Green Hour Assignment #1
Our nature time happened more during 'living' today rather than the planned hour or two outside that I had anticipated. We do have the incredible blessing of 10 acres on which to romp and dig... a blessing indeed.
Today was our day to plant onions, lettuce and Brussels sprouts in our raised bed garden. Without much thought the kids, my Mom and I began working on removing weeds to make a comfy home for our seedlings.
About halfway through, we discovered a white grub worm. This find does not strike a happy chord with most naturalists. In fact, most grub worms just have a bad reputation for destroying roots of desired grasses, flowers and veggies. We saved said grub for further observation.
A few minutes later, we found a beetle. Little did I know, these two creatures are connected. The grub is the larval stage of the beetle. We disturbed their slumber very early this year. Now both lovely specimens sit in my kitchen.
Another unexpected nature encounter took place just hours later. While my eldest took piano lessons, I sat in the car reading Miss Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study and looking for interesting information on beetles to share with our wee ones. My 4-year old jumped out of the car to check a spot of purplish wildflowers. We looked closer at her find and discovered teeny, tiny heart-shaped leaves, pink with a dark purple dot in the center. I promised her I would find out the name of this beauty... I'm headed off to do just that.
All in all, a great way to start something ... impromptu and easy. Thanks Barb for the inspiration.
Today was our day to plant onions, lettuce and Brussels sprouts in our raised bed garden. Without much thought the kids, my Mom and I began working on removing weeds to make a comfy home for our seedlings.
About halfway through, we discovered a white grub worm. This find does not strike a happy chord with most naturalists. In fact, most grub worms just have a bad reputation for destroying roots of desired grasses, flowers and veggies. We saved said grub for further observation.
A few minutes later, we found a beetle. Little did I know, these two creatures are connected. The grub is the larval stage of the beetle. We disturbed their slumber very early this year. Now both lovely specimens sit in my kitchen.
Another unexpected nature encounter took place just hours later. While my eldest took piano lessons, I sat in the car reading Miss Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study and looking for interesting information on beetles to share with our wee ones. My 4-year old jumped out of the car to check a spot of purplish wildflowers. We looked closer at her find and discovered teeny, tiny heart-shaped leaves, pink with a dark purple dot in the center. I promised her I would find out the name of this beauty... I'm headed off to do just that.
All in all, a great way to start something ... impromptu and easy. Thanks Barb for the inspiration.
Comments
Thanks for the link.
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
Sounds like you had fun!
~Chrissy
~Tina