Animals

Insects at the beach

May 31, 2021 By Annette1 10 Comments

Affiliate links will be used in this post.

Two challenges face me this week… insects (crew challenge) and the beach (online book challenge)! The question is, how do I combine these challenges? As I considered the word beach I remembered a book I read last fall called Beach Music. In that hardcover read I was introduced to the plight of sea turtles, and how they slapped mosquitos at the beach. Ergo a good combination would insects at the beach… don’t you think?

Now the insects that one finds at the beach kinda depend on where your beach is. I find more insects readily available on the beach near small lakes. Insects are somewhat less prevalent I find at the beaches from the great lakes, but if you look for them, you’ll find them. It could also be that I’m not paying as much attention as I’m usually at Lake Huron to swim and socialize, not relax and notice nature! 🙂

Insects at the beach that annoy

I know when I go to the beach at Lake Huron the sandflies irritate me! Annoying little pests that go after my ankles. A small fly, they pack a nasty bite. They seem to be worse when the weather is humid, so going to the beach when it’s just slightly chill, or there’s a wind blowing is ideal for avoiding them.

The same goes for mosquitos! A slight wind, and they stay away. And the bonus is, on somewhat windy days, the beach is way less crowded too!

Of course one can use a variety of repellants as well to hold them off. I don’t really like using repellants, particularly at the beach since it just washes off in the water and I’d rather not poison the water critters.

Insects that Delight

Water striders. I will always be fascinated by these crazy insects. They are just too cool floating on the top of the water. You won’t find them on busy beach days at Lake Huron or where the waves are coming in rough at all, but those calm glassy days…the striders will be out! But by smaller lakes and ponds you’ll find them, and in streams going along nature trails you’ll find them in abundance.

I’ve also seen water beetles at our local beach. I freely admit that I don’t know the names to all these beetles, some are water bugs, others are boatmen, some bite easily, others avoid contact at all costs it seems, but they are really neat to observe as they dart around in the water. Again, calm, quiet days are best to observe them. Sometimes I wonder where they go when the waves are rushing in.

Moths and butterflies flit about, as do dragonflies chasing after the mosquitos and sand flies. I thoroughly enjoy watching the dragonflies, they are so quick and precise in their movements. You’ll find all sizes of them, but note, not all that look like dragonflies are, some are actually damselflies. Canadian wildlife will help you tell the difference.

Over the years we have caught several as my lad was quite fascinated with them for quite some time. They don’t keep well in captivity due to their need for food, but to catch and observe and then release, works really well.

OH! I shouldn’t forget the ants. I always find ants at the beach regardless if at Lake Huron or out camping. There are so many different types of ants it’s actually quite amazing. We also find tons of small spiders as well, but they technically aren’t insects what with lacking wings and having too many legs. 🙂

Things to help in your observations

Something you might want to do is make a Pooter… it’s a device you use for catching small insects and spiders. Very simple to make. You just need a jar with a lid and some flexible tubing. Some lung power to suck the insect up and voila! A chance to closely observe insects with the equal ability to let them go free afterwards.

For larger insects like dragonflies and butterflies you’ll need a good bug net and patience. Word to the wise, avoid the kids bug nets… they fall apart so easily and really aren’t worth the money. Get a good quality one and it will last you until your children are no longer interested in insects. 🙂

In fact, if you are going to the beach to just look for insects you’ll want to bring along all your nature study tools, and even a bug collecting tent. We got a lot of use out of this collapsible one and eventually learned to make our own out of old tenting mesh and wire clothes hangers.

If you have a fascination for ants (or your children do) make a formicarium or glass ant farm to keep them in. Keep them well-fed with mealworms and honey and make sure they have water. Catching a queen means it will last far longer as ants need a leader and a job to do in order to live well.

This post is part of the blogging through the alphabet challenge as well as the online Book club.

Fellow Participants for the Online Book Club are

Ontario Wildlife in our Backyard

May 24, 2021 By Annette1 6 Comments

Oh… Ontario Wildlife… we have so many options eh? One can travel up north to see moose and bear, or down south to watch the birds mitigating in from the states at Point Pelee. I can drive down to Grand Bend in the spring to watch the snow geese come in, or head down to the local park to watch the local Canada Geese and mallards. But one of the things I love about where I live is my humungous backyard. I have the joy of watching Ontario wildlife in our backyard. I have the double joy of sharing this with my teenage son. He’s not always so delighted when he gets to see some of this nature up close and personal as he helps me transport it elsewhere….

The Unexpected

The other day my son and I were out gardening when suddenly I yelled “wow, that’s the biggest wolf spider I have ever seen!”. The lad came running over as fast as he could. He was delighted. My lad loves spiders and has kept a number of them over the years. The largest wold spider we’ve seen in the past was perhaps an inch all around, this one was big and fat and had to be almost two inches around. FAST! We wanted to save it since why kill something that is helpful outside? Ergo, the lad captured it and moved it to our woodpile. I wish I could have gotten a picture, but a fast-moving spider and a camera in my pocket isn’t a good combination.

Critters can be found everywhere if you look for them. Gardening, mowing the lawn, trimming bushes, feeding the rabbits, hanging the laundry, or just sitting under a tree. A spider can suddenly appear right in front of you… sending you skittering far away! 🙂 Or a vole can be found nibbling a discovered snack.

All you need to do is keep your eyes open, and your ears listening. Who knows what you might discover? This spring I’ve been serenaded by toads, been surprised by skittering feet on the rabbitry roof, and been delighted by the warning buzz of a bumblebee.

Now mind you, there are critters I like to see… voles, insects, toads…. LOVE having toads, frogs, water bugs, spiders… in places I am not! But there are also varmints! I don’t much care for varmints, and I’d rather not be overladen with flying pests like yellow jackets, flies, and mosquitos. It is so much fun when I clean out the rabbitry and discover insects I’ve never seen before: whiptails, and yellow centipedes that are so tiny, and jumping spiders of all sorts. I don’t want them ON me, but it’s fun to observe creation don’t you think? Even with the varmints…to see their colour, observe their movement, note curiousities about them. It’s good to really see the world around us.

Critters I’d rather not have….

This guy was very unfortunate in his life. We observed many injuries on him that were healing.

This spring we have had a number of unwanted Ontario Wildlife in our backyard. Unwanted for a variety of reasons. I really dislike some of these varmints in the rabbitry.

Rats… cause they foul EVERYTHING, such filthy beasts, and they’ll damage the rabbits.
Skunks…cause they can be stink buckets! Though last year we had a polite skunk who I didn’t mind having around. I’d announce my arrival, it would disappear under the rabbit cages until I was gone, and then come out again. This year’s batch were less-than-polite so out they went!
Opossums… scary bad damage to rabbits they can do. They usually just pass through, but if I can encourage them on their way, I am more than happy to do so.
Raccoons… HORRIBLE critters when it comes to rabbits. The damage they can do makes me so very angry. I so heartedly have learned to dislike them around rabbits because of how they damage them.
Stray cats…. stinky messy animals. Why do stray tom cats like our backyard? I DUNNO. But I don’t need them peeing on my fence posts, messing up my hay, or leaving poop in my yard. YUCK. Not real fond of half-eaten corpses laying around either. The positive thing is they do help reduce the rat population.

My son has learned how to transport most of these critters away from here. He’s had to learn what time of day is best to move them, how far away to take them, and how to get them out of the trap without negative consequences. Being able to observe them up close and note their different features has been instructional. Skunks by the by, you cover them with a tarp and keep it between you and them the WHOLE time. They don’t see you, they don’t spray you. Important life skills for a lad to learn.

This guy was the youngest of five we’ve caught this spring. The other four were older and somewhat aggressive.

Science at home

My teen was also able to help in an experiment. What will catch more rats… a live trap or a snap trap? We were curious what will draw them in quicker… Nutella, peanut butter or seeds? This led to a hypothesis, observations, and a conclusion. Biology science in real life. Nutella came out the winner! Thank you to Shawn Woods and Mousetraps Mondays! This is a trap I’d love to own someday. It will have to wait though until I can get to the States sometime.

Critters I don’t mind

The other day I was out on the porch and spotted this swarm of ants. My son, when I told him, asked me a bunch of questions about them. Was it two colonies of ants fighting? Was it a mating swarm? Where they gathered around eating something? I said I don’t know, how would I know? He proceeded to educate me on ants and all the signs of ant colonies fighting and what a mating flight would look like. We determined that they were just out for some unknown reason. The lad knows a lot about ants as he raises them and has built his own formicariums for some of them. The goal… to raise big enough colonies to sell them. 🙂

Insects too!

Every year we have a bumble bee grace our yard. She often nests in old tree stumps or well-rotten wood. This year it took me a while to spot her nest. In a place I totally didn’t expect!

I thought she was nesting in the straw bale and didn’t want to move it until I knew where she was going. Certainly, I didn’t expect her to be in an old nesting box holding extra rabbit fur. Now I won’t dump it until the fall… after I carefully go through it. I’ve never seen a bumblebee nest before. In case you are curious as I am….

More than bumblebees

We are just starting to see a variety of insects. When I was moving the compost the other day it was swarmed by hordes of yellow flies. I told my guys to stay clear as on the farm growing up I learned these things bite! They like damp smelly places and if you bug them, they’ll bite. What the name of them is? I grew up calling them stable flies but when I look up stable flies they don’t look the same. They look a lot like these flies. I did have the lad give them a good look so he learns to avoid them.

I’ve also been seeing centipedes and millipedes, and have already been catching them for our goldfish. The rollypolys are out and about as well. The other day as I was cleaning cages a small black spider spun down in front of me. Aphids are coming out. We’ve been feeding various earthworms to our garter snake.

Our Pond Brings in Critters

I’ve needed to warn the lad when he mows the lawn to mind the toads we have hopping around. We have at least six different ones and I’d hate for them to go through the mower. They catch SO many flies.

Every year we get a frog or two.

Dragonflies will start gracing our yard killing tons of flies and mosquitos, and water striders, water beetles and more. They have to be quick to avoid our ravenous goldfish.

How about you?

So you gotta tell me….. what kind of critters do you find in your backyard? When you holler WOW, what would bring your youngsters running to see? What delights you in the animals you see around your place? Or even what you’d rather not spend time thinking on! 🙂

Want to know more about supporting teens through homeschooling? Sparks Academy has put together an ebook on Homeschooling Highschool. You could also visit SchoolhouseTeachers. (affiliate link) They have a variety of unit studies, biology lessons, nature studies, chemistry and physics lessons to help our highschoolers under the world around better. Use the code outside to get a discount.

https://schoolhouseteachers.com/dap/a/?a=2815

Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals

January 13, 2021 By Annette1 2 Comments

Who would have thought that the advent of 3D printers would create unstoppable animals? Here, let me give you an example!

Would you like to know more? In Unstoppable you will meet 13 animals that haven’t let a disability stop them from living life. They’ve needed some people to help them along the way. with the advent 3D printers and bionics it means nothing slows them down now.

What do you get?

Full colour pictures fill every page of the 128 page book. You’ll meet lambs, goats, cows, puppies, birds, turtles and more. So many ways that animals can be helped! I was rather surprised myself. Imagine seeing a little guinea pig on wheels! I’ve seen dogs on wheels so I suppose I shouldn’t have been too surprised, but imagine the fidgeting you’d need to do for a wee guinea pig.

Written by Nancy Furstinger and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. You may recall another book by Furstinger called Mercy. I am reviewing this book on behalf of Raincoast Books. 13 chapters complete with along with a note from the author, glossary, bibliography and photo credits. A page is listed with websites to learn more about the animals talked about.

Unstoppable, the details

Written for children 8-12 years old, Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals, you’ll find the text easy to read. The font was very clean and clear. It is a fairly large font that suited the size of the book excellently. It comes in kindle, trade paperback or hardcover.

I was very surprised at the types of animals represented: Cows, goats, sheep, ducks, guinea pigs,geese, rabbits, cats, turtles, elephants, guinea pigs, horses, sandhill cranes, alligators, dolphins, llamas, bald eagles and donkeys.

As a farmers daughter I rather wonder about the expense for providing bionic prosthetics for farm animals but have come to understand that some individuals turn them into pets. Pets of all shapes and sizes should be provided with good care should they not?

Just look at these really well done images! Being able to see them in use and how these different animals can now lead full lives, rather cool isn’t it?

The stories are well-written showing the need of each animal, the challenge in creating the right prosthetic and how it has impacted the animal life. Can you imagine the challenge in making a prosthetic for an alligator?

Should you get it?

I found Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals to be an absolutely fascinating book. The efforts people go to in order to help their disabled pets amazes me.

The science behind making the prosthetics intrigues me, and knowing that people can make these aids for their animals using a 3D printer surprises me. What a cost-effective way to help more animals!

If you have children with a love for animals, science, and engineering this would be an excellent book to share with them.

Not all the links posted at the close of this book worked. Be advised that some links lead to sanctuaries and rescues that twist the truth.

Science Comics : Crows

October 10, 2020 By Annette1 2 Comments

Did you know that I now know more about crows than I ever really wanted to? 🙂 Yes, crows are fascinating, SMART animals. Like intensely intelligent and now I know why. Science comics: Crows gave me all the answers, and hints on where I can go to further my education into these amazing animals.

Come along, discover why YOU should learn about the Corvidae family of birds, you’ll be delighted, I promise.

Amazon affiliate links used in this review.

What I am Reviewing

Science comics: Crows is part of the fascinating and educational series of Science Comics. An illustrated, full-colour graphic novel style, this comic goes in-depth into the intelligence of these wonderful birds. Crows are such a genius animals! Produced by First Second books and written by Kyla Vanderklugt. A hardcover that runs at 128 pages. Written for youth 9-13 years old, it fits well within that demographic, though as an adult, I loved it! I am reviewing Crows: Genius Birds on behalf of Raincoast books.

Details on Science Comics: Crows

From the cover: Did you know that crows make their own tools, lead complex social lives, and never forget a human face? Scientists are just beginning to unlock the secrets of the crow’s brain to discover how these avian Einsteins can be as smart as some primates, and even perform some of the same cognitive feats as human children! Crows have problem-solving skills that will make you you rethink what it means to be a bird brain!

You will adore this book, or at least your middle schoolers will. Humour is found throughout as the crow and dog communicate. You’ll love the clean, well-inked graphics, and the easy to read font.

Being delighted with the sheer amount of information presented with a great story-line, you will most likely read through Crows: Genius Birds more than once.

Should you get Science Comics: Crows?

YES! Seriously, whether you love crows or not, learning about these amazing birds is well worth your time. Science Comics: Crows is a well-done graphic novel written with a clear font and good inking. Have fun learning about these wonderful birds, and who knows, maybe you can think of your own challenge for them.

It would be a great addition to a study on birds, intelligent animals, part of a zoology unit, animals using tools unit and such like.

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Shark Posts!

August 25, 2020 By Annette1 2 Comments

One of my colleagues was asking about shark posts the other day and I thought I’d send her a list of all of them. I got to think it would probably be easiest if I sent them all as one post! What do you think?

AND… I don’t know if you know this BUT The Old Schoolhouse has a shark of a deal going on right now. TWO YEARS for the price of one.. an absolutely mind-boggling deal indeed. More on that later though. Just so you know, affiliate links will be made in this post. Won’t affect your end price, just helps me keep this blog going. 🙂

Sharks are such amazing creatures. I’ve been watching an oceans series on Curiousity Stream lately, and we’ve gone through all of the world’s biggest sharks. Then we started to learn about some of the world’s smallest sharks. I never would have imagined there were such small sharks out there.

And now we are doing glow in the dark sharks. I’m so amazed at the sheer variety that is the shark. From sharks like the basking or whale sharks eating plankton, to the well-known great white who are meat-eaters. Learning about sharks that live deep down in the oceans and use bio-luminescence. God’s complexity in the shark world surprises me.

Shark Books Reviewed

It has been my pleasure to review some shark books over the years. The three most recent are as follows. It would be rather silly of me to not let you know about these interesting books in this shark posts tribute eh?

Shark Week. A fascinating book all about sharks. Tons of interesting facts.

Sharks Never Sleep. Real-life stories from both sides of the shark debate.

Shark Lady. A researcher who is intensely curious about sharks.

What does Sharks have to do with TOS?

First up… check out this amazing shark!

This is just one of the many amazing facts you will learn on SchoolhouseTeachers.com. 450 courses. Covers your family from preschool up through adulthood. Courses for little kids, bigger kids, senior kids and adult kids alike! $179 for one year is a good price, imagine it now for TWO years! Where else can you find a curriculum all put together for you, for your whole family for $179? Trust me…you won’t find it anywhere else!

You can learn about sharks using World Book Resources, have shark-themed math or language arts lessons, Find them in your high school biology courses, and even learn about them in “A world of animals” lessons. Sharks abound on SchoolhouseTeachers.com….. learn more about them today!

Homeschool Mascots

August 8, 2020 By Annette1 2 Comments

The crew has a challenge for us. Talk about homeschool mascots. I have to admit, I can’t really say we have a mascot… not like when you are in public school and have a large bird, pig, or wolf. But we do have critters about the place so I figured I could introduce you.

Homeschool Mascots – Lizzy the cat

Miss Lizzy came into our lives when our boy Chase passed away. I told the fellows I didn’t want another cat, that one was enough, but they nagged away at me. I finally said “Fine, you want another cat, it will be MY choice this time.” After all, I knew if I left it to them we’d get another brown cat and I didn’t want another brown cat. 🙂

Lizzy came from a home about an hour from here. Free cat, didn’t fit well with her owner, and … honestly when she was first here I wasn’t overly fond of her. She had TONS of attitude and would bite. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to turn her around until she had her first bath. I expected a fighting, snarling mess. What I got a cat who simply stopped once she realized I wasn’t giving in. She stopped. Won my heart in that instant as I knew then I could work with her.

She’s become my girl. I often say “Where’s my baby girl? and she’ll come running”. A super smart cat who I am fairly sure was removed from her momma too early, and wasn’t given the stimulus she needed in her previous home. She still has some bad habits, but she’s learning “NO BITES!”, and if she does means no attention will be given her and she’s not fond of that. She jumps up on a chair to be petted when asked. Purrs more often than growls now and is a good girlie overall.

Milo the cat

Milo here is my son’s cat. He’s an older boy now, three years younger than my son, he was an early birthday present. My son has loved cats since he was wee little and he chose Milo out of a box of nearly identical kittens.

Milo is a soft touch, not particularly intelligent, but a great cat for a lad. In his older age, he developed diabetes leading us to make our own homemade cat food. It keeps him in remission and means no more ear pricks for a “getting testy in his older years” cat.

Having a couple of cats has served us well in our homeschool. You’ll often find Milo laying on the bed with my lad keeping him company as he works. My son was given a stem challenge and chose to make toys for them. The making up cat food for them means practicing his math skills and following directions. He’s learned about parasites found in wild mice/voles and how freezing and cooking destroys viruses in meat. But most of all, he’s discovered the joy of loving on a cat… even a testy older-age cat! 🙂

Milo has been ever present as the lad learns, perhaps he’s learned a few things along the way too! (like not eating Mr. Friendly)

The Budgies

We started with one budgie, added two more, sold one because ganging up was happening, and then one died a year later. Now we just have YellowFeather. She’s a bit of a nut, but she likes to talk, loves seed bells, and if someone is getting loud, or an argument is happening… SCREECHING happens. Oh my! 🙂 She makes me laugh, and belongs to the lad.

He’s learning financial responsibility for her as he pays for her feed. I pay for toys, seed bells and gravel. We think she’s doing fine on her own and aren’t in a rush to get a second. The lad ALMOST has her coming to his palm to eat so patience is being rewarded, and more of an incentive to just keep YellowFeather on her own. She’s learning to be more people-friendly. Cleaning out is a pain, but less work with one than with two for sure.

Fireheart, our snake

We’ve had Fireheart the common garter snake for a few years now. She was discovered as a little snake along with two others. They had some damage, we kept them long enough to get better. We let two go and Fireheart stayed behind.

She ate lots of worms and we learned you can switch them to mice so we learned how to do that. Dealing with a somewhat stubborn animal allowed us times of rejoicing! 🙂 Eventually she learned to take deceased newborn bunnies too.

I recently learned while watching Snake Discovery that garter snakes can also eat bits of chicken, heart, beef and so forth. Small meals going over better than bigger ones (this part we had learned already). So we’re hoping to convince Fireheart to expand her repertoire of food a bit.

My Bunnies

Although MOST of my bunnies aren’t pets OR even remotely a mascot they are a part of our everyday lives. My lad and I have an agreement. If I sell his mice I get a 10% commission, if he sells one of my rabbits, he gets the same commission (FYI…it works out better for him). 🙂

Now Gregory (pictured below) is MOSTLY a pet but he also helps us with our meat rabbits. A total love he is.

What does the lad learn from bunnies and even his mice?

early lessons in reproduction
balancing feed costs
customer service
website building
cleaning, waste removal/care/disposition
anatomy
dissection
vetting your own animals
parasitology
animal welfare vs animal rights
insurance requirements
financial management
and more

The mice

I used to raise mice for pets or feeders, but my lad wanted a way to earn some change so asked to take them over. Over the years he’s assumed more responsibility for them which is good to see.

Managing the mice teaches all the above plus more hands-on research. Testing out what food they like, learning to grow meal worms, fixing dry-tail, managing aggression, group sizes, colour management/genetics, and other things I haven’t considered.

So how about you? Do you have a homeschool mascot? Or even just friendly critters running about the place? Perhaps you think the idea of homeschool mascots is silly… and that’s okay too! If so, add a linky or leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Run Salmon Run

May 16, 2020 By Annette1 2 Comments

The other day as I was walking on the treadmill I watched a video about the Spirit Bears of British Columbia. A big part of the menu for these bears is the salmon run. It made me think of my most recent review. Run Salmon Run would be a great book to go along with learning about these elusive bears. Salmon don’t only provide a major part of their diet, but the off cast feeds many smaller animals, providing fertilizer for the forest, a nutrient-dense environment for their fry and much much more. The Salmon run is a necessary part of the eco-system. Learn more about salmon and their very necessary lifecycle.

What I am Reviewing

Raincoast BooksRun Salmon Run is a hardcover picture book geared at children in kindergarten to grade 3. Written by Bobs & Lolo and illustrated by Lori Joy Smith it was published by Page Two Books. 36 pages of full colour illustrations along with large print to make it easy to share with a group of children. It covers the life-cycle of the wild Pacific Salmon from tiny egg to returning adult. Run Salmon Runs comes complete with a glossary of terms. Reviewed for Raincoast Books.

The Details about Run Salmon Run

Large print text fills the first page of every two-page spread. Rhyming couplets easy to read.

The second part of the two-page spread introduces new terminology in a short rhyme. Words like alevin, fry, smolt, krill, and spawn. Introducing us to various life stages and food sources.