Trout Lake--Studying Habitats

C wanted his picture taken with this bald eagle, as we have had a fascination with them since we saw 2 flying high above our property on a couple occasions in the 3 1/2 yrs. since we've lived here. We also had a class about them at Tibet Butler Nature Preserve a couple months ago.

I never posted about our nature class at Trout Lake Nature Center. We were studying habitats. Those of you in our homeschool group know all about this already, but I am explaining that for several family members who read my blog occasionally. I don't seem to have gotten any pictures of H this time. He must have been doing his own thing that day! These pictures are over 2 weeks old now, but that's okay. They're still new to you! In fact, I may have several posts that are "old news", as I am trying to catch up somewhat.

B made a new friend with this little lady, a new addition to our HS group. It was rainy the day we were there, drizzling on and off. B is swallowed up by this poncho! Below, B is lecturing about corn snakes, since we "just got 2 as pets!"

She's Back!

We have a resident hawk that chose to build her nest right above our garage door/future driveway area. It seemed funny that she chose that spot because she started her nest among all the chaos of the house-building last year. Last spring, we watched her and her chosen mate on our fence post, then we watched her build the nest in the big oak tree. We watched her raise 2 young birds to maturity. We were surprised they both made it since we have been told that often times, a hawk will choose one bird to raise, and ignore the other. This momma hawk kept very busy finding enough to feed them both, and it seemed that they were always hungry! She brought lots of mice, snakes and even rats to her nest for them to devour. We figure she even terrorized the local mockingbird families. We saw several scuffles between the mockingbird community and the mamma hawk. It was even humorous to see the mockingbirds gang up and dive-bomb her nest. It got so bad at one point that she would bring the food for the babies, but stay away as much as she possiby could.

It seems she did favor one of the birds over the other, unless it was simply nature's selection-of-the-fittest in action. One of the babies left the nest about a week and a half before the other one did. We had great fun watching the little guys grow up, and watched in amazement as the teenage birds played their part well. They kept coming back to the nest for a while to get a few more handouts of supper.

Anyway, we have been delighted to find she's refurbishing her old nest to use again this spring. And we will be even happier when her eggs hatch and she'll have to scour the territory for food for the babies. We have pulled 3 dead (drowned) field mice out of our pool in the last week. At least there are no mice in the house!

The first picture above is of a young baby bird. This second picture is of her nest later in the year with the 2 older "teen" birds in it still. Click on the picture and it should expand, if you want to see them better. The pics aren't the best because I had to take them from the ground, and was not as close to the action as I would have liked to have been.

I Was in Stiches

Tonight, for her bedtime story, B insisted on reading me a story. She read "Go Dog, Go!" She has loved this story since we saw the play version of this book last year. I have to admit, I think it was the best play we've seen yet! It's amazing to me that she remembers so much of the play still, which was right about a full year ago. Well, B insists that she can read the book. She can read anything she sets her mind to, only it consists of this: when I read her a story, she can then successfully "read" it back to me! It's funny how close to the real words she gets. Some of the pages are right on where accuracy is concerned. Other places, she plagerizes quite a bit, and the results are hilarious. I am glad that laughter is good medicine and good for the soul. I am still getting used to having a girl around the house. But it sure is fun once in a while! Not that the boys aren't fun, too. It's just different!

By the way, has anybody's kid been so sure they could already read that it became an issue at some point when they do need to learn? Or maybe as they mature, they grow out of thinking they already can read? I think it will probably be a non-issue, but I am curious.

More New Pets

Our family's pet population is exploding. We just got 2000 new pets. What are they, you ask? Why, worms, of course! Working worms. They're composting our way to a better blueberry field, hopefully healthier, happier, bug-free plants! We are having serious discussions about whether we should go organic or not. Organic is healthier, yes, but will it result in good fruit? I've always admired organic produce, but have heard it's very hard to do successfully. So, we got the Can-O-Worms composting condo and we're trying it out. Here are pictures of us setting it up. It comes from Australia, of all places!! (They are light-years ahead of us here in the states for their "green" philosophy and practices.) The starter bedding the condo comes with is dried up coconut fiber. You have to add a LOT of water to get the small hard brick to expand sufficiently.

This picture of B with the worm cracks me up. She thinks that she needs to personally touch every single one and tell them each how much we love them. Then I remember that I had a fascination with worms when I was just 4 or 5 yrs. old. I can remember digging worms up in our garden when I was very small. They were my "friends".

Sneaking a Quick Minute to Blog

Hubby brought the internet card home tonight, but I didn't get much time to use it. I am working on organizing the place and trying to catch up on stuff that needs done around the house. I have been very bad. I've been procrastinating sorting through a few piles of who-knows-what since we moved in here around June 1st. Granted, the boys' room didn't even get done until Christmas Eve, but I don't have an excuse any more! So sorting and pitching have begun.

I just took a little break right now to answer a quick question that was asked. Why are we plucking off all our blueberry blooms? We're only picking them because our little bushes are very small. Some of them are only a few inches tall, barely more than bare sticks. We got them several months ago as bare root cuttings. If the bush is too small, it cannot support the blossoming and fruiting process. They can actually bloom themselves to death. Evidently, a blueberry plant only has so much energy. If it spends all its energy on fruiting, there won't be any energy left for plant growth. We know we won't have a harvest this year. That's to be expected because they are so young. But we should have a small harvest next spring, if the plants have grown enough by then. With all the TLC they're getting, they should be good.

Speaking of which, we've really got to keep our eye on them. I just discovered some invaders this weekend! We have aphids and caterpillars. The latter seems to have killed about 10 plants. It happened very quickly, too! I don't know what kind of caterpillar it was, but they were small and very furry. We sprayed Sevin on them, and soap water on the aphids. H wants to order several thousand ladybugs to take care of the aphids, but I am hoping the soap water drowns them sufficiently. It's cheaper!

Sorry if you guys are getting quite tired of the blueberry and family project talk. That's about all we've been up to lately!

Oh, except for one thing. Hubby was hopeful for a deal with a fellow from Australia. He said he might order 50 or 60 water trucks for resale over there! We've already sold several to Puerto Rico, but that's the only "out-of-the-states" activity I know about so far. Otherwise, we have water trucks in several states across the country, as well as many here locally. Back to Australia: the gentleman was supposed to meet my hubby again this morning down at the auction. He didn't show. He did have his flight back home today though, so maybe he couldn't come because of that? I'm praying about this one for sure. I want to get this deal so I can fly to Australia to check on things a time or two! Wouldn't that be nice? I can dream, can't I? I have always wanted to visit the Outback.

Off to bed now. It's been a long day. I miss visiting you guys' blogs though. I'll get there soon.

Off-line for a bit.

Well, tomorrow starts the biggest heavy equipment auction in the world (at least it was a couple years ago the last time I asked about it!) It lasts for an entire week. Hubby will be down there in K/P area for the week, wheelin' & dealin' with the big whigs that come looking for good water trucks. He's taking my internet connection with him, can you believe it?!? So.....I have no way to check emails or blogs or anything like that. I'm having withdrawls already. So, if you need me, feel free to call. Hopefully, he'll remember to bring my internet back home with him every evening so I can check on stuff a little bit when the kids are in bed. At least I was able to get two blogs posted just now before he took it away! I'm trying so hard to catch up.

Laying Down Irrigation & Picking Blossoms

We've got to get the field ready for the baby blueberry bushes. So, the irrigation must go in! We're working on it almost every day after C gets home from work, until it's finished. We're also picking blossoms nearly every day because that's how fast they grow! Not to mention the weeds... Here, B is doing her part picking them with me. She is SO good at it too. She will pick blossoms for a couple hours with me before she politely asks for a "little break". She likes to put them all in her bucket so she can see how many she's picked. She must be visual like me.

While B and I pick blossoms, the guys dig irrigation trenches. H moves the tractor for C when he's ready for the move. C keeps busy with the shovel, hacking through tree roots. (See the string that runs along the trench? It's to keep the trench going relatively straight because it's so long.) I didn't get pictures of us laying pipe and electric cord in the trench then covering it over. The electric is required because we have an automatic irrigation timer, and also an electric well to pump the water from the ground. B and I were able to help with setting pipe and lines in the trenches.

I am so thankful we have these family projects to work on together. It keeps us involved with each other. C also believes in the value of a strong work ethic. He's been known to say that, "the family that works together stays together." We're also hoping that by keeping our kids busy, they won't have time to get into trouble as they enter their teenage years. I think it also gives them a sense of value as they see how much they can contribute to the family, and to society in general.