Natural Art {Wordless Wesnesday}

Now, I'm not "into" spiders or anything, but I hold them in high esteem. It just amazes me to look at their webs and see all of the hard work and precision that goes into each one. Often, I'll see a web in a tree when we go for walks and I'll just stop and look at it. Of course, no one else can see it, so everyone treats me like I'm nuts, "What are you looking at?!" They should know better than to ask silly questions like that, I'm obviously looking at something interesting that they've passed up because they were too busy walking from Point A to Point B without bothering to take notice of the scenery on the way. Anyway, here's my Wordless (ha ha) Wednesday post - I thought October would be appropriate for it:

Mid-morning in my garden.

This is actually TWO Daddy Long Leg spiders, head-to-head. I don't know if they were being extra friendly or fighting to the death. Sorry for the fuzzy pic. It's just such a rare thing to observe that I had to share it!

There was an entire clearing in the woods with about ten of these giant weeds covered in webs just like this one. The photos of the collection didn't come out right - It's hard to take pictures of webs without the right light!

The spider is top, center. Waiting to trap the silly bug that attempts to land anywhere near him/her.

This one's waiting to jump out and catch his/her dinner, too.

We came upon this one at Sterling State Park, right on Lake Erie. I've never seen a spider like this before!

Boris the Spider! {Crafty Review}

Ok, so his name really isn't Boris. He's officially called "Kooky Spooky Spider", but with two kids who really love The Who and both of them knowing all of the words to "Boris The Spider" (check below for a YouTube video with lyrics - it's a great little song for kids, especially this time of year - sorry Jorje!), well... he has a new name at our house!

 Now, we didn't come up with this idea ourselves. Boris was one of the crafts that came to us from Freckles Crafts. If you aren't familiar with Freckles Crafts, read my blog post about this great company HERE. I absolutely love having Rebecca's craft kits sitting on my craft shelf. On those days when Little Guy is begging, "I want do project, Mamma! Maybe gluing or paintin' project?" and I just do NOT feel like doing it, I can grab one of the lovely bags with the Freckles Froggy on it and I know that all I have to do is sip my coffee and maybe help him out with squeezing the glue once in a while. You see, EVERYTHING you need to create each craft is included. You will not need glue, paint brushes, pipe cleaners - absolutely nothing is needed except what is in that little bag (including step-by-step instructions.)

Everything we need to make Boris!

Instructions that even Hubby could follow!

Our first job was to paint Boris' body with the little tub of black paint and the paint brush we were given. I was NOT allowed to help! Little guy had a wonderful time making sure he got paint into all of the little dips in the Styrofoam body. He kept saying, "Poke, poke, poke!" each time he dabbed the brush onto the foam.

 Now, the hardest part of any project that must be done in steps is waiting for paint or glue to dry in between. It took me a few times of listening to Little Guy whine and have fits before I had my "brilliant" idea. Why not use our hair dryer, the one no one uses for anything else, on the cool setting? Because it doesn't heat up, I can even let him use it himself (as long as I'm withing reach.) He LOVES being able to use a machine that 1) plugs into the wall, 2) makes a really loud noise, and 3) you can see/feel working. Plus, it keeps him occupied and still working on his project while he waits for the paint to dry.

See the look on his face? This is very serious work to him and I treat it as such!

Once Boris' body is dry, the rest of our project goes quickly:

Add eyes and nose, using the included glue dots...

... check to make sure his face is on straight...

... add some legs (eight to be exact!)...

... attach a string, and hang him up!

We had a wonderful time! The entire project took about 30 minutes, including drying time and pretending the googly eyes were our own eyes (you can't skip THAT step!) Little Guy only need help twice - once time for pushing the pipe cleaner legs into the foam body, and once for tying the hanging string. He's so proud of himself for being able to do every step of this project with very little help. Every morning, as he's eating his oatmeal, he says, "Goof morning, Boris!" and he tells him 'good night' before we turn out the lights at night.


We just received another package with three more crafts a couple of days ago. The hardest part about these is choosing which to do first!

Marty the Monster, Felted Owl, and Halloween Charm Necklace

The prices are just amazing! Crafts range from $1.50 to $6.75 for most. There are a few that cost more, but that is because the crafts contain more expensive components. What do I really, really want? Freckles Crafts has this very cool Craft Kit Tote for $30. It's a reusable tote (think: Hot Wheels' new home!) filled with five crafts - you can choose between girls' and boys' and all included crafts are listed. You can even include a personal gift message. I am thinking of something along the lines of, "To Alicia, because you're such an incredible blogger and crafty mommy!" (Do you think my husband reads my blog? Nah, me neither. Oh, well...)

In addition to the Freckles Crafts store, you can connect on Facebook, Twitter, and Freckles Crafts the Blog.

I received no compensation for this post. Last spring, I won a giveaway - the prize was a year's worth of crafts from Freckles Crafts. We've received NINE wonderful crafts (one for each month) and I am thankful for every one of them. I want to share this amazing store with my readers because I thank that anyone with children would benefit from having even a couple of the craft packages from Freckles Crafts laying around the house for those days when you just can't think of WHAT to do with your kid.

I Ran Into An Old Friend {Wordless Wednesday}

Just ran into an old friend yesterday afternoon. I thought he (more likely "she") had been lost in a storm or moved into the woods. Nope! Here's a little retrospective of my praying mantis friend.

May 2011 (after hatching in my kitchen!)

May 2011 - 1/2 inch long

Early June 2011 - in my oregano

Late June 2011 - up to 1 1/2"

YESTERDAY! On a sunflower leaf - about 6" long.

Sure wish I could bring him in for the winter. Wonder if they live that long? Anyway, I have nothing to feed it and I'm not about to start a grasshopper colony inside just for food! I'm going to keep on the look-out for another pod of eggs, though.

I owe this guy big. Last year, at this time, the grasshoppers had stripped my garden. This year, not nearly as much. I wish I'd had my camera when I watched this guy grab a grasshopper in mid-jump, then eat it! Every garden should have a resident like this.

Creepy-Crawlies - EEK! {#Spider Identification...PLEASE!}

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WARNING: 
This post includes spider pictures. If these images are going to haunt you for the rest of the day or give you nightmares, you may want to skip this post!

OK, so I really don't have a big dislike for spiders. They're kind of cool, actually. When one comes inside out house for a visit, I calmly escort him or her to the door. Smaller spiders who choose to take u residence right inside the door, or near  a hole in a screen are welcome to stay. They must follow two rules, though, or they will be evicted: 1) No making baby spiders inside, and 2) Stay in your designated area. My reason for this is simple - I don't want to get bit and I certainly don't want the kids to get bit. Most of the spiders around here are harmless, leaving just an itchy bite similar to a ginormous mosquito bite. I just don't want the trouble, you know?

Since our house is next to a large wooded area, we welcome the spiders that reside on our back porch. Hubby and I like to sit out there at night, but mosquitoes can be terrible around here in the summertime. BUT, we now have a very large and established colony of spiders out there now. They weave webs that essentially act as screens for our porch, catching all of the most annoying insects. I swear, I have had maybe 5 skeeter bites from sitting out there all summer!

Every once in a while, we run across a species of spider that is just plain different. Usually, its the shape of its body or its coloring. Every once in a while, it's the size. And, here is why I'm writing this post:

Oh, but wait! There's a story that goes along with this guy gal! Now, I'm the one who gets called whenever any type of creepy-crawly needs to be identified or removed from our home. So, when I heard, "Oh shit!" long pause, then wavering voice, "Honey, could you come down here?" I kind of knew what was coming. Hubby had been cleaning out under our porch. He stashed the stroller down there and was finally moving it to the basement (I've been nagging him for months to do this!) He was going to wipe some of the dust off of the stroller before storing it and opened it up. In the middle of the seat was this spider. Of course he jumped a mile. In fact, in his shock, he pushed the stroller out into the driveway... and down into the street. He called me because he was afraid to go get it. (Men!) I'm laughing at his "giant" spider as I walk to retrieve the stroller. I mean, come on - it's a spider and it's probably dead!

As I approach the stroller, I jumped. I really wasn't expecting this! Now hubby's laughing at me. So, what do I do? Yep, run up the driveway, pushing this spider toward hubby. I got a couple of inches from him and stopped. Spidey didn't. LMAO! I SO wish we had security cameras - I'd pay good money for a video of what happened next. Somehow, this spider bounced out of the stroller and... right - into hubby's hair. He's got long hair. It wasn't in a ponytail. He FREAKED OUT! This man was dancing around on the patio, shrieking, "GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!" I'm on the ground laughing. I literally peed myself a little! You see, the spider hit him on the top of the head and bounced off. It was laying a good 10 feet away from him while he did his heebie-jeebie dance. Well, maybe you had to be there. It was a great show!

After closer inspection (and some clean panties!), I ruled that the spider was dead. So, hubby, trying to recoup some of his manliness, picks it up and chases my stepson around the yard with it. He plays puppet show with it. He examines it. Now, I had only looked at the thing for a minute or so. When he finally gives it to me for my turn, I realize that the big white thing it's holding onto isn't a craft pom-pom. I don't know why I even thought that in the first place - spiders don't craft in their downtime, do they??? Yep - eggs. That's when I begin to suspect that it's possible that this spider might even still be alive. I don't know much about them or their behaviors. I quietly set the thing down and go upstairs for a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Over my shoulder, I tell my husband to not touch his little friend anymore and to keep an eye on it in case it moves. He turned three shades of pale!

So, here are some photos. I need to know if this spider is still alive. Look at the first photo, above, closely. See how the eye is reflecting the light from the camera flash? I think it might be. If it is, where can I put it so I don't kill it, but the eggs don't hatch near our house? This species is just too big for me to be comfortable with around the kids and the cat. Some of the pics are a little blurry, but I want to show you the size and coloring. Any help would be appreciated!

Do You Know Me?

UPDATE!

Through the link that Momma Jorje gave me to Bug Guide, I was able to upload an image and here is the first response I received from Eric R. Eaton:

"This is a female fishing spider, Dolomedes tenebrosus. She'll carry that egg sac around with her using her jaws and pedipalps. Eventually, when the spiderlings are about to emerge, she'll suspend the sac in a "nursery web" she spins in dense vegetation. She'll then guard the sac, and the spiderlings that emerge from it. After the spiderlings molt again, they will disperse and mom will be free to resume hunting large insects. Normally, fishing spiders are ambush hunters that lie in wait for inattentive prey to blunder within striking distance. Look for fishing spiders mostly on vertical surfaces such as tree trunks, fenceposts, and walls. Wolf spiders, with which fishing spiders are often confused, *can* climb, but are most often seen on the ground."

I asked him a few more questions (like is this thing still alicve?!) and am anxiously awaiting his reply! Eric is a natural history writer and illustrator and the primary author of Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America. He also has a blog: Bug Eric

Keeping A Busy Guy Happy When It's HOT Out

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Yep, it's hot outside! Even with the sauna-like heat and humidity, I'm still going to say that I like summer best and this type of heat wave is to be expected at least once a year. I can live with it, but I'm not sure Little Guy can. We've had to keep him inside during the day, as the heat index has regularly been hitting the upper 90's and has gotten over 110 degrees F a few times in the last week and a half. Add 75% or higher humidity and you've got a catastrophe waiting to happen with this kid. He's like Forrest Gump - he MUST run everywhere. It's hard to wrangle him up for a drink of water. He just loves being free. I swear, the kid giggles the entire time we go for walks or to the park, only stopping when he wants to tell us something. You could pick him up off the ground and his feet would still be going.

When he doesn't get his daily outings, he can become a handful of trouble. He's got so much pent up energy that he needs to release that it can turn into fury. He just doesn't know what to do with himself. He'll end up hitting, throwing things, having tantrums over the simplest things... it's a nightmare. So, hubby and I decided to alter the whole family's timetable. We've been putting Little Guy to bed around midnight rather than 9:30pm. We stay up until 1 or 2am to get some alone time. Little Guy usually doesn't wake up until 9-9:30 in the morning now, instead of his usual 7am. Strangely, nap time has only moved back a little bit, but it's lasting longer (YES!)

What do we do while we're up so much later? We go for walks and head to the park! On our walks, we encounter lots of interesting creatures that you just don't see during the day. Little Guy and I have been looking for moths and other insects (and arachnids!) in trees, on lampposts, in bushes, and on our own porch. Check out some of what we found in just one night (the first three pics are of a moth that was about 3 inches long!):

My husband says he said his name is "Irving"

These guys remind me of Murano glass beads.

I've seen this type moth in some amazing colors - from brown like a leaf to fluorescent purple. They all are the same size with the same shape. Someday, I'll find out what they are.

In addition to our walks (or Little Guy's "runs"), we've been hitting the park. I've been having a ton of fun taking pictures blind - it's so dark there that it's really hard to see anything, especially through the lens of my camera. As you can see, the flash can be a blinding surprise!

Sometimes I caught some pretty cool photos by just pointing and hitting the button!

There are some drawbacks to taking a little one to a very dark park - if he's running faster than you, he can disappear into the night. I shot the above pic in hopes that the flash would show us where he went. Oh, and there are wild animals at the park. Little Guy was running toward the shelter, where people picnic. It has a nice trash can filled with all kids of leftover goodies that attract animals. Just as he got to the shelter, I saw the shadow of a small animal scurrying away. Then we noticed something... n odor. It was a skunk and Little Guy had surprised him. I took off like a bat out of hell toward the shelter, screaming, "STOP!!!" at the top of my lungs at 11:30 at night. I grabbed up Little Guy, praying that he'd still smell like citronella oil and NOT Eau d' Pepe La Pew. He was fine. That's when I noticed that every house across the street from the park had its lights on and people were mulling around on their porches and front yards. Oops - guess the screaming must've woke a few people up. After this incident, we kept Little Guy in MUCH closer range! 

Looking at the stars.

 We also took advantage of the lack of players on the tennis courts. Now here was a place that was partially lit and fenced in - our little freebird couldn't get too far away from us! He loved throwing his ball and chasing after it. Plus, we didn't have to run after him. We managed to sit down, drink our ice water, and talk! Oh, and I want to mention that, when we got home on the night these photos were taken, we checked the Weather Channel - the heat index, at 11:45pm, was 90 degrees!

So, what do you do when it's too hot for your little ones to get outside and burn off some energy??? 

***I just want to add here that the really cool bug shirt little guy is wearing is from Tea Collection - it's a prize I won from a giveaway on Abby Approved! Isn't it awesome?!

Oh, THIS is My Subject! {Smart Summer Challenge - Week 3}

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You'll never guess what this week's Smart Summer Challenge topic is...

Give up???

BACKYARD SCIENCE!

I know - it's just perfect for me! I'm a naturalist at heart and love pointing out all of the different things like bugs, plants, animal behaviors, etc. to my kids. My little guy knows which leaves in our garden he can eat (the herbs) and which are dangerous. He can name most of the insects he comes across. My oldest, who I still point things out to, is constantly saying, "I know, Mom!" But, when he thinks I'm not paying attention, I overhear him being all smarty-pants to his friends and telling them these little factoids I've passed on to him. Pretty cool, huh?


Since I'm kind of like the Queen of Backyard Science around here, I'm stuck on what I should write about. It seems like every time we step outside, a science lesson commences. It's so common that I don't really feel as if this stuff is post-worthy. I guess I'll have to wing it... And all of you lovely readers may have to put up with a ton of posts from me this week. I tend to procrastinate - a LOT - so, my plan is to type up whatever we did ASAP and post. Maybe that will work. Trust me - it'll only be for one week - next Monday, it'll be a new theme!


Here are some of my ideas of the things we do nearly every day and what I might try to elaborate on for the kids this week:

• While hanging laundry, we can talk about heat from the sun, wind, and how both lead to evaporation.
• We are seed-savers. I often tell my little one about how pollination from insects makes it possible for seeds to even appear. Maybe while we're harvesting some seeds this week, we can take the time to sit back and discover just which insects in our yard do the most pollinating.
• One thing that I have yet to do with Little Guy is show him how a magnifying glass can be used to concentrate the sunlight into a powerful fire-starter. Not sure if it's something I'm willing to show my extremely boisterous and often unruly toddler... BUT, I'm thinking that my oldest might be interested in trying a little wood-burning artwork with a magnifying glass and a few Popsicle sticks.
• When we pull weeds this week, I would like to save a few and go over the different parts of a plant. I have a few out there that have flowered and began to go to seed. They would be perfect. Plus there are the roots, etc. 
• There's always the age-old Queen Anne's Lace in the dyed water experiment to show how water travels up the stem to the flowers. I wonder how it would work if we did one with the roots and one that was cut... Sound like a great comparison experiment!

OK, I think I have more than enough to write about. I'm not sure if we'll get to them all, or if I'll find something different to do. We'll see what the week brings us. Oh! I just remembered! We have storms coming this week - could do something on weather, and how about the bleaching properties of the sun, and lightning bugs and the moon... 

            and... 

                       and...

Interested in joining in the Smart Summer Challenge? Check out THIS POST to see what it's all about and how to join. Hey, there are even prizes to be won! Not that I wouldn't be doing this anyway - it's fun! - but hey, PRIZES make it even more enjoyable, you know?!

Our Butterflies have Flown the Coop!

A few weeks ago, I was one of the lucky winners on Surviving A Teacher's Salary (you really should check out Crystal's blog - I love it!) I won an Insect Lore Butterfly Pavilion. Not the little one, the deluxe five-star hotel for butterflies! Along with it came two little jars with five caterpillars in each. The kids (and I) were ecstatic!!!

Sorry, the caterpillar photos didn't turn out

At first, the tiny caterpillars didn't do a whole lot. We got excited to see them even moving. But, after a couple of days, they kicked into hyper-drive - these things were hungry and spent all day eating the waxy brown "special caterpillar food" from the bottom of the jars. It became a ritual for Little Guy to hold each jar before bedtime and give five kisses - one for each caterpillar - before he went to sleep. My oldest would rush home from school to check on their progress each day and then stand, mesmerized, staring at them. And, yes, I found myself wasting lots of time watching them, too. I couldn't believe how much they could eat!

They're still in their fuzzy caterpillar skins here.

One day after school, my oldest called to me from the living room, "Mom!!! Hurry up! Come here RIGHT NOW!" Now, I was in the bathroom at the moment, but the tone in his voice made me think that something really bad had happened. I got into the living room as quickly as possible (with visions of blood or broken bones in my mind) to find him staring into the caterpillar jars. "LOOK! They're hanging upside-down!" Yep, they were still caterpillars, but they were all hanging upside down from the jar lids , looking like little "J's". Over the next couple of hours, they were spastic as they hardened into chrysalises. They slowly wriggled out of their last bit of fuzzy caterpillar skin and became brown, translucent chrysalises.They were pretty cool. The camera couldn't capture the iridescence of the cocoon. It looked like a muddy puddle with a rainbow of gasoline floating on top!

The next step was for me to secure the paper that had lined the lid of the caterpillar jars onto the sides of the pavilion - easier said than done! You see, to protect themselves from wind, rain, and toddlers who like to tap on the sides of jars, these guys weave themselves little safety lines of silk to hold their chrysalises in place. When I opened the jar, these silk threads held tight. I had to use scissors to cut them away from the sides of the jars. Also, one of the papers had been so chewed up by the caterpillars that I couldn't remove it from the plastic lid, so I just taped the entire lid to the top of the pavilion.

For the next week, our routines changed. Whenever anyone thought about it, they'd peek into the pavilion to see if anything was happening. Nothing. Day after day. Little Guy still insisted on saying goodnight, but even he was getting tired of talking to little brown sticks. Then I was awoken at 3am by a tremendous clap of thunder. We had a terrible storm coming and I ran around the house, closing windows and unplugging appliances (we learned about blowing things up when lightning hits power lines last summer!) I sat down to calm down enough for sleep again when I heard scratching. I turned on the light and there was our first butterfly! The next morning, when Little Guy woke up, I showed it to him, expecting him to be excited. Instead, he eyed it suspiciously. I know what he was thinking, "Come on, Mom! I know you put the butterfly in there while I was sleeping! THAT couldn't have come out of those things the caterpillars made!" 

 

All day, I kept an eye on the pavilion. I wanted him to see a butterfly actually coming out of a cocoon, you know? Sometimes seeing is the only thing that's going to lead to believing. Nada. We still had just that one butterfly at bed time. We balled up a piece of paper towel, set it on a plate, and poured a sugar water mixture onto it so our little friend wouldn't starve, and then said good night. The next morning, I woke up to seven more butterflies! When little guy woke up, I think he was sure I was trying to get one over on him - LOL!

Finally, just before bed time, we all got to watch the last butterfly emerge. It was pretty cool to watch my kids faces as it broke free from the chrysalis and then slowly unfurled its wings! I wanted to take pictures, but the kids were so enthralled that I couldn't break that kind of excitement and concentration just to snap a photo. 

 (Sadly, our last butterfly never came out. My oldest was granted permission to do an autopsy and he discovered that the silk he had spun as a caterpillar had tied him into the cocoon so tightly that there was no way for him to get out unless he had packed a little pocket knife.)

We kept the butterflies for a few days, watching them eat and flutter around. We got a few library books that explained how butterfly mouths are more like straws and that's why we have to make sure the paper towel is always wet.

Sorry about the lighting. This is one of the butterflies eating. We made the paper towel into a flower shape and colored the sugar water a yellowish shade.

Then, on Monday, my oldest was watching them and he got all excited again. "Hey, Mom! Look! We have Siamese butterflies." What is he talking about?! Um... well, here's the picture. Let me just say that it was fun to completely embarrass him on this one. Once I told him what was going on, he just didn't know WHAT to say! LOL (I promised not to bring it up in front of his friends, but I reserve the right to tease him from time to time about it.) The following picture is Rated X:

That's when I decided we needed to let them go! I've had one of these butterfly kits before and, once they lay eggs and they hatch, you end up with hundreds of teeny-tiny caterpillars who can go through the netting all over the place. Sadly, my oldest was scheduled to be picked up for a visit with my brother on Monday night, so he had to miss out on the release.

Little Guy, on the other hand had a great time! Let me tell you just how serious this was to him: He listened to everything I said. He carefully followed directions. He was gentle so he wouldn't hurt his butterflies. All of these are things this kid hasn't done for a long, long time! I was amazed!!!

  

 I love the concentration on his face in these next two photos!

 Well, that's it! I spied a Swallowtail laying eggs on my dill earlier this week, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on them. Once the caterpillars get big enough, I'll bring in a pot of dill and parsley (they're favorite foods, along with carrot tops) and set them up in the pavilion. We had a ton of fun with them last year and now I have a great pavilion to keep them in instead of quart-size Ball jars!

If you're interested, I suggest trying this out for yourself. It's not only really cool and educational, butterflies are one of the good insects that are being killed off by pesticides. They pollinate flowers for us and are sorely needed! Amazon has the Butterfly Pavilion (with 10 caterpillars) on sale for  $22.14 and the smaller Butterfly Garden (with 5 caterpillars) for only $14.39!

Special thanks to Surviving a Teacher's Salary and Insect Lore 

for the amazing giveaway that allowed my kids (and me!) 

to have this great experience!