No Baby Birds but, . . .

After some time, we noticed that Lancelot and Mist were not sitting on the eggs, so we took them out and candled them. We found them to be infertile as we suspected.
The plan is to give them some time without a nest box and then we'll try again later.
For now, what's the next exciting thing?
Josiah has been wanting a small pet that he can handle and train. After much talk of guinea pigs and other possible rodents, we decided on a mouse. They are small, don't make much noise, and from my experience are pleasant pets to have.
By the time we did our research and started gathering supplies, everyone in the family wanted a mouse. We learned that they are very social and enjoy being with other mice. So what started out as a pet for Josiah has become a family project. We planned to get all female mice, because they produce less odor, so we bought them from a store that sells ONLY FEMALE mice.
We got home with them and opened the box to transfer them to their cages. We have two ten gallon tanks with screen covers with plans to keep two mouse in each.

"Aren't they cute?"

I got mine out first and noticed something almost immediately as "he" crawled up my arm. Yes, I said "he". Not sure how this happened. I certainly did not notice in the store and was not even looking since it was an ALL FEMALE MICE store.

 

Needless to say, I had to keep mine seperate until we could do an exchange. There is also the possibility that any one of our females could be pregnant. We'll have to wait and see.

Theron had picked out a mouse similar in color to mine and named it PIRATE PETE, even though we are pretty sure it is a female. What other name could you give a mouse with a black spot over one eye?

"Hi ya, mateys!"

Hannah picked out a mouse that looks like the one I had when I was younger. Mine was called "May", probably because I got it in the month of May. Hannah calls hers JEMIMA.

"I'm a natural!"

Josiah got the sweetest mouse yet. It's fur is so silky and its name is SQUEEK.

 

We've had the mice one week and I exchanged my male for a female. Her name is PETUNIA and she shares a cage with PIRATE PETE. She was very shy at first, but the other mice drew her out and before we knew it Josiah had her on his hand.

 

Here's a close up of her thinking about coming out to play.

Speaking of Birds

While we're on the topic of birds, here's another sort of bird story for you.

Hannah got a hankering for some fine-feathered finches. Mom and Dad said, "Sure, if you are willing to give up your parakeets."
Hannah didn't hesitate long before saying, "Okay."
Hannah had Mom post her offer on Craigslist.
Hooray, we got a response and off we went to do a trade.



Hannah saying "Goodbye" to Paris and France

We hauled two parakeets to Monroe and came back with two finches.
Home Tweet Home.



They are a nesting pair of zebra finches that already have two eggs in their nest. If they did not get too disturbed during the move, we may have some babies. The lady we traded with, gave us the cage they were in so as not to upset them too much.



Here they are on top of the nest. The female is the gray one in front and the male is behind her. He is gray and white (pied). They went back inside the nest after they ate.
We were very pleased with the lady's set up and I think Paris and France are going to enjoy their new home.

Friday Night at the Roses - Dissecting Owl Pellets

Well, it started as a simple study of birds for science as part of our My Father's World curriculum Exploration to the 1850s .





We looked at feathers under a microscope.
Then we drew diagrams of a birds digestive system.

This one is Joish's

We learned that the bird's crop allows it to eat alot of food really fast and then the crop sends the food to the stomach at a steady rate. The stomach breaks down some of the food, but the gizzard does the grinding. Some birds eat things that cannot be fully broken down like bones, fur, and even some seeds and beetle casings. These form a pellet, which the bird expels through its mouth.

Okay, are you grossed out? Well, anyway, I decided to order 3 such pellets. These came in the mail, and as a reward for finishing all school work for the week, the kids and I got to dissect them. Theron and Josiah worked as a team.

But before we did that, each of us tried an online dissection to help us get a feel for what we would be doing.





It's a cool site. You can find it at www.kidwings.com . It can be used as a prerequisite to the actual dissection or as a cheaper, less messy and easier alternative. We are going with the former this time.

We were ready to be "real" scientists! We carefully opened the foil-wrapped pellets, measured them, and inspected them. We determined that they are most likely from a barn owl by referencing our DK book on birds.



Next, we used toothpicks and tweezers to break apart the pellet and see what's inside.



There was alot of fur, tiny bones, and each pellet had at least one skull and a set of jaw bones.

This was my first exciting discovery - a jaw bone!

It was very tedious work and took alot of patience, being careful not to break the small bones. The interesting things we noted were that my pellet had alot of dried grasses in it. Hannah's had black fur as opposed to the gray fur of the others.
It took a good hour or two to complete. We were so tired. We tried to identify all of the different bones. They were all from some type of rodent.

I laid my bones out on the diagram provided. Notice the huge skull and jaw bones with one really overgrown tooth.
In front of the huge skull is a tiny skull and jaw bones along with some leg bones.
The pelvic bone probably goes with the smaller skull also. It seems a bit small for this big fella.
 

These are Hannah and Josiah and Theron's trays. There are some nice bones in there, too. Now, to just get them sorted. Wanna give it a try?

What to Remember When You Go Camping

While memories of the sand and surf of August days still lingered in our minds, our bodies were rested and ready for the next adventure. So as September rolled into October, we filled our van with all neccessary things and charted a course for a "new" and "distant" land. Well, it was new to us and more than 30 minutes away.
#1 Remember to get one last treat for the road, because you won't see QT for at least two days.



Papa Bear Size and Mama Bear Size



Plus you'll need that boost of caffiene to aid you as you set up camp and get that fire going. If your dinner gets over-cooked, don't worry that just leaves more room for s'more. We like the sweet and salty kind - Saltines spread with peanut butter and chocolate chips, then topped with a melting marshmallow held in place with another cracker.



Yep, they're good!
 

#2 Notice your surroundings and enjoy the outdoor sounds. Ahhhh.


A full moon

Sleep if you can. When the kids finally fall asleep after all the excitement of seeing friends and being in a different place AND eating S'mores, you might be able to shut your eyes and doze if your throat doesn't start itching and driving you to have to get up and go to the car in search of a medicine that you mix with water that you drink that wakes you again in the "wee" hours to make the treacherously long trek to the bathroom and back up "leg burner" hill.
And then, BAM, morning comes and off you go. But it IS a beautiful day and you visit with other campers who happen to be your friends.



 

 

You go fishing in hopes of catching a "pet" fish.

 

 

 

 

 

"I got one! Oops, it got away."

 

 

#3 Be Patient

 

 

The fish will come to you, if you just wait.



 

Voila! What did I tell you? Look at that! Mission Accomplished!





Pet fish in a "to go" cup

Too bad we couldn't take this little guy home with us.



Well, moving on. . .

 

We took a walk down to the "dry dock", just me and Little Lady.

 

 

 

 



 

 

Then it was time for a tent siesta while Lady kept watch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

# 4 Don't forget to be sociable with your neighbors even if they are weird, "unsocialized" homeschoolers like yourself. Enjoy a meal together. Roast marshmallows and sing songs around the campfire.

 

 

 

# 5 Make sure the kids play hard, so they sleep good.
       The next day, you will feel more rested, too.
# 6 Remember to pack an extra pair of shoes, in case your other ones get full of lake water.

Drying boots by the fire while chatting with Dad

 

Real boys CAN wear their sister's pink boots in a pinch, but with a bit of planning ahead that CAN be avoided.

 

#7 Involve the kids in "breaking camp". It will be a valuable lesson. And they like taking things apart better than putting them together.

 

 

 

 

#8 Remember that men like to cook when you're outdoors, so give them the opportunity as often as possible.

 

My man cooking lunch

 

#9 Let your kids play in the fire (WHAT? I can't believe I said that.) with adult supervision of course. They love to throw pinecones and sticks in and watch them blaze.

 

 



 

 

 

This was their favorite part

# 10 Remember to put out your fire before you leave. Happy Camping!