posted in Nature Study

I'm just thrilled with my boys!  We are currently reading Tree in the Trail by Holling C. Holling which is turning everyday, more and more into a unit study than the geography  lesson that it is pegged for at Ambleside Online but that is okay because my boys are taking exciting bunny trails and learning so much. 

In chapter 3 of the book the Indian boy gives the magpie a souvenir trophy of a buffalo tail.  Well, my boys are asking so many questions that I go looking for the bird field guide and they immediately go to our Burgess Bird Book to see if magpie has a chapter.  It doesn't, so after some bird research, I suggest that they write another chapter for Burgess about the magpie.   This is what they wrote:

DS8:

            “Mag?  Mag?  Mag?”

            “What was that?” cried Peter Rabbit.

            “That my friend, is an old friend of mine,” said Jenny Wren, “I’m sure he is about to pick up something shiny.”

            “There he goes!” says Peter Rabbit “yep!  He got something shiny.  In fact, he got my pocketknife!”

            Jenny Wren laughed.

            Peter Rabbit yelled, “Come back!  Come back!” as he was running.  The bird turned around and started flying at Peter Rabbit backwards!  “Ah!” said Peter Rabbit as he ran back to Jenny Wren.

            Jenny Wren laughed even harder, “You think he is going to eat you?  Silly Peter, Magpie likes to eat bugs and slugs.”

            “But he was attacking me!”

            “Well, sometimes they attack wounded livestock.”

            “Just hearing about it makes me shiver.”

            “Well, magpie is a little bit of a thief.  Not only does he like shiny things, he likes to steal eggs too.”

DS10:

            Peter was walking along one day, when he came upon a magpie --- and jumped out of his skin!  The magpie was eating a dead mule.  The jewelry everywhere was blinding and the magpie was cooking an omelet!  There was only one and Peter knew the saying:

            One for sorrow, two for mirth, three for marriage, four for birth.

            Five for heaven, six for the other place and seven belong to the devils own            soul!

Peter ran home as fast as he could, on the way falling into a stream two times, running into a tree twice, tripping over 12 rocks, running into 5 thorn bushes, fell into a d-e-e-e-e-p dark hole and even got pecked by Jenny Wren.  He was sore the whole next day. 

            Jenny Wren came up to him and said, “Sorry about pecking you yesterday.  What was scaring you?”

            “I-it was a-a ma-ma-mag…”

            “A magpie?”

            “Yes!  A magpie!  it was only one.”

            “Oh that’s just my friend Mag.  She is on the dark side a bit, you know, a murderer and a thief and the sorrow part is sorrowful, but otherwise she is okay.”

            “She does keep lots of jewelry” said Peter Rabbit.

            “Yes,” said Jenny “that kind of stuff delights her.”

            Peter interrupted, “Why does she eat EGGS, and how does she eat donkeys?”

            “The eggs a bad habit; the donkey, well, that’s more complicated.  She is a born fighter.  First she spots a weak animal, then she kills and eats it.  Did you notice the bluish-greenish tint in her wings?”

            “No, her jewelry was too sparkly and I was in a hurry.”

            Jenny said, “I would stay away from her.  But if you decide you want to know her, when she is in a mood, she raises her extremely long tail.”

THE END

Posted in Nature Study

  As promised, here is the info on our little green, zapper that the boys touched on our vacation (OUCH!).  If I had know this was the beautiful moth it would turn into I might have tried to bring the poisonous thing home to metamorphosis.  Okay maybe not a good idea if he zaps you LOL:

Io Moth - Automeris io

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Bombycoidea
Family: Saturniidae
Genus Species: Automeris io

The Io moth, named for a character in Greek mythology, has a very obvious black eyespot on each hindwing. Also known as the Peacock moth, they are one of the smaller North American silk moths.  It ranges from the southeast corner of Manitoba and in the southern extremes of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick in Canada, and in the US it is found from North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas, and east of those states. There are also populations in the southeast corner of Utah.

ADULTS:  Adult moths are strictly nocturnal, flying generally only during the first few hours of the night.  They have a wingspan of 2.5-3.5 inches.  Adult males are mostly yellow, while females have brown forewings.  The males also have much bigger plumose (feathery) antennae than the females. Both have one big black to bluish eyespot with some white in the center, on each hindwing, a defense mechanism meant to frighten off potential predators.  Females rarely fly until after mating.  After mating, the females go and lay eggs, then wait to die. These moths, like all moths in the Saturniidae family, have vestigial mouthparts and do not eat in the adult form

LARVAE:  Io moth larvae are green with red and white stripes running the length of their bodies, which may be up to 2 or 2.5 inches long.  Larvae have poisonous spines called urticarial hairs that are very painful to the touch (described by some as a sting).  They travel in trains and feed in groups until they spin cocoons.  Although these larvae potentially will feed on the foliage of any tree or shrub, some of their favorites include apple, rose, cherry, alder, ash, birch, elm, locust, oak, sassafras, and other deciduous (broadleaf) trees and herbaceous plants. They are often found in corn fields.  Damage is rarely severe.  These large caterpillar species are usually not considered pests. Although a single individual can consume relatively large amounts of foliage, their numbers rarely reach levels that would warrant control.

COCOONS:  The cocoon is made from a dark, coarse silk and is not very sturdy. The dark brown, almost black pupa can easily be seen through the silk when the cocoon is held up to a light. Female moths and pupae tend to be much larger than males. Most larvae will spin thin, rather flimsy cocoons among debris on the ground.  Some larvae will use a leaf wrap and the cocoons will fall to the ground with the autumn leaves.

Remedies for relief of urticating pain include initial removal of any remaining inserted spines by the use of adhesive tape, followed by ice compacts, mentholated Vaseline, or an antihistamine medicine.  The irritation can last for a day or two and may be accompanied by nausea during the first few hours. Usually the site of contact reddens and swells much like a bee sting.

Coloring Page of both larvae & moth

Fact sheet on Io Moth

Cut out of Io Moth (great for mobil)

Posted in Nature Study

Posted in Nature Study

A few weeks ago, we went to the Elephant Butte with my family and some friends of my mom & dad’s.  We had a really good time and it was a lot of fun.  We got to stay on a houseboat and we jumped off the top of it into the water.  We had a great time on the boat and playing in the lake, but the coolest thing we did wasn't in the water.

On one of the days, we took the speed boat out on the lake and we went to a little inlet.  We got off the boat and played on the shore.  We collected shells and sticks that looked like skulls.  We were having a great time when all of a sudden my dad and his friend started to run up the hills trying to catch the coolest thing you have ever seen.  AND my dad CAUGHT IT! 

Let me describe it first before I show you the picture. 

My dad yells, "ds!  ds!  Come here quick"  "Do you see it?"  And I said, "See what?"  My dad said, "Hold still, it is right there in front of you!"  Then I saw it lift its long tail high in the air and lift itself up on its front legs making him self really tall.  It had black and white rings all along its tail and his sides were orange and a shiny metal blue.  The rest of him was brown and gold striped and his belly was white.  It sounds like I'm not telling the truth but this is the truth. 

Then the funniest thing you could ever hear happened.  This little critter did tiny little push ups like this.  And then it bolted soooooo fast I thought nobody in the world could catch it.  My dad and his friend chased after it.  Then my mom came to help and she saw two more just like it.  Do you want to know what it is?  We all surrounded one of them and after lots of running on this very rocky, slippery, and sandy hill we CAUGHT IT!  It was very exciting - Do you want to know what it is now?

Here is the picture

It is called a Zebra-Tailed Lizard.  Its scientific name is:  Callisaurus draconoides rhodostictus - which means beautiful rose dotted dragon lizard.  It is about 9 inches long. 

It can be found throughout the southwest including parts of Mexico, all the way to the Mojave Desert in California and up to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Utah. 

It lives in the desert under bushes in the shade but loves the hot sun.  They are diurnal which means that they are active chiefly in the daytime.  During the hottest times of day, they may do this little dance by standing on just two legs, and then switching to the opposite two.  They are often seen basking on rocks, even on extremely hot afternoons.  It hibernates underground when it is cold.