Gecko-ed

He walked into our world!!! I opend the sunroom door and he scampered in!!! I had no clue what it was!! Hubbie captured him!

With flash light in hand I showed the girls... who said "Look him up mom!!!"

Lovebug: I liked that the gecko ran and jumped. He was small, probably an inch, probably as small as a my little finger. He had dots all over him. His tail had stripes like a zebra.

Ladybug: I liked him. He was cute and colorful. He had stripes. He had a tail that was cute with stripes.

Here he is in Ladybug's hands!! She'll catch & hold anything!!! He was comfortable crawling with the girls and had to be coaxed into the bushes.

He is a Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus)!! How cool is that!!!! He actually looked pinkish!!! That's true to character!!! "Translucent pinkish to white, with some darker blotching."

His eyes are really cool... and "The belly is white and somewhat translucent." We could so see inside him!! Here he is on GeckoWeb. It has a better shot of his eyes!!!

Enjoying God's marvelous creation!! Grace! ss

Hitchhiker

We picked up a hitchhiker today.... He was hanging around the car beside us and latched on with us.

He stuck with us from skating to the library... and waited for us outside as we picked up a book on the Drinking Gourd our folk song, a Spanish DVD & Bach's Magnificat.... inner library loan is great!!!!

Surprisingly he stuck with us all the way home!!! He always headed into the wind.... at times he had a leg or two flying...

See him still hanging on to the mirror??? He was great to watch the whole way!!! The better shot is him just before Lovebug sent him flying to the safety of the trees!!! I'm glad they did not cage him after his long journey!!!

He is a Fork-tailed Bush Katydid, Scudderia furcata

Family: Tettigoniidae, Long-horned Grasshoppers and Katydids

This is cool... Lovebug is just learning about... Kings Play Chess on Fine Glass Sets... the mnemonic for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

Here's Lovebugs versions... Kiss Princess Cause or Frog Gets Sick :)

We've added a science option on top of our AO study. This from the Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day by Jeannie Fulbright. We'll work at a slow pace... but this was fun!!!

Enjoying making connections!!! Grace! ss

Blooming

I do love pink!! I think I'm getting a great combination going of my perennial flowers in my front flower bed!! The blue salvia ribbon thru the bed repeats with a blue/purple show! The yellow coreoposis burst in the spring and are fading & reseeding now. Finally, my pink is proud! These purple cone flowers are supporting like 10 blooms. Last year they reseeded too and I have about 10 little plants I'm babying.



This dianthus was Lovebugs pick for our garden! The colors are brilliant!! The spider is cool too!! See him??

Grace to ya!! And lots of flowers :) ss

Ladybugs

We found a lovely little black ladybug. She struggled and struggled with her wing... She just could not pull it back in.

Here's a great spot to check out ladybugs...

We also found a brand new ladybug. She yet carried around her pupa shell. Her coloring was pale and she seemed tired.

I think my girls "helped" her shed!!

She rested a long time on my cucumber bloom. You'll also see my first cucumber in there too!!


Hmmm. I need to do catch on my growing garden! For the record 4x4 is great... easy to water & keep an eye on!!

Ladybugs to ya!! Grace, ss

My Garden Box

Planted!!!

Finally I've planted our garden box!!! I'm so thankfull Hubbie decided to level it!!! Or all the dirt would be tilted out!!!

We have tomatoes & cucumbers. Watermellon, green beans, squash, and an uncountable number of carrots!! Ladybug was the planter... and she put some in thier square... and over her... and a few there.... Hummm... we'll see if they sprout!!!

Those carrots were for our rabbit, I'm sure!!! Sadly that rabbit played in the street and was hit last week... oh... now what with the carrots!! The girls were sad... and recognized the error of being in the street....

Grace!! and many hopes of fruit in the garden!!! ss

American Goldfinch

Here and Hungry! The Goldfinch are passing this way! I do hope they stay but this crowd is very hungry and fighting over a spot to nibble! They seem to be stocking up for their journey!

With birdseed generously covering the sidewalk... Daddy and the girls enjoyed their visits this weekend. I'm just thrilled they are still here. Years ago we had a flock and they emptied the feeder in a day and were off!! Maybe we'll be better hosts this round :)

Grace! ss

Pileated Woodpecker

Wow! This morning the girs spotted a new woodpecker!! "He has red on top!!!"

He does!! I've seen this bird once before!! We have a Pileated Woodpecker!!! We have 2 and the pair are sending down wood chips as they look for breakfast!!

I wish a zoom lens would have caught him!!!

They look like a Woody Woodpecker for sure!!!

Also, we have icecicles already on the house!! It will be a cold day with a high of 37! And we are off to a book sale & a fresh milk run!! We need like 20 gallons for the milk co-op!!

Stay warm!! ss

Comments
Jan. 28, 2008 - Posted by Jilann
Love your picture! I saw your link on the AO list. I just recently started blogging, so I love finding fellow AOers that blog too. Sounds like things are going great!

Butterfly

My Ladybug is a great bug catcher!!  This butterfly was so friendly and enjoyed our visit.