This morning on the Farmlet

August 8, 2013August 8, 201323 Comments

I always see Bob off to work in the mornings.

With slippered feed, and bleary eyes I walk him out the door, have a good hug, and then sit on the bench to wave as he drives down the road. (I’ll be seen wearing a thick robe, no matter the weather, to ward off those dang mosquitoes too!)

This morning had a little surprise in store. In the half-light, I saw a small thing stuck to the wall by the front door. Peering closer revealed this!

: It was smaller than a dime, and I was disappointed when it just popped off the wall and vanished.

: However, a bit later when I was doing my morning rounds I saw this one. Much more beautiful in full light, don’t you agree?

: Trying to cure my shaky hand, I used the flash. It made it shimmer with golden highlights.

All this rain has brought us more than annoying mosquitoes. It has brought us beautiful little green frogs to eat them!

It was a good beginning to the day!

How is yours going?

~*~*~*~

NOTES: Apparently, my little frogs are Squirrel Tree Frogs, and they will only grow to be just under two inches long. For more information on the Squirrel Tree Frog look HERE!

Last-of-its-kind frog lives at Atlanta Botanical Garden (VIDEO) (bizjournals.com)
Learning about frogs…. (roaringstrawberry.wordpress.com)

Diversity: the things that creepeth under foot

July 3, 2013July 4, 201360 Comments

The world is full of amazing creatures and when it comes to the order Coleoptera (Beetles) their number and diversity are astounding!

~ HINT ~

Underlined portions in today’s post will take you to more, and interesting information!

We all know the Ladybug as an old favorite of childhood. We sang little poems about them, played with them, collected them in critter cages, and, sorry to say it, often loved them to death… Poor Ladybugs.

Recently, I read about a woman who uses Beetles as art expression and room decoration. She does it by creating a three-dimensional “wallpaper” for her clients. Honestly, from the distance the work looks lovely.

Click either image to be taken to Fiberarts Magazine, and the photo’s source

I keep imagining that they might get a bit ‘gamey’ in hot and/or humid weather. Hm…

Yesterday, Bob came in all excited about a giant beetle he found outside.

“Its huge and has giant pincers!” he said.

I confess, that I never did grow out of my bug loving phase from childhood, and so I made him take me to go and see it.

He was a handsome specimen too! One and a half inches of burnished mahogany from the tip of its pincers to the anterior of its wing casings. Carefully picking it up for a closer look, I then marveled at its ferocity and strength! I took him inside and placed him into the bottom of a plastic container.

He landed on his back and couldn’t move. I made several attempts to assist, but the container was too slippery, and onto his back he’d return.

He was definitely out of his element, and for all his strength those grappling hooks on his legs couldn’t find a foothold to help him upright. Instead, they were getting hooked onto his legs and binding them to himself!

I crumpled some paper and put him onto that. Success!

Watching him crawl around in circles became disheartening, so I took him outside and set him free.

I think he is beautiful.

The sudden movement caused him to take a defensive stance. I tried to move him off of the paper and onto the leaves, but he would not budge. I picked him up and carefully removed the paper from his grip…

At which point he grappled himself, again, and just lay there. I left him to sort it out and went online to find out more about my visitor.

~ NOTES ~

He is a Stag beetle, Lucanus elaphus to be exact, and can be identified as a male by his larger pincers. He uses them for establishing dominance (competing with other males), and taking a fierce stance to ward off predators. They can pinch, but are not harmful. The females have pincers as well, but they are much smaller by comparison.

The largest Stag beetle is about 11.938 centimeters (4.7 inches) while the smallest Stag beetle comes in at about 1 centimeter (or 0.39 inches)

Stag beetles are forest recyclers. They lay their eggs on decaying wood and the larva help to return it to the forest floor. The grubs, depending on the variety, can remain in the wood for up to seven years, however the beetle itself is short-lived at only one to two years. The grubs for this variety take only one year to develop from grub to beetle.

In England, the Stag beetle is considered an endangered species. Due to the loss of the beetle’s natural habitat, they have begun placing rotting logs in parks and backyards to help them regain their numbers.

~ MY THOUGHTS ~

We often find creatures in our environment that can look alarming to us, however, each animal or creeping thing on this earth has a niche to fill, and a job to perform. Many such creatures are maligned and destroyed simply out of fear or ignorance. I encourage you to find out more about what scares you in the wild of your own back yard. For I am certain that you will be amazed at the jobs they perform, and at their efficiency in the performance of their jobs.

Curiosity killed the cat.

July 1, 201326 Comments

And satisfaction brought it back.

In the old homestead on the Mountain Farmlet, there was a wall that had a funny bulge. The bulge was very firm and would not budge. However, just to the left side there was an odd caving spot that was very movable.

One day while there alone my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to investigate…

It was like peeling an onion.

Off came the chair rail, then the paneling. Underneath of the paneling there was scrap wood, foam board, cardboard, chip board, seven layers of ancient wall paper, and some cotton fabric that had been soaked in mastic and applied to a rather large void. On one side of the void were large 12 and 14 inch planks, and on the other side was tongue and groove wood siding. The top of the fabric nearest to the ceiling had been opened at some point in the past, and so…

I removed it to reveal this!

If you do not recognize it, then I will tell you. It is the northwest corner of the log cabin that was built in 1840. The odd cut length of the log’s ends are why the wall bulged in this spot.

I was so surprised to find that there was no mold or mildew under all that old paper. But now what to do about this uneven wall?

It was suggested to me by the Octogenarian’s daughter-in-law that I might put a viewing window here. I think she may be right. It will require us to do a bit more revealing, some brushing and vacuuming, and the hole will have to be framed out and some plexiglass installed as well, but I think it will be fun to leave a portion of the original home open to view. Don’t you agree?

In other news we must report that we are at a standstill as to what we can do to the house to repair it. We have to wait for the foundation man and the plumber to work their magic first. Then we can call in the electrician to fix the wiring. It is going to take some time.

So yesterday, with intentions to work in the yard, we arrived with shovels and rakes, work gloves and boots, only to succumb to a mild summer day and a blue sky with big white clouds.

We walked in our woods, then sat on the bench on the front porch to eat our lunch. We observed a Carolina Wren building a nest in the newspaper slot under our mailbox and watched the butterflies and bumble bees sipping nectar.

Later we walked by the pond

Buddy found a *rat snake near the ravine, and Bob finally got to go exploring! He makes me smile every time he says:

“It still hasn’t sunk in that this is really ours.” Or, “This is such a beautiful place, I wonder if it is for sale?”

Oh yes, and something is missing in this picture. Do you remember what it was?

NOTES on Rat Snakes:

Rat snakes (aka: chicken snakes) are really maligned! I went looking for a picture of one for you to see and everywhere I turned there were rants about them. You know, they will eat your chickens eggs if they can get into your coop, but hey! Secure your coop!!! There is a reason they are also called RAT snakes, and they can be very helpful in rodent control if you keep animals and feed.

I am not above touching one of these farmyard visitors… when, and if, the need arises! LOOK HERE

Besides, the last time I saw a “chicken snake” on the farmlet, well, the rooster and my 15 hens were chasing it off the premises! 😉

Visitor–Black Rat Snake (Photo credit: cotinis)

Once Upon a Time in the West: the art lesson

June 22, 2013June 22, 201331 Comments

In California it is rare to have large cloud formations. Huge cumulonimbus formations are unnecessary in a desert climate, perhaps. That said, from time to time there were clouds, and they were lovely.

One of my favorite things to do as a child was to lay on my back and search the cloud’s various shapes. I found that watching them morph into something recognizable was fascinating.

Fast forward to the 90s

We had a bit of rain and the inclement weather had kept us inside for most of the day. The children were boisterous, loud and needing to get outside to run off some energy! Thankfully, the sun came out and there were some cloud left overs up over head.

As we walked to the playground I asked my students: “How many of you like to watch the clouds?”

Several responded with: “What do you mean?” and “No.” The rest just giggled.

I said: “Your parents never told you the magic of finding things in the clouds?”

This comment produced more laughter from the group, so I told them to go and play, and when they got back I would have a fun activity for them to do!

While they were out I gathered my tools and supplies:

large tarps
white construction paper
pencils
lined paper
a book: It Looked Like Spilled Milk
blue chalk

I then sent up a quick prayer that the principal would not catch us in yet another of what I termed a “*Teachable Moment” because he simply did not approve of them! (He didn’t catch us by the way.) 😉

I met the kids on the playground with my tarps and told them to be very quiet so we wouldn’t be caught out here having fun. We then went to the quietest spot, and laid out our tarps. Cautioning them to remain quiet, I then told them to lay down and watch the clouds…

“Look at the clouds up there. Do you see the shapes they are making? Do any of them look like something you’ve seen before?”

It took a moment but then someone saw a puppy. Then another saw Pikachu, and the fun was on! So many shapes, so many things to see, and all changing before their very eyes.

It was magic!

Whispering, I told them to get up, and gathering the tarps we went inside. Continuing in my whispered voice, I asked them to go to the carpet and sit so we could talk. I read the book and then the lesson began.

Today we are going to draw clouds. I want you to think of your favorite shape that you saw and then I want you to draw it on your paper. I picked up a large sheet of white construction paper and clipped it to the stand. This elicited several incredulous responses from the crowd, and in unison they said:

“Teacher, the paper is all white! Clouds are white! You can’t make clouds on white paper!”

I could see in their eyes they thought I had lost it. Shhhhh… I said softly, let me explain!

“To draw your cloud you will have to make your pencil whisper on the paper. Watch!”

I began to draw an outline on the paper of a simple cloud, and explained about how soft the lines needed to be so that they wouldn’t show up when we were done. Then I took my pencil and ever so lightly pulled it across their arms so they could feel how softly I was drawing.

“Do you understand so far?” Nods of acknowledgement. “Good, now watch, this is the magic!”

Taking my blue chalk I carefully outlined the pencil marks. Then, taking my finger I softened them into the inside of the cloud. Next, I laid my chalk on its side and began to fill in the background. Instantly, there were sounds of Oooh, and Ahhhh…

The children went back to their desks and began their work. It was one of the most focused portions of our rainy day, and when they were done, there wasn’t a single complaint from the group about the next part of the lesson.

“Tell your table partner about your cloud. Describe it to them and explain what you saw and drew.”

While they talked I passed out the lined paper…

“Now, please write about your cloud. I want details about what you saw, and also about how you drew it.”

It was amazing to watch them write. Some were only able to write a paragraph, but all were engaged in the task, and all gave me their best work. Even the non writers in the group!

Later we would have to do the requisite re-writes from our rough draft, but they were proud of their work and excited about the prospect of sharing it on the Parent Teacher Night.

I feel it was a wonderful experience for all of us. They learned about cloud watching, negative space in art, and had a lesson on drafting and re-writing to boot! However, for me, the experience was an affirmation of the use of Art, and a Teachable Moment. A special gift brought to us on a cloud.

~*~*~*~

Quotes

From the movie ~ Mr. Holland’s Opus:

“Well, I guess you can cut the arts [and teachable moments] as much as you want, Gene. Sooner or later, these kids aren’t going to have anything to read or write about.”

Jessica Di Santo ~ at the Blog by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra

“Beethoven *needed* to compose. As Mr. Holland states, we *need* the arts. Students *need* exposure to creativity. Children *need* to let their imaginations run wild.” (You can read her whole article HERE)

~*~*~*~

NOTE: Some of you may have previously read this topic here, but I wanted to share it again because my friend “Z” (aka: Lisa) at Zeebra Designs & Destinations is guiding us in a quest to draw, to express ourselves, to stretch our ability and in my case, to break out of my need for perfectionism. The thought of what you are about to look at just curdles my stomach, but here it is with all its warts.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA It isn’t even the current assignment, but I had to just DO IT, if you can understand. So, for the record I thought my photograph of the original cloud looked like a Gnome laying there on the mountain.