Science Saturday: Woolly Bears

(Via Wikipedia)

So, I think, um, I might be a little off with my weeks and my planning/scheduling on this, so I'll fix it for next week.

A few factual slighty-sticky notes for your brain:

•   A popular old wives' tale is that you can tell how cold/hard the winter will be by the size of the rust-brown band on the Woolly Bear Caterpillar. Actually, it tells us how old the Woolly Bear is! Younger Woolly Bears have more black than brown. As they mature the brown band widens.
• Now if you see one as it's getting chilly, and the band is very small, it just means it's a younger caterpillar getting ready for winter. So it's not forecasting the weather, it's just responding to the cold weather at the time you see them.
• They are such a popular caterpillar. Do you ever think about what they become afterwards? In the summer they become an Isabella Tiger Moth. Pretty much just another moth you'll see near a porch light. Not as exciting as a caterpillar, but still pretty neat.

Science Saturday: Hares, Asters, and Bumblebees!

(A white aster with a bumblebee! :~D My lovely Mommy took this!)

A few interesting facts that may be slightly beneficial to your brain:

•  Hares and Rabbits are completely different animals. Hares tend to have big ears, big hind legs, and a a larger body. They are from the genus Lepus.
• One of the more-common Hares is the Snowshoe Hare. They grow extra fur on their feet to help support their weight when they are in deep snow.
• They enjoy eating grasses, green leaves, buds and twigs in the summer. In the winter they eat needles and twigs from conifers, bark, buds, and twigs from deciduous trees. For water they drink dew in the warm months, and snow in the cold months. 
• The name Aster comes from the Greek word for "star". Fall is a perfect time to see the "star flowers". 
• Asters are a perfect example of a composite flower. They have tiny individual flowers called florets. The ones in the middle of the flower are called disk florets. Surrounding the disk florets are small thin ray florets.
• Asters are perennials, so if you find them one year, they are most likely going to be there for the next several years.
• Bumblebees still can be around after a few frosts. Some of the females are still buzzing around looking for mates. After they mate they will bury themselves in the ground in an inactive state.
• If they survive the winter they will come back out in April or May. Honeybees prefer hives in trees and so forth, but Bumblebees tend to live in burrows in the ground.
• As the colony slowly gets bigger in the warmer months, the Queen is busy laying eggs. The older workers spend time foraging for food while the younger workers help in the nursery. Then the cycle continues.

Science Saturday: Chipmunks, Daddy Longlegs and Frost!

(My Dad took this picture the other day!)

Marvelous, mildly-mediocre, interesting facts:

• Chipmunks are different from Squirrels by the mere fact that they live underground while Squirrels live in trees. They usually make burrows near logs, stumps, or boulders.
• A Chipmunk's burrow is more than a place to hide. They make chambers for food storage, sleeping chamber, and an exit tunnel. If it's a female, she would also make herself a nesting chamber.
• They do hibernate some, but they also need to eat through out the winter. This is when the food storage chambers come into play. They can easily access them so that they can eat when they need to.
• Daddy Longlegs are not spiders, but they are part of the Arachnid family. Spiders have 2 distinct sections of their body (the cephalothorax and the abdomen) while Daddy Longlegs have one section (the cephalothorax and abdomen are combined).
• Daddy Longlegs do not have silk glands for spinning webs. They also don't have poison glands for paralyzing prey. Daddy Longlegs do have a unique gland that emits an offensive smell to their predators.
• Their legs aren't just for moving, they are also important sensory equipment. They can be used to sense the surroundings. If anything happens to the second pair of legs, the Daddy Longlegs will most likely die within a short time.
• Frost is a turning point in the fall. It kills the vulnerable plants as the temperature drops below 32* F. 
• You may think of frost as frozen dew, but in reality frost is more crystal-like, an akin to snow.
• Frost occurs when it's a clear night and the temperature drops below 32* F. The vapor in the air freezes into what we know as frost.

Science Saturday: Ladybugs, Blueberries and Rainbows

A few mediocre things that may spark your interest: 

• Ladybugs are very helpful with pest control in orchards and fields. 30,000 Ladybugs can protect 10 acres of produce.
• Ladybugs are one of the most recognizable insects to children.
• Ladybugs have a high birthrate, and a high survival rate which is surprising. They are a bright red to tell predators that they don't taste good. If that doesn't work, they play dead. If that doesn't work they emit a foul smelling fluid and then they are (usually) safe.
• Blueberries are native to North America. They thrive just about anywhere.
• There are many types of Blueberries. If they are cross pollinated (which often occurs) then they produce small berries at a later time.
• Many birds including grouse, scarlet tanagers, bluebirds, robins, and thrushes enjoy them. Bears, foxes, raccoons, skunks, deer, rabbits, chipmunks and mice also enjoy the tasty berries!
• The basic components for rainbows are water and rain. Most often they are seen after a storm.
• You can make your own rainbows with a water hose if the sun is low enough in the sky. Takes a bit of experimenting though.
• Rainbows are beautiful! I've seen quite a few partial ones, a few full ones, and few times I've seen full double ones! Those ones are REALLY cool!!!! :~D

Liebster Award!

Jana, from Jana's Faith awarded me the Liebster Award! Thank you very very much!

here's how this award works:

+ thank the amazing blogger that nominated you

+ answer the 11 questions the nominator provided

+ nominate a few other bloggers who have less than 200 followers

+ post 11 different questions for your nominees to answer

+ contact your nominees to let them know that you've nominated them 

1. perfect day?

When you can spend the entire day outside with friends and family.

2. favorite drink? 

Hmmmmm probably good ole fashioned H2O ;~)

3. best song?

Right now Praying for You by Mandisa

4. favorite blog?

A Holy Experience

5. favoritest superhero & why?

I don't have one.................................. :( 

6. earliest memory?

My 2nd birthday!

7. weirdest thing you've ever done?

Um.........hmmm............like everything? lol I've done so many weird things! 

8. biggest fear?

Heights............ *shudder*

9. signature lotion/scent?

Anything with pomegranate 

10. best DQ blizzard?

I've never been to Dairy Queen :(

11. best band in the world?

Oh boy. Um.....I have no clue........ I don't think I have one.....

I nominate:

Neona at theadventuresofagirlandhermonkey.blogspot.com

Ryan at asailorstale.blogspot.com

Sarah at enjoyinglovely.blogspot.com

Hanson at atypicalamericankid.blogspot.com 

Noah at crazyinternetadventures.blogspot.com
Breanna at jdbrea.wordpress.com
Kelley at goldgodsgirls.blogspot.com

Penny Pincher at thedebt-terminationblog.blogspot.com

11 Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite kind of pencil?
2. How long have you blogged?
3. Do you like pickles?
4. Have you ever played on a wooden playground?
5. What is your favorite flower?
6. Do you like to bike?
7. How would you describe yourself in an 11 word sentence?
8. What is the longest book you read?
9. Do you know any other languages other than English?
10. What was the most hideous outfit combination you wore as a child?
11. Are you afraid of heights?

Thank you Jana! And congratulations to everyone I nominated! 

You may also like: Liebster Blog Award!

Liebster Blog Award!

A lovely couple, the Toews (ketoews.blogspot.com) nominated me as one of the their nominees for the Liebster Blog award!



Here are 11 facts about myself:

1. I dance constantly.
2. The punishment for dancing in the kitchen is dishes, so I broke my habit of dancing in the kitchen.
3. I do dance in the rest of the house.
4. My family loves cats and have 3, Gillie (Gilberta), Sully (Sullivan), and Ansel (Ansel Adams). These are some of there crazy adventures, including kitty nabbing, and fashion shows. 
5. We just got 2 goldfish, Glowie and Gopher. 
6. I am the fastest big sister diaper changer this side of the Mississippi! :~D 
7. I'm 5'8".
8. My birthday is on the 13th of April.
9. I wrote a book, and hope to publish it someday.
10. I'm working on my second book, the sequel. 
11. I'm terrified of heights. And I was tortured when I had to walk across a suspension bridge, 140 feet above the bottom of a gorge; yesterday. 

These are my answers to the questions I was given:

1. What is your favorite breakfast food? Dad's pancakes.
2. If you could have nominated ONE movie for a best movie in the world award, what would it be? Princess Bride? I think.... too many favorites to choose from.
3. Why do you blog? Probably because I like to write.
4. What book would you recommend I read next? I would say "The Princess" by Lori Wick
5. Describe your morning routine. I am awakened by my Dad like clockwork at 8 every day. I get up, make breakfasts, check my email, and get dressed.
6. What is your favorite quote? This is one of my favorites: When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way. ~ Fred Rogers
7. Do you have any music recommendations? Nope! :~) I do like musicals like White Christmas, Singing in the Rain, and so on and so forth. 
8. Where has been your favorite place to travel? The Adirondacks!
9. What sorts of things do you pin on Pinterest? Nothing, I don't have Pinterest!
10. Do you prefer to buy ground coffee or whole coffee beans? Ground, we get Foldger's Classic Roast.
11. What is your most views or favorite blog post from you blog? My Hope Chest post! Most views on my any blog post and the most comments on a post. :~) 

Thank you for the Liebster award!