Love Bugs 17: Butterfly

Let's save the butterfly!
This butterfly got caught in a leftover spider's web, and papa and i got to the rescue. Papa pulled her from the web and then handed her to me, where she stayed awhile to rest before flying away.

This is a Black Swallowtail Butterfly with orange spots.

Eddie Murphy, is that you?

There's a donkey inside your waistcoat*

Donkeys are also called burros. Male donkeys are called jack, and females are called jenny, just like mama. This donkey is beautiful, and seems quite intelligent, inquisitive, and playful.
*Charles Spurgeon

Heart to Heart

"Dogwood, you're not made of wood and you're not a dog. You're a horse, and you're my favorite."

A Ruler

Measure the Universe!
A list of things we measured and counted recently:
Phineas = 39"
Luce = 29"
Horses living in the field by our house = 5
Bi-planes that flew overhead yesterday = 2 (one yellow, one red)
Ladybugs in the asparagus patch = 31

Grandma and I chatting with 2 of our neigh-bors!

Love Bugs 16: Queen Isabella!

Another banded woolly bear caterpillar (the wool is actually setae, little bristles), this one will turn into an Isabella Tiger Moth. The caterpillar plays "dead" and curls up in a little ball when it is scared.

Queen Isabella of Castille was one of the most powerful women of the 15th century, and supported Christopher Columbus' voyages to America.

Wake Up!

What bugs do you think we will find today?

Love Bugs 15: Be like a Bee

Bug Worship!

It turns out that this is a CARPENTER BEE! What luck! We set him free on the porch after all coming to say hello and STICK IT!

My Masterpiece

A line is a dot that went for a walk.*

*Paul Klee

Love Bugs 14: Fire Breathing Dragon!

Once upon a time...

Dragonflies have strong, transparent wings, multi-faceted eyes, and a very long skinny body. We like them because they eat the mos-quitos that like to eat us. In japan dragonflies symbolize marital success (because the word for dragonfly sounds like the word for victory), and courage. When dragonflies are babies they are called nymphs and live underwater for up to 5 years!

Rio Verde!

I can hear the bullfrog callin me.
Wonder if my rope's still hangin to the tree.
Love to kick my feet way down the shallow water.
Shoefly, dragonfly, get back t'your mother.
Pick up a flat rock, skip it across green river*
*credence clearwater revival

Our First Harvest!

Things here grow like crazy, and everything looks so different from when we arrived! Growing our own food is very rewarding, and delicious. Tonight we are eating squash and beans from our garden. We are also using basil that we grew to make pesto. My garden is 4' x 4' square - just the right size for me to plant and water and weed (Candace is a big help with the planting and weeding. I am very good at watering.)

I watered my feet this afternoon so that I will grow too.

Lazy Susan

Round and round the Mulberry Bush,
The monkey chased the weasel.
The monkey stopped to pull up his sock,
Pop! goes the weasel!

This is our dinner table before fish(es are delicious) tacos. Pick a farm animal and we will spin it to you!

Love Bugs 13: Ladybug! Ladybird!

We have seen so many lovely little ladybirds. They hang out by the overgrown asparagus plants. Ladybugs live all over the world, and bring good luck. Here is one I found in the kitchen!

Love Bugs 12: Woolly Bear

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

This crazy caterpillar is called a Woolly Bear. It rolls up in a defensive position, so you can see its red stripes and spikes. Amazingly, this caterpillar will turn into a Giant Leopard Moth, with a 3" wingspan. Moths are nocturnal, flying only at night, so we will have to stay up late to meet him.

66 Fireflies!

On Wednesday at 9:02 PM, Papa, Mama and I counted 66 fireflies in 60 seconds!

Civility

A house divided cannot stand

We came across this soldier's grave in Harmony, NC. North Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860 after the election of Abraham Lincoln as president (Lincoln was not even on the ballot in North Carolina, because they did not have an official Republican party). More than 125,000 North Carolinian men served the Confederacy during the Civil War, and over 40,000 died.

I'm a Rhinestone Cowboy!

On the road to my horizon... but it's wobbly on Dogwood!

Yipee Kai Yeah!

Mutton Bustin'

It's the rodeo in Harmony, North Carolina! We're a long way from the Rodeo we know in California! The youngest rider was 2.5 years old, wrangling a sheep for 4 seconds. This is called Mutton Bustin' - sheep riding by little 'uns. Cowboy Phin wanted to ride, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey3MfG_PRhM&feature=related

We are the Carpenter Bees!

Chillin' in the Yadkin Pee-Dee River Valley
Throw down YPD style!

Love Bugs 11: Busy Bees

Workin' 9 to 5!

This busy carpenter bee is making a house in our railing. You can see the pile of sawdust getting bigger each day.

Ode to A Canoe

'tis a sad day on the Yadkin River
Our trusty canoe was swept downriver in a rainstorm. The water rose 8', flowing fast, running muddy with debris. We hoped that she was lodged in the bankside, and we would find her again when the rains stopped, but alas, after a thorough investigation we concede that shes gone. Farewell, sweet canoe! You traveled upriver through rapids to find a small island; you showed us turtle time on the Yadkin; you carried our son and daughter and granny (for a moment, until she tipped out into the river!); you were ugly but functional, and we had big plans to paint you like a goldfish or barracuda...

The canoe will rise again!
In one of those rare moments where everything seems to align, last night we rescued a father and son going downriver in a terrible rainstorm! And now down on our bank (until they return) is a lovely new PINK canoe! And we made a new friend.

Love Bugs 10: Lightening Bug

Fly Fire Fly

I was so excited to see tiny flying stars on our night walk - the lightening bugs have arrived! I can catch a star, and hold it in my hand! Fireflies make light using a process called bioluminescence. It is a very efficient process, where 90% of the energy a firefly uses to create light is actually converted into visible light. For comparison, an incandescent electric bulb can convert only 10 percent of total energy used into visible light, and the remainder is emitted as heat.

Love Bugs 9: Ewww

Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock

This is a tick. It fell on the floor after feasting on Thomas' blood. It was puffy and soft and looked really gross. It got stuck on its back and could not turn over. It has tiny little legs.

Toddler Sport: Cliff Jumping

ex.treme

__adj.

1. exceeding the bounds of moderation; drastic

2. going to great lengths in action, habit, opinion

3. extremely dangerous or difficult

Love Bugs 8: Wolf Spider

Papa spent a very long time trying to identify this guy, finally settling on the Burrowing Wolf. They build burrows that have a trapdoor, and although generally friendly, a bite from a wolf spider is poisonous.

"From this story one learns that children, especially young lasses, pretty, courteous and well-bred, do very wrong to listen to strangers. And it is not an unheard thing if the Wolf is thereby provided with his dinner."

__ Charles Perrault, Little Red Riding Hood

Love Bugs 7: Slow Moving Gastropods

Soft Shell-less Slimy Slug

Slippery slugs need to stay in moist places, so when it rains they like to come out and visit. In dry weather they retreat.

A baby beaver who lost her mama...

this is serious! we have to help her!

First we heard little meows, which sounded just like a kitten, and then a tiny little baby beaver swam right up to the rock we were sitting on. It was absolutely adorable, and not scared of us at all. We tried to help her find her parents. You can see the baby beaver if you look very closely down from my right toes. Thomas is looking at her too...

Love Bugs 6: Baby Bugs

Lu-bug


This is a very rare bug that lives only in my house. She is just a baby, but I already know alot about her, like:
- she laughs at all my jokes
- she sticks her tongue out when she smiles
- she has a strong right hook to keep me in line
- she has long legs and likes long baths
- she and I have a language all our own
- I have to be very gentle around her, and pretend I am a butterfly landing on her head
- she is learning to crawl, military style, and can wiggle across a room pretty fast
- she loves to eat, and can put back two jars of baby food in ten minutes
- she is teething, but has no teeth
- foccacia makes her laugh
- she is fast and she knows how to fly...

A Ruler

Measure the Universe
A list of things that we measured today:
Phineas = 37"
Luce = 26.5"
Crochet snake from Candace = 12.5"
Bone outside the gate = 6"
Front wheel of Bert's tractor = 27.5" diameter
Back wheel of Bert's tractor = 51" diameter
Ladybug = 1/8"
Asparagus (height of biggest one) = 37"
Guppie trap = 7.5" diameter
Fish (approximate size from "swimming hole") = 16"

Today we also planted 6 basil plants; dug up 5 worms (that are now in the refrigerator!); and took a ride in the wheelbarrow.

Love Bugs 5: Rhinoceros Beetle

The Strongest Man in the World
Rhinoceros beetles are the strongest animals on the planet in relation to their own size. They can lift up to 850 times their own weight. This beetle is SOLID. It was gentle and slow and wise. In Asia people keep them as pets because they are clean and easy to hold, just like Thomas.

The Band and the Bees

Kellie got the instruments for the band. We practice every day. I play the guitar and the bells and used to play the tamborine (before I put a big hole through it). We are a country-metal folk-rock band. Here are some ideas from some of our songs:

"wild strawberries growing outside my door"

"i get my mail at the hardware store, and do my fishin' from the kitchen"

"I am tradin' in my computer for a canoe"

"make me a unicorn"

Love Bugs 4: The Bold Jumping Spider

Of all the creepy things here, this one is also crafty and smart. She has these crazy green eyes that flash, and she is fast and looks right at me, saying "don't even think of putting me in that jar!" I can't catch her - and she makes me laugh!

The Great Spider Chase
The bold jumping spider does not spin a web, rather she hunts her prey like a large cat, staying perfectly still and then pouncing. I first met her hunting this wasp (that got away).

Thunder and Lightening

Spinning in the Rain


We got caught in a giant rainstorm. The rain here comes in big round drops, and it comes very fast. We were on a tricycle ride and had to take shelter in the airplane hangars. Farmer Bert has an amazing little plane that I love to look at. Hopefully one day he will take me flying. Mama has been making kites, but so far none of them fly; we have alot to learn about aerodynamics.

Love Bugs 3: Rat Snake

On, Not Over!
We have a Rat Snake living in our staircase down to the river. Papa and I saw him (her? how can we tell?) the other day, kinked up like she swallowed a spring. The Rat Snake does this as defense: stays very still and kinks up like a spring. It is not dangerous, but is about 4' long.

I learned a very important rule about walking in the woods today - "On, Not Over!" - which means that you should never step over something when you can't see the other side, lest you disturb some slumbering animal, like a Black Rat Snake.

The Sky is at the Banks of the Red River*

the Red Red River

We woke up this morning and the river turned red. It is an amazing transformation, like Luciene sitting up and turning over and laughing at me sing.
*Anatolia Story

Love Bugs 2: Hellgrammite

He's Climbing Out!

Kellie found this larva down by the river. It can swim and has BIG pinchers. It eats minnows. It will turn into a big flying Dobsonfly with 5" wingspan when it grows up, which can take 2-5 years!

We catched fish and talked, and we took a swim now and then to keep off sleepiness. It was kind of solemn, drifting down the big, still river, laying on our backs looking up at the stars, and we didn't ever feel like talking loud, and it warn't often that we laughed—only a little kind of a low chuckle. We had mighty good weather as a general thing, and nothing ever happened to us at all—that night, nor the next, nor the next.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck and Jim, Chapter 12

Love Bugs 1: Click Beetle

Click-Clack!

The Click Beetle has a special part of its spine that makes a loud clicking sound. When it clicks, it also can bounce high in the air. They also click when they need to flip over from their backs to their feet. We tried to get this click to do that trick.

The Family Band

Huckleberry Phineas and the Carpenter Bees!
We've been practicing and writing songs about the moon. Kellie plays the acoustic guitar. I play the acoustic guitar too, the tambourine, the bells, and the fiddle so far. Mama plays the triangle. Kellie brought all these amazing instruments home from her travels. Since the bugs here make so much noise, we are going to have bugs in the band.