a gypsy caravan

Manatees in Winter

Our family lives in a part of the country known for its fierce winters.  While we spend a whole lot of time outdoors in the friendlier three seasons, we hibernate quite a bit in the winter.  More often than not, on snowy days, we study nature from the confines of our warm home using colorful books or videos.  When the temperatures are a bit more tepid, we bundle up and venture outdoors for a walk or field trip.   

I wanted to show you some photos from our most recent nature study topic...Manatees!!

Now of course you know that we don't have any manatees living in Northeast Ohio but we were happy enough to find out that there are some in our state's capital, Columbus.  We just happened down to that fine town a week ago and visited the Columbus Zoo.  They have a very nice manatee exhibit for visitors to view, even during our chilly Ohio winters.   Here are some photos of these "gentle giants" from our field trip.

Manatees like to swim in pairs or groups and keep in close contact with one another. These two are named Stubbie and Willoughby.

Stubbie came right up to the glass to see who we were!

You might have seen some vegetation floating on top the water in the topmost photo.  That is romaine lettuce.  We were lucky enough to visit during their lunch hour.  Here is Willoughby gobbling his meal.

We have been reading the book Manatees by Kathy Feeney.  Here are some fun manatee facts from the book:

• Manatees usually prefer water near shore from 5 to 20 feet deep but have been known to travel out as far as 4 miles offshore.
• There is no real leader in a group of manatees.  They all just seem to get along with each other.
• Zoologists can tell how old a manatee is by counting the number of growth rings on its ear bones.  One ring equals one year.  Manatees may live as long as 60 years.
• Manatees are tactile, which means they like to touch things and each other.  They greet one another by pressing their snouts together or by touching tails.
• Most mammals have seven neck bones, which allow them to turn their head sideways to see.   Manatees have only six neck bones, so they must turn their whole bodies around to see.
• Manatees are closely related to the elephant but they live in water.  They belong to the scientific order Sirenia.  This name means "sea cow" in Greek.
• They require water temperatures of 68 degrees Fahrenheit or above.
• The average adult manatee is about 10 feet (3 meters) long and weighs about 1,000 pounds.   Some may grow to 13 feet and weigh as much as 3,500 pounds. 

Lastly, here is the crew resting after a fun afternoon of discovery!

Many thanks to Dawn for a wonderful Winter Field Day!

An Afternoon in the Gardens

We spend a lot of time at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  They have an year round three story glass house that contains two special exhibits, The Spiny Desert of Madagascar and a Costa Rican Rain Forest complete with thousands of tropical buterflies. 

The children and I love to come there in the winter months when it is cold, grey and dreary in Ohio.  This time of year, the temperature in the glass house matches that of outside, hot and humid.  Traveling through the Spiny Desert, we were encouraged to touch the largest millipede that I have ever laid eyes on. We were all brave enough to touch its hard shelled back, everyone except Grandma who was a bit squeamish.

We took my grandmother to see the butterflies and she had a lovely time.

There is something magical about walking into the glass house and being completely surrrounded by butterflies.  Their bright and glowing colors, coupled with the lush vegetation is enough to bring smiles to the gloomiest faces.  This is the place that began to heal the wounds of Mary terrified of crawling and flying insects this past Spring.  It is the place responsible for turning our family into Lepidopterophiles (butterfly lovers)!

Another wonderful highlight of this family friendly place is the outdoor Children's Garden.  Here is a wonderland of flowers and plants, heaven for a tactile learner!  This garden contains a sundial fountain, vegetable garden, herb garden, tree house, arborvitae maze, fish pond, rock wall with cave, miniature playhouse with sod roof, water pumps for filling dozens of provided watering cans and compost bins for children to learn the composting process. 

Everything is entirely hands on and getting dirty is encouraged.   The children who visit the garden tend its every need, planting the seeds in Spring, weeding and watering in Summer, harvesting the vegetables in Autumn.

We visit this garden during the three seasons that it is open.  The children have come to know and love this place. 

There is a quote by Luther Burbank engraved in the stone outside the garden gate that reads:

"Every child should have mudpies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, animals to pet, hayfields, pinecones, rocks to roll, sand snakes, huckleberries and hornets. Any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education." 

I agree wholeheartedly.

Bug Collecting

We have a bug theme happening here at A Gypsy Caravan.  Those of you who visit regularly will notice the majority of nature study that we have done this spring has been related to insects.  These studies have been rather spontaneous, mainly based upon the insect induced panic of Mary who, as of late, has become rather comfortable with the Yiddle Bugs around our yard. 

Ben has taken to collecting insects.  The first two insects he collected were found dead.  The latest specimens have been found, captured and allowed to perish in a jar or other container.  Although I am not especially fond of this method, I do not know of another so I have allowed him the freedom to collect and mount them as he wishes.  Some friends have told me to buy chemicals that will kill the insects immediately. Some have told me to forgo the chemicals and freeze the bugs for a less messy approach.  I have done neither and so the "capture under the jar" method continues. 

Yesterday we were in our screen porch, off the garage, when Christopher noticed a large moth, similar in shape to a small hummingbird.  We identified it as a Nessus Sphinx Moth (Amphion floridensis) which hovers much in the same manner as a hummingbird.  Ben decided that it would make a nice specimen to add to his insect collection.  Christopher was not finished looking at it and was very interested in allowing it to live.  Ben went in the house to get a jar to place over the moth.

Now, first let me explain a thing or two about Christopher.  Here is a very pleasant boy, amazingly friendly and sweet, so long as you do not upset him.  Once he is upset, it takes a small army to calm him down and to protect the people and property nearby.  That being said, I will continue on with my story...

Ben went in the house to get a jar to place over the moth.  He chases the moth around the screenporch, finally capturing it under the glass.  Then he goes back in the house, figuring that he will check back in a couple of hours to see how the creature is faring.  Chris, not knowing that his brother is planning the demise of this interesting nature friend, runs into the house to look for his field guide.  He comes out of the house with a big smile, carrying his book, only to find that his big brother had the moth under the jar. 

The conversation went something like this:

Christopher:  "What are you doing?"

Benjamin:  "I am going to pin that hummingbird moth"

Chris: "No you're not."

Ben:  "Yes, I am, for my bug tray."

Chris: "You cannot pin a baby bird!"

Ben: "It is not a baby bird, it is a moth."

Christopher (adamant):"It is a baby hummingbird, just hatched from the egg!"

This is the point when I realize that he thought the moth was a small hummingbird.  We had put our hummingbird feeders in the yard the week prior and had seen some visitors in the early morning hours. 

Christopher began to get agitated, wanting to protect what he thought was a baby bird.  There was no amount of calming or reasoning that I could do to convince him that it was, in fact, an insect.  I brought out our insect field guide as well as our hummingbird field guide to show him the photos.  We compared them with the real creature, still under Ben's  jar.  He was not convinced.  He began to scream and cry, about the baby bird having a right to live and ranting that his brother was right up there with Attilla the Hun on the compassion scale. 

Ben,  relentingly, allowed the moth to go free, simply to appease his brother, who was so completely uncalmable.  Ben was ever so excited about the prospect of having a Nessus Sphinx Moth as a specimen, so I feel sorry for him but I have to give him credit for being so mature about it.  Christopher, on the other hand, will never be an entomologist. 

I am posting this photo to show you Ben's collection of insects thus far.  He has a yellow swallowtail butterfly, a cicada in its shell (please click here), a yellow jacket, a bumblebee, a honey bee and a potato bug.  While there are not very many to show you yet, we'd love to hear your adventures collecting insects.  We'd appreciate hearing whether your family has insect collections and, if so, how you go about collecting them, where you buy your supplies and what, other than glass headed dressmaker pins :), you use to mount them. 

In the meantime, Benjamin has decided that he will go bug hunting alone, when no one else is looking!   

“Yiddle Bugs”

As many of you know, for the past few weeks, we have been trying to alleviate the entomophobia (fear of insects) caused by Araneus cavaticus.  We have had some success because Mary has been found traipsing through the yard searching for ant homes, touching pill bugs until they curl up in little balls and even participating in worm rescue missions.  Today, we had a setback because...

THEY'RE HERE!

What, you ask?  What has caused this little girl to take a step back in her healing process?

Classification:

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Superclass Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Subclass Pterygota (Winged Insects)

Order Diptera (Flies)

No Taxon (Nematocera)

Family Chironomidae (Midges)

Also known as:

"The Midge"

Living less than a quarter mile from the Great Lake Erie has its advantages but this small creature's arrival is one of the clear disadvantages.  Every May these small, mosquito-like bugs descend upon our neighborhood in swarms.  They can be seen hovering in cloudlike formation over parks, homes and highways.  Their buzzing is incessant.  They cover every square inch of our home for several weeks.  At any given time, I can look out my front window to see one of my neighbors outside with a broom, sweeping the pests off of their homes.  Although the midge is annoying, it is harmless and useless (although not to the many fish of the Great Lakes who consider it a delicacy).   

The midge's life cycle is similar to that of the mosquito.

So, let's try to picture today's events...a small, happy girl is skipping through the kitchen to the back door, opens the door, steps outside and... SCREAM, back inside, shuts the door.  "Mommy, there is aw kinds of yiddle bugs out side.  Dem is aw ova da house!  Dem was fwyin in mine hairs and in my mouf!  No me yike dem yiddle bugs!"     (yes...that really is how she talks :)!

So we have had a small setback...a regression of sorts.  Hopefully the rain will hold off and the midge season will be shortlived.  Today, Mary stayed inside playing dollies, doggies and building blanket forts under the dining room table with her brothers.  For now, she is not going anywhere near "dem yiddle bugs"!

 

Mushroom Spore Prints

We have been spending the past two weeks weeding and preparing our flower beds for the new growing season.  I did not realize what a wet Spring we had had until a large number of little mushrooms started growing in my shady beds.  I began to pull them out and toss them into the weeding basket when I remembered the WONDERFUL idea that I had read recently on Leonie's blog.  She posted some magnificent prints of mushroom spores.  Leonie, ever resourceful and creative, explained how, when left on white paper, the mushroom's spores will create a beautiful and intricate design on the paper. 

This led to a discussion among the kids and I about fungi, spores and how to identify poisonous mushrooms from edible mushrooms. 

These are the five most important ways to determine whether a mushroom is edible or not, according to Elizabeth Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study :

• Avoid all mushrooms that are covered in scales, or that have the base of the stem included in a sac, for two of the poisonous species, often mistaken for the common edible mushroom, have these distinguishing characteristics.  Care should be taken that every specimen be collected in a way to show the base of the stem, since in some poisonous species this sac is hidden beneath the soil.
• Avoid the young, or button, stages, since they are similar in appearance in species that are edible and in those that are poisonous.
• Avoid those that have milky juices; unless the juices are reddish in color.
• Avoid those with shiny, thin, or brightly colored caps, and those with whitish or clay colored spores. 
• Lastly, no mushroom or puffball whould be eaten after its meat has begun to turn brown or has become infested with fly larvae.  (Uh, yeah....)

We then carefully picked some of the mushrooms growing in my flower beds, removed the stems and placed our caps face down on some white computer paper.  Later in the day, we returned to find our "spore art" magically imprinted upon the paper.

Funny enough, although the children thought this was a neat science/nature study activity, I was the one showing the papers to our neighbors..."Look at our Spore Prints, John!  Have you ever seen such beauty in nature?"  Later on, I thought about what my neighbors must think when they see me.  "There is that kooky woman in the long gypsy skirts, running around with her hundred children making mushroom art!" 

To Heal the Emotional Wound…

...left by Araneus cavaticus, we have been spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get to know some friendly insects.  We passed a good portion of the morning, yesterday, looking for ant hills.  We searched for the little tell-tale piles with the hole in the center.  She and I sat in the grass and watched the ants go in and out, in and out.  I think she was doing quite well until one of them walked onto her leg.  She screamed and the ant study came to a screeching halt.  On the way back to the house, an unidentified beetle flew down from our neighbor's tree, landing on the driveway in front of us, causing Mary to scream again.  I decided it was time to call it a day.

This morning, because I am a glutton for punishment, I decided to take the children to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens where they were having a travelling bug exhibit.  My thoughts were that a controlled insect environment would be better than one in which any random bug could send Mary screaming in terror back into the house. 

Maybe you are wondering why I do not just leave the poor traumatized girl alone.  Why keep pushing the insect issue?  After all, she did have quite a scare and perhaps time would heal her wounds.  Well, since Spiderday she has been unwilling to travel in the car or to go outside without quite a bit  of bribery coaxing on my part.  Spring has finally sprung here in Northeast Ohio and we have such a short warm season that I do not intend to sit inside for another month until she has the courage to venture out into the vast world of the outdoors.  I mean, here is a girl who pre-Spiderday loved the outdoors.  She is the first to jump in the van each Wednesday afternoon when we venture out to do our more formal nature study.

Back to the Botanical Gardens and our adventures...

The travelling bug exhibit included many live specimens in aquarium-like containers which she could approach at her own pace and stare at for as long (or short) a time period as she wanted.  There were mealworm races, trays of mounted insects to peruse and even a table with samples of insect treats.  Yes, parmesan mealworms, chocolate covered crickets and an interesting Chex-Mix type of treat with pretzels, Chex cereal, peanuts and larvae. Needless to say, I passed on such indulgences as did my little Mary.

The highlight of our visit to the Gardens was a glass-top, three-story room made to resemble a Costa Rican rainforest.  There, hundreds of butterflies fly freely about while visitors walk the path through the foilage and flowers. Mary and I grabbed a card to identify some of the butterflies and she became not only excited but estatic to see the beautiful butterflies flying about.

We identified Blue Morphos, Postman butterflies and a dozen others from our cards.  We watched one hatch from a chrysalis and emerge, pumping its wings with fluid.  We learned about how the butterfly uses its proboscis like a small straw to drink the nectar from the flowers.

When we were leaving the gardens, the children asked if we might come back again later in the week to revisit our favorite gardens and see the butterflies again.  Now that I know Mary is beginning to emerge from her fear of insects, we will have to take a trip again soon to keep the good feelings flowing.  Oh, and I really need to get that Chex mix recipe for my kitchen blog...

Miss Muffett-An Unplanned Lesson in Nature Study

Litte Miss Mary Muffet

Sat in the Mini Van

Peacefully listening to Raffi

Along came a spider

'bout the size of a dinner roll...

and promptly lowered itself onto the peaceful two year old who wet her pants with  hysteria, almost causing a three car accident while her mother swerved at the sound of the blood-curdling screams coming from the back of the mini-van which was then pulled into the nearest driveway so aforementioned mother (who is very spider squeamish) could attempt  to squash the mouse- sized culprit with a Trident- sized gum wrapper she found on the floor,  almost making herself vomit while the other children screamed and laughed... "

I proceeded to drive the last five minutes to our home with Mary who screamed for well over an hour once we arrived.  My son detailed the car for me that afternoon, being careful to vacuum every tiny inch.  Needless to say, Mary has been terrified of the out of doors for the past couple of days due to this incident.  She has also been waking up at night with spider nightmares.  During the day, she points to every tiny dark speck of fuzz on my tan carpeting or white ceilings, claiming "That's a spider Mommy!"   Yikes! :)

Some Signs of Spring

In addition to today's 67 degree heatwave, here are some sure signs from my flower beds that winter is behind us!   The Lenten roses and "snow peeps" once grew in my grandmother's yard.

  So many of the flowers in my beds are transplants from my grandma's home which makes them all the more precious to me. 

Feathered Friends

We will be spending the next couple of days observing and tallying our local birds for the Great Backyard Bird Count. (Thanks to Donna for the link!) The children and I plan to participate in this national bird count that runs Feb.17-20. Join in and put your town on the map!

Indian Point

In a picturesque park atop a tall cliff, there are two large Indian mounds, about 150 feet in length and 5-6 feet higher than the level ground, which provided protection from enemies. The entire Indian village was located between the mounds which are probably only 40 feet apart from one another. The children have, in the past, searched for arrowheads and artifacts but this time we spent most of our time walking the path down to the Grand River. It is a nice hike for little ones, maybe a mile and a half in length although there are probably one hundred steep steps down from the cliff and, of course, the same number back up again! The boys ran on ahead. They set up blockades with logs and brush to slow us down.

We spent a long time skipping rocks in the smooth, still water and searching for clam shells. The boys skipped a few that made it most of the way across the river at its widest point. In England, skipping rocks is called playing "ducks and drakes" although no one in our family understands why. I think we learned that in a Little Tim book by Edward Ardizzone.

The ground was muddy along the bank from all the recent rain. Benjamin found a fossilized clam shell in the shale and brought it home for his fossil tray. The boys then shimmied way out on a tree that grew over the water. On the way back to the van, we all cleaned up the blockades, investigated some birch trees and tried to identify a species of hawk. I love the chance to learn as a family and spend time in the gorgeous land in which we live.

Swans and Stories

It was warm enough to go visit the swans today. The children and I walked around the lake with nary a coat and watched them dive for plants, pulling them up by the roots. Mary thought they were so funny, the way they dip down with their bottoms in the air, searching for food.

The boys found a vine to swing on for a while, then decided to play Little John and Robin Hood. Ben brought his pocket knife along to clean the bark from their quarterstaves. They fought on a felled cottonwood tree that had been growing by the lake. No one wanted to be Robin Hood since, ultimately, he gets ducked. But, they took turns and kept the peace. Christopher asked to rewatch the Errol Flynn version yet another time when we got home.

There was something so wonderful about being out in the fresh air after all these weeks. The baby is only five weeks old but she loved the light wind and fell asleep in the sling. We are all going to sleep well tonight.

We finished The Winged Watchman last night and tonight were itching to start another good read. I have had The Trumpet of the Swan for quite some time and today seemed like a good night to begin reading it. The boys sat up for several chapters. We are getting too large and too many to all curl up on the same sofa anymore but everyone is determined to fit. There is something peaceful about smushing on a sofa with many small people, a good book and lots of blankets.