Do toads swim?

Cody caught this pretty toad at church
We have a catch, observe, then
release rule.  He decided to release
toady beside the pond.

He asked me if toads like to swim.  I honestly
didn't know.  Frogs are natural swimmers,
but toads?



Well, our toad never actually swam.  He went into the
water and stayed above choosing to crawl and float
atop patches of moss and water plants.
Mystery left unsolved!



Never too old for the playground

Claire wasn't too old to enjoy the horsy swing.

Neither was I apparently.

Round and round we go!

What a fun time we had!

The geese are growing

They are big enough to try out their webbed feet
in a kiddie pool.

Ready to graduate from grain to grass.

First trip to the pond.

The chicks have arrived!

The post office called early this morning
to inform us the chicks had arrived.  We
are still without power following the tornado.
Luckily, we have a small generator
which will run the heat lamps.

11 Black Jersey Giants, 5 Buff Orpingtons, 5 Light Brahma,
and 5 Buff Brahma.

How strong is a beaver dam?

These pictures don't really do this dam justice, but if you
look closely, you can see that the pond behind the dam is
suspended about 3 feet higher than the spillway by this
marvelous specimen of beaver engineering.

This was following the large tornado that brought
heavy rain.  The water is running swiftly over
the beaver dam.

About 25 feet beyond the dam, the water
spills over this naturally created waterfall.

You can see the waterfall in the background. 
The stream of water continues, flows into
a man made tin whistle, under the road, and into
Wolf Creek.  Wolf Creeks winds southward for
several miles before emptying into the
Cimarron River.  The Cimarron R. eventually
joins the Arkansas R. which is a major
tributary of the Mississippi R.

Great Horned Owl

Clay and Cody found this owl the day following the big tornado.

He didn't appear injured, though a broken wing would not be
obvious.  He was leaping around instead of flying.  Is it
possible he was carried by the tornado far from home
and was simply a bit disoriented?

Apparently, wildlife rules strictly prohibit us from doing
anything to/with these owls.  So, we left him alone. 
Three days later, Clay and Cody spotted an identical
looking owl fly from one tree to another near this same spot.
Perhaps we have a new resident?

Ducks' Ditty by Kenneth Grahame

Claire adores this poem and nearly had it memorized after only 3-4 hearings.  Though Kenneth Grahame is not known for his poetry, (and therefore is not one of our assigned poets),we will be reading several of his stories. 



Yes, I realize they are actually goslings.

Ducks' Ditty

All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails,
Yellow feet a-quiver,
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roch swim--
Here we keep our larder,
Cool and full and dim.

Every one for what he likes!
We like to be
Heads down, tailsup,
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call--
We are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!



Hatchy meets the world!

Hatchy learns to eat and drink from a dish.

Hatchy meets the goslings

Hatchy admires her dining room.

Hatchy checks the cupboard.

Hatchy cooks a pot of beans.

Hatchy goes to bed.

Hatchy meets Cody.

Hatchy tries on her new sunglasses.

Hatchy calls some friends.

Hatchy tours the dinosaur exhibit.

Hatchy learns all about snakes.

Hatchy investigates a toy frog.

Ornate Box Turtle

We found our Ornate Box Turtle on the side of the road just before reaching Nana's and Papa's house.  I thought it was a box turtle at first, but Comstock's mentioned that box turtles have a sort of hinge like thing enabling them to "shut the door" of their shell.  Our turtle has nothing like that.  However, after searching the Internet, I'm quite certain this is what ours is.  Here is a nice photo I found online.

Here is the box turtle we found.

Couldn't resist.



This is Claire's drawing of our turtle.
She used a regular pencil for the outline
then colored pencils to fill in.




This is my drawing using regular and
colored pencils.



Cody's box turtle coloring page.

HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY
LESSON 52
The Turtle

1.  How much can you see of the turtle when it is walking?  If you disturb it what does it do?  How much of it can you see then?  Can you see more of it from the lower side than from the upper?  What is the advantage to the turtle of having such a shell?

A:  We can see its head, neck, front legs and feet, back legs and feet, and its tail when it is walking.  When disturbed, it draws into its shell.  Then, we can only see its nose and claws.  When we flip him onto his back, we can see a little more of his body inside the shell because the top shell overlaps the bottom one.  A turtle's shell provides protection from predators.

2.  Compare the upper shell with the lower as follows:  How are they shaped differently?  What is their difference in color?  Would it be a disadvantage to the turtle if the upper shell were a light colored as the lower?  Why?  Make a drawing of the upper and lower shell showing the shape of the plates of which they are composed.  Where are the two grown together?

A:  The upper shell is shaped like half of a ball.  The lower shell is much flatter.  The colors and patterns on both the upper and lower shell are much the same.  The two grow together between the front and rear legs.

3.  Is the border of the upper shell different from the central portion in color and markings?  is the edge smooth or scalloped?

A:  The border of the upper shell is barely distinguishable from the rest.  It is slightly scalloped.

4.  How far does the turtle's head project from the front of the shell?  What is the shape of the head?  With what colors and pattern is it marked?  Describe the eyes.  How are they protected?  How does the turtle wink?  Can you discover the little eyelid which comes up from below to cover the eye?

A:  When fully extended, the tip of his snout is about 5cm from the shell.  Its head is snake-like in shape.  It is a solid brownish gray color and scaly.  The eyes are greenish yellow.  When it closes its eyes, the bottom lid moves up.  When a person closes her eyes, the top lid moves down.

5.  Describe the nose and nostrils.  Do you think the turtle has a keen sense of smell? 

A:  The nostrils were two small holes near the tip of the snout.  We think it should have a keen sense of smell.

6.  Describe the mouth.  Are there any teeth?  With what does it bite off its food?  Describe the movement of the throat.  What is the cause of this constant pulsation?

A:  The mouth is shaped much like a bird's beak.  It has no teeth.  It does have a tongue.  Its beak must be sort of sharp because when it bites something like lettuce, it leaves a perfect triangular cut mark.

7.  What is the shape of the leg?  How is it marked?  How many claws on the front feet?  Are any of the toes webbed?  Why should they be webbed?

A:  Our turtle had soft, rectangular shaped legs.  It had 5 claws on each front foot and 4 claws on each back foot.  It did not have any webbing.  Since it lives entirely upon land, it does not need webbing.  Webbed feet are good for swimming.

8.  Describe the tail.  How much can be seen from above when the turtle is walking?  What becomes of it when the turtle withdraws into its shell?

A:  The tail is about 3 cm long and tapers to a point.  It is covered with scales that are shingled like an armadillo shell.  It tucks its tail to the side when it withdraws into its shell.

9.  How much of the turtle's body can you see?  What is its color?  Is it rough or smooth?

A:  The body is rough and scaly, but very soft and squishy.  The skin is loose and wrinkly.  It is the same grayish brown as the shell.

10.  What are the turtle's enemies?  How does it escape from them?  What noise does the turtle make when frightened or angry?

A:  A turtle's main enemies are other turtles.  It escapes from predators by withdrawing into its shell.  It will sometimes hiss when angry or frightened.

11.  Do all turtles live for part of the time in water?  What is their food and where do they find it?

A:  No, our turtle lives entirely on land.  The eggs are laid and buried underground.  Box turtles are not picky eaters.  They will eat tender vegetables, carrion, insects, fruit and worms.

12.  How do turtle eggs look?  Where are they laid?  How are they hidden?

A:  We observed  red eared sliders laying eggs twice in our yard.  First, they dug a shallow hole.  Then they filled that hole with urine.  The moisture made the dirt softer.  They continued digging the hole deeper and and filling it with more urine.  Finally, when the hole was about 1 foot deep, they laid eggs--more than 10 less than 20.  The eggs were cream colored and soft shelled.  They were about the size of a small walnut.  Then, they covered them back up with dirt packing it tightly.  In fact, they packed the dirt so well that had we not been watching, it would have been hard to tell that the dirt had been disturbed.

Goslings: Day2

We Love People!
What a difference between these goslings that actually
desire human interaction and our guineas that seem
to hate us more every day.

They seem to have nearly doubled in size in
only one day!

I told Claire she needs to try to hold each
one for 5 min. a day in order to imprint.
She replied, "oh, that will be NO problem!"

Cody is taking more interest in these than he has in the past.



Ahh, what a sweetie.



Optical illusion:  These two have entwined their necks
trying to bite at my necklace.

Nature v. Nurture

"Children aren't born being racists, they are taught to be," a statement I've often heard throughout my life.  Some days, I believe it to be mostly true.  Other days, I think I only WANT it to be true.   

These goslings were hatched together in an incubator, then immediately packed together into a box and shipped to us.  They have never seen other geese.  As far as they know, they are the only 8 geese in the whole world.  They know nothing about genetics or parents.  This photo was taken less than 1 hour after they were unpacked and placed into their new home.  Look how they have already segregated.  Truly astonishing!

If at first you don't succeed...

Try and try again.  We've decided to follow the wisdom of that popular saying.  After losing all of our geese to a predator, we ordered 8 more from Meyer Hatchery in Ohio.  Instead of just getting Embdens, we opted for the "hatchery mix," which was less expensive and maybe more interesting.  They choose an assortment from White Chinese, White Embden, and Gray Toulouse male and female.  We're still not sure exactly what we have, but there are 3 yellows, (which will be white), and 5 browns.

Lady Moon by Lord Houghton

Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?
     Over the sea.
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?
     All that love me.
Are you not tired with rolling, and never resting to sleep?
Why look so pale and so sad, as forever wishing to weep?

Ask me not this, little child, if you love me;
     You are too bold.
I must obey the dear Father above me,
    And do as I'm told.
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, where are you roving?
     Over the sea.
Lady Moon, Lady Moon, whom are you loving?
     All that love me.