Baby daddy long legs EVERYWHERE!!!

Well, perhaps not EVERYWHERE, but they're heading that way. About a week or so ago the babies hatched...it was rather neat to see. They started out as tiny specks, you could barely see their legs. Now they're about the size of a small gum-ball, legs included. From the time they hatched until now they've stayed very still in their web. As I'd watch, I couldn't see them move at all. As of this morning, they're starting to take off and move further away from the web. I've got to capture them and take them outside ASAP! As much as I've enjoyed watching them grow, I'm also ready to see them go and finally get rid of those cob webs!

Here they are in the lid of a pitcher. Their mom jumped out immediately, so I don't have her to contrast their size to, but they're pretty little still.

My Observations of a Daddy-LongLeg

...Or a Mommy Long-Leg as the case may be.
There has been a "Daddy" long-leg in our bathroom for quite some time. We've been meaning to observe it for quite some time, but we haven't gotten it down just yet. Tonight when I went to take my shower, I noticed an egg sac in HER web. She was quite still and having seen Charlotte's Web a billion or so times, I presumed her to be dead. It appeared as if she was simply having a nice siesta after her late-night snack of autumn mosquito fly for when I gently nudged her web, she quickly sprang forth to gather up her egg sac close to her body to protect her unhatched. It was rather sweet...especially for a spider! It'll be fun to watch those little things hatch--yes, even baby SPIDERS are cute, I have to admit. I will however, be containing them to observe this tender moment...as much as I appreciate what they do for me in the way of insect control, I do NOT want hundreds of baby daddy and mommy long-legs running free in my bathroom!

The Honey Bee

In the springtime, joyous spring-
time,
When the birds begin to sing,
And we hear the murmuring brook-
lets,
Then the bees are on the wing.
When the long, cold days are over
Bees are out to sip the dew
And the nectar from the clover,
Buttercups and daisies blue.

Supers placed above the beehive
For the honey bee to find,
Will be filled if showers are given
To the flowers of every kind.
Then the bees are kind and gentle
"Take it hog," they seem to say;
"We will work again the harder
After the next rainy day.

"And we'll fill again the super,
We don't mind with you to share,
Early morn will find us busy
Gathering honey everywhere.
We just gladly gather honey,
And the wax from off our back
We produce, now is'nt it funny,
No material do we lack.

"For our queen cells we have polen,
Any egg a queen may be,
From the proper food and cover,
We produce a queen, you see.
If some drones we wish for mating,
Other food we must supply,
Just the food we give while waiting
For their hatching by and by."

"But when frost on field and hillside,
In the autumn kills the flower,
And in vain we search for honey,
In each glen and leafy bower,
Then in every hive is stationed
Guards to watch our winter's store,
For if you would rudely take it,
We would search in vain for more.

"And we sting with all our fury,
Take our honey if you dare,
For we want to keep from starving
In the winter, so beware."
There's a moral we may gather
From the busy bee for all,
Gather food stuff in the summer,
And protect it in the fall.

--Nettie Squire Sutton.

Trees
by Sara Coleridge

The Oak is called the king of trees,

The Aspen quivers in the breeze,

The Poplar grows up straight and tall,

The Peach tree spreads along the wall,

The Sycamore gives pleasant shade,

The Willow droops in watery glade,

The Fir tree useful timber gives,

The Beech amid the forest lives.

Science Friday, Take 2

Today we had a very fun Science Friday. I invited 2 homeschooling friends of mine and we did some experiments of Chemical Reactions.
First I cut an apple open and let it oxidize just a bit. I told the children that the browning is a result of a chemical reaction between the apple and the oxygen in the air. Then I showed them the good ol' vinegar and baking soda trick. Who doesn't love that one?? Then I showed them dirty pennies and how the brown-ness is caused by oxidation. We did 2 experiments using pennies--one was just letting them sit in lemon juice and seeing how clean they'd get. That was cool because we were able to correlate it with how you use lemon juice to prevent apples from browning since one of the moms had recently been making dried apples with her children. We also did an experiment that was supposed to be electrochemical plating. It didn't work how it was supposed to. Oh well, not all experiments always work!
The last one was by far the favorite. We made what we lovingly refer to as "GOOZLE"

GOOZLE RECIPE

Mix
1c. water
8oz school glue
(food coloring, if desired--we have found that less color makes it LESS MESSY!)
stir well

in separate container mix:
4tsp borax
1 1/3 c. warm water
stir to dissolve

Slowly pour glue mixture into borax mixture. Stir gently. Take out glob and knead until it dries out a bit. WHAT FUN!!

Wasps vs. Hornets

There are many questions we've been pondering lately...it seems to be a general theme that we've been wondering the differences between two different creatures ie: wasps vs hornets, alligators vs crocodiles, cicadas vs. locusts. I'll try to find out as much as I can, although so far all I've found is that hornets are generally larger than wasps and they are both classified as yellow jackets.

Cicada


Locust


Cicadas are very interesting creatures--they actually live underground for 17 years before emerging and climbing a tree to lay their eggs. Fascinating. Apparently they do less damage than locusts, but they're often confused for locusts. Cicadas also shed their skin on the trees they lay their eggs in, so if you ever see a tree covered in bug skins, they're probably from cicadas.

As far as alligators and crocodiles go, I'll have to attack (no pun intended) that one later...one thing I have learned is that South Florida is the only place on earth that alligators and crocodiles both live in their natural habitats. Note to self: do not go on vacation to South Florida.

I love it when things coincide!

The other day Savannah read a section out of the Christian Liberty Nature reader about butterflies. It talked about how they lay their eggs on cabbage leaves, but they'd never eat cabbage. We then read the first story out of Parables From Nature about the exact same thing. The parable was about a butterfly who entrusted her eggs to a lowly caterpillar right before she died. The caterpillar fretted because she had no idea how to care for beautiful winged creatures. She asked the Lark what she should do and the Lark came back telling her that the eggs would turn into caterpillars and better yet, one day soon she'd be a butterfly herself. She wouldn't believe it until one day the eggs hatched and there they were, hundreds of tiny caterpillars. It gave her hope for her future as a beautiful butterfly. It really is a beautiful story and it was so neat that the two stories went together.

We also read about honey bees and looked up pictures on the internet of honey bees with their little pollen sacs full of pollen (hence my current header photo). God is truly amazing with his Creation. The intricate details of honey bees and how they carry pollen from plant to plant while benefiting themselves and their colony. It's nothing shy of awesome!