Beautiful Blessings - 9/4/15

~ Seeing Gillie attack the yarn viciously and subsquently teasing her with it! ;~)

~ Seeing my sisters do things I never could do on the play ground! I never was one for crazy stunts on the playground. Heehee!! And then watching them use the seesaws! I never seesawed much as a kid since I was an only child back then ;~)

 

(Just Lil' G)

(L-Jo joins her)

(trying another seesaw)

(figuring out the best seat)

(T-Tot and T-Bug joined them)

(deciding which seat is best)

(happily seesawing!!)

~ Deciding the pine tree is all decorated for Christmas! Ornaments au naturel!

~ Lil' G requesting to watch "A Christmas Carol" with George C. Scott & enjoying some Christmas music!!!! (Denver and the Mile High Orchestra's Timeless Christmas!) Only 111 days till Christmas! :~D

~ Spotting the chickadees in the rose bush with Mom!

Beautiful Blessings - 8/27/15

~ Spotting a starling perched in a field of corn!

~ Spotting 2 Black and White Warblers! Their backs looked like Oreos or Cookies N Cream ice cream!! Cute little things!

~ Going swimming at the YMCA this afternoon!

~ Listening to the kids turn the playcube into a movie set! "Scene One, Take One!" keeps being hollered!!

~ Getting a letter, some tea, and a pretty picture in the mail from a friend! Thanks girlie!!! <3

Beautiful Blessings - 8/7/15

~ Listening to Lil' G research horses in the encyclopedia so she can figure out what kind of horse her toy horse is.

~ Listening to all the night-time bugs and birds and tree frogs.

~ Listening to Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance music.

~ Listening to the kids I babysat for the first time in months play with my sisters in the play kitchen...all sorts of yummy goodies made in that lil' kitchen!
~ Listening to kitties' soft steps and perfect purrs. <3

(He curled up on the end of my bed while I was napping <3 I love my Ansel!!)

Photo-A-Day: Day 6!

"Special" - I bring you two photos! I was trying to figure out something special to take a picture of when this little birdie caught my eye!

My poor blog.... and something exciting!

I haven't blogged much recently...I'm just a horrible blogger...... ;~)

Seriously though, I'm going to resume Science Saturday, and I shall be putting up the next post for the Series on Prayer soon!

Something exciting happened today!!

It snowed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it didn't just snow, it stayed!! 

To make up for such a boring blog recently, here's a few pictures!! :~D

Wisteria!

It looks like the tree has powered sugar on it! 

 Lightly frosted with snow!

A fairy-tale land!

Goldenrod golden-snow!

 

Delicately iced with snow-icing!

 

A sweet Mama Cardinal!

 

 

Snowflakes on the remains of a Brown-eyed Susan

 

Snowflakes falling in a world that's clinging to fall.....

Winslow was VERY excited! We'll have to find him a new winter hat! :~D

I apologize to those who do not like the excessive use of exclamation points, but today justified it! 

It snowed!!!!!!!! Ahh!!! It really is one of my favorite things... 

Science Saturday: Hawks & Mushrooms!

(I took this picture on a hike with my best friend while we were camping :~D ) 

A few marginally thought-provoking things of interest: 

• Hawks are not hawks. (Just don't confuse them with crows like I did when I was kid.) Hawks are actually a name for a raptor that eats other birds. They are part of the genus Accipiter. What we think of as Hawks are from the genus Buteo.
• True Hawks are the Goshawks, Cooper's Hawks, and Sharp-Shinned Hawks. The raptors we call "Hawks" are Broad-winged, Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, and Rough-legged Hawks.
• In UK, they call the "Hawks" buzzards. Considering we are already confused with the Hawks that aren't Hawks, and we call Vultures, buzzards, let's just stick with the name Hawks.
• Mushrooms are reproduced by spores. (Just read about this in my Biology textbook). The underside of the Mushroom cap have tiny gills. Each gill has tiny pores where the microscopic spores are produced and blow away in the wind.
• Mushrooms are decomposers. They break down the wood, leaves, dirt, etc. by which they reside.
• The Indian Pipes we talked about a few weeks ago are often considered Mushrooms, but they are not. Indian Pipes are flowers.

Science Saturday: Galls, Herring Gulls, and Hairy Cap Moss

(A Gall from our yard...the top of the stem broke...)

A few interesting things:

•             Galls are an abnormal growth of plant tissue caused by something other than the plant itself. Most commonly caused by insects but they are also caused by mites, nematodes, bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
• The Goldenrod Gall is caused by a small fly that lays an egg on the stem of the Common Goldenrod. As it grows it forms a solid spherical gall around itself to protect it and feed it.\
• Galls are wonderful for protection, but some birds and rodents can see that they are holding something "yummy" inside, and will eat the contents.
• Herring Gulls are one of the most common gull along the Atlantic Coast. They have migrated inland, and have been found by the Great Lakes, the Mississippi and other large bodies of water.
• They were protected at the beginning of the 20th century because of low numbers, but since then, they've increased in number and have no need for such protection.
• Herring Gulls are ground nesters, so they prefer to be on islands where predators are few. It takes 25-27 days for an egg to hatch. Then the parents feed them regurgitated food until they are old enough to take care of themselves.
• Hairy Cap Moss grows in thick spongy beds on the forest floor. It should be called "Mattress moss" because of how soft it is! ;~)
• Moss is unique in it's ability to remain dormant for extended periods of time, yet still be alive when it receives water again.
• Moss is good for reviving areas that have been devastated by natural causes. Because of their unique ability to adapt, they can revitalize areas stricken by forest fires, floods, volcanoes, and other natural catastrophes! 

Science Saturday: Hummingbirds, Spittlebugs, and Buttercups Galore!

(Pardon the fact they are daisies...though there might be buttercups in the far back left corner....)

"A tiny little spittle bug climbed up a stalk.

He almost reached the top, when he heard someone talk.

A bright little humming bird sang in the sky.

He smiled at her before away she flied.

The tiny little spittle bug enjoyed the flower's scent.

Back down the buttercup he went."

A few interesting things I learned:

• Humming Birds' wings are different than most birds. Their wings don't flap, but move in a figure-eight motion. 
• If a human were to sustain the energy output of a humming bird, they would have to eat 285lbs of hamburger a day. Humming birds eat half their weight in sugar daily. 
• Their tongue is unique in the fact it can reach past the end of their bill. 
• Spittlebugs is the name for the young bugs. The adult bugs are called Froghoppers.
• The spittle is wet and slippery with a consistency of saliva rather than foam. It is made up plant juices from what they eat and glands in their abdomen. They use it to protect themselves.
• The Spittlebugs only have one known predator, a species of wasp that knows tasty things are hidden under the spittle.
• On any given plant, you can easily find Buttercups in every stage of their life. Buds, young flowers, old flowers and flowers turned to seed.
• They can, but rarely self pollinate. They are usually cross-pollinated by tiny insects crawling from one Buttercup to another. Cross pollination is better for the species anyways.
• Buttercups are very common, so many people consider them to be weeds. 

Throwback Tuesday: Rachel Louise Carson

Rachel Louise Carson was a marine biologist and conservationist. She helped raise awareness of the endangered bald eagles. The eagles consumed prey that contained DDT. By 1972, DDT was banned in the United States. Because of this, the numbers jumped from 417 pairs of wild bald eagles in 1963, to 4,712 in 1995.

Since Google honored her today, I decided she would be perfect for Throwback Tuesday.

:~) An amazing lady of her time!

A Hike at Sapsucker Woods!

With the forecast of rain all week, we decided to go for a hike at Sapsucker Woods.

T-Tot was ready to go!

Best buddies ;~)

Sapsucker Woods Pond

Canada geese

An interesting plant :)

Pointing out things that caught their eyes 

Looking below the boardwalk

A little stream

The rare popcorn tree! ;~D

Possibly leeks

Homemade binoculars

Heehee!  T-Bug gets a ride!

Fungus

Who wants to go to Middle Earth with me?

A hawk

A robin

The pond from the other side

A deer

T-Bug shall conquer the world!

Reflections in the pond!

It was a very enjoyable hike! We enjoyed ourselves immensely!