Changes must happen

A while back hubby brought home from work some grubs. This was last year in the summer months that he got these. We have kept them in an aquarium with dirt to see what they turn into. They are the biggest things I've ever seen. Well, guess what? There is a change in one of them. This little guy is making a change. He was tired of his wormy existence and started the change. hehehe Reminds me of the movie Tremors. We think it will be a rhinoceros beetle. If you look at the site on Wikipedia you can see the stages.

I found this video on YouTube and thought it was interesting. It's amazing what this worm looking thing will change into. We can't wait to see the final change and see a beetle. I wonder if it will be that huge. I can't imagine it being that big.

Lots of color and music

There is lots of colors springing up everywhere. Lots of pretty colors! Spring has arrived for us. If you click on this picture to see it closer you will notice that the flower actually looks like an orchid.
What has also arrived is time to get that mower out every weekend to cut the grass. That also means time to get out the allergy medicines. Good thing my oldest doesn't have problems with allergies like the other guys do.
Our trees are starting to get their leaves too and the birds are all around. Can you see the red and yellow on his wing? His song is so recognizable to me now. Lots of music outside now. They are loud. You can click on the pictures to see this guy better.
These are a few pictures from today's outdoor walk. I love going outside and hearing all the birds from close and far away. My favorite thing to listen to is the leaves as the wind blows them around. Soon, I will hear that too.

Nature Picture Quiz

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This is a tree. It has some fruit growing on it. This will be the first year that it will give us more than a handful of these fruits. Can you guess what it is? Remember to look at the leaves and fruit for clues. Look through your tree info books or online and share what you find with your children.

Please leave a comment with your guess and on Friday I'll give the answer. Check back then on this post for the update.

UPDATE: Thanks for playing along. This one I think was a little harder. This tree is a Loquat Tree. It starts with little fuzzy buds that flower into a beautiful white flower. Then you have this green fruit that turns to a orangy-yellow fruit when ripe. They are small but tasty. Oh and I thought this was an interesting fact I found on Wikipedia. It said that eaten in quantity, loquats have a noticeable but gentle sedative effect, with effects lasting up to 24 hours. I'll have to remember this when I am not sleepy. There are many trees around town that their fruits are already mature. Mine are still green. Can't wait till we can pick ours to eat them.

Our Experiment

This was what we finally started today. I'm still working on our weeds in the background but a little at a time will get us there. So what are we doing with those kiddie pools? Well, a friend of mine showed me this site and the idea grew from that time. It was just an idea because it was too cold to start the real thing till now. We've been fixing our flower beds and getting our garden ready. It is spring here.

I'll let you know the progress of our garden as time goes by. It will be exciting to see how this works out for us.

A New Beginning

Today was the first day my oldest got to drive! Yep, this was the vehicle. He is actually big and heavy enough to drive this. He tried last year but this mower has a safety feature that if there is not enough weight on the seat it will turn off. This year was the year for him and hubby couldn't be happier. I know who will be driving every weekend this summer. Our 5yr old looked out the window and said that he couldn't wait till he got to do that. His day will come soon enough.

Does it really matter what camera I buy?

This is a very tall tree in my backyard. I wanted you to see how the leaves have started to come out already. Pretty soon the trees will be full of leaves. Also, I wanted to share my thoughts on cameras. This is another reason I picked this picture to show the difference. If you click on this picture to see it bigger you will see almost in the middle on the top leaf a bee that stopped to take a rest. The image is wonderful.

I've had a Minolta DiMage Z1 3.2mega pixel camera and it has served me well. It was time for a change though. So after reading lots of reviews and looking at lots of blogs, I decided that a change was definitely in order.
So what have I learned? Well, this next picture says it all. I would never have been able to take that picture with my Minolta. All my pictures are straight from my camera and not doctored in the least.

So do I think it really matters what camera you use? Oh, absolutely YES! If you just take a few pictures here and there then by all means go for a point and shoot type camera but if you take lots of pictures then a Digital SLR is the right choice. I could tell the difference from the moment I took the first picture with my SLR.

Point and Shoot type cameras are more economical and easy to carry but a SLR takes the picture at that same moment. That doesn't mean I will not keep my Minolta. I love one feature on my Minolta that the SLR's don't have and that is being able to take video clips. All cameras serve a purpose. Now I can't wait to go on a nature day trip to use my camera.

Nature Picture Quiz

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It's Wednesday again and time for another Nature Picture Quiz. These are all over our area. I don't see any leaves. All I see is those yellow flowers. I think it's not only spring time again but allergy season is beginning.

Ok so what do you think this tree is? This is the first time I put up a picture of a tree. Can you figure out what it is? Go ahead and look it up with the kids. Try to figure it out and post a comment with your guess. On Friday I will give you the answer or will you all guess this one too. You all are getting real good at this quiz thing.

UPDATE: Well, where are you all with all the guesses? You all usually give me the right answer. So today I will tell you what it is. This tree is mostly in Texas. It's called a Huisache pronounced wee' satch. Huisache comes from the language of the Nahuatl Indians, a group of Mexican and Central American tribes. The yellow blooms are very fragrant and used to make perfumes and dried and put in sachets to give clothes the perfumed smell. The blooming of this tree signals that spring has arrived and so has allergy season.

Spring is here

We have had some nice spring like weather lately and I was walking around the house to see what new spring things were popping up. Oh boy, I don't think I am ready for some of these spring things. I took this picture with my new zoom lens. I love how you can see it making its new home. If you click on the picture you can see it even better.

Busy, busy

So what is up with us that we haven't been on here in a while? Well, I've been busy going over this new program with my 10yr old. We just started and since the beginning it has been easy because we have used other programs and also let him learn at his own pace.

When I saw someone talk about this book I thought I would get it and see if we would like it and so far it's a thumbs up for it. This reading program has a total of 55 lessons long and each lesson should take between 20-40 mins to complete. It is based on the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching.
If you go to their website it has lots of extra information. Information about dyslexia and about reading and writing. This is the first book I got that seems easy enough to stay with. So I'll give updates on our progress soon enough.

Nature Picture Quiz

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What is this Texas Wildflower? These are all down the roads as you are driving from one city to another. Wildflowers are starting to come out and soon our roads will be full of different varieties. You can be sure that I will be posting on this Nature Picture Quiz more Texas wildflowers as I come upon them in our travels.

As always, please, leave a comment with your guess as to what this might be. To some it is an easy guess and to others you will have to search you wildflower guides. I've already given you a few hints. It's a wildflower and it is all up and down the roads in Texas. So leave your guess and don't forget to look back on Friday for the answers. I know usually you all have made the right guess and it's great to see that.

See you all on Friday.

UPDATE: Yes, it's Pink Evening Primrose aka Buttercup. If you get your nose too close to the yellow pollen it will end up on your nose. Our wildflowers are starting to bloom along the roads so soon I will be taking a driving field trip to take pictures and will share. I can't wait to see them all the wildflowers.

Late night fun

San Antonio, Tx was our destination yesterday. We had a fun field trip. Yep, we dressed up for that too. We went to the Majestic Theatre to see The Phantom of the Opera. We got there early so we walked along the Riverwalk and took some pictures of us relaxing.
I love my little ones wink, don't you?
Here is the proof we did go. My kids actually liked it. Well, except for the little one. He cried when we got there. The theatre looked a little scary to him. Then we sat down and he cried again when it started with all the pyrotechnics going on and the loud creepy music. After a while he liked it. After a long while. Actually when it was over he was smiling and ready to leave. I'll have to take him to an Elmo show or something. So I am wondering if those that know me personally are actually shocked that I went to see the Phantom of the Opera? Spamalot is coming to the Majestic. Monty Python is right up my hubby and sons alley. By the way, we got home at 2am and headed straight to bed. Tired, tired.

Our Wonderful Weekend

This weekend we were in San Antonio with lots of friends. We took in some spiritual food then we went to take in some physical food and some wonderful association. This is part of our little homeschool group that meets up on different occasions. The funny thing is that we can never take a great kid picture. If you see most of the kids are making some sort of face. We all had a wonderful time being together.
Of course, I gotta show us homeschooling moms. Don't we all look great?

Don't we look happy to spend another day together drinking in all the wonderful information we received and also our time together? I am all refreshed and ready to go again.

Nature Picture Quiz

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If you are wondering what this Nature Picture Quiz is all about, well, it's just that. A picture on nature things and you guess as to what it is. You leave a comment with your guess and on Friday I will post the answer. This is a wonderful way to incorporate nature studies into your day. You will be learning about different things and adding to yours and your children's knowledge. So play along.

On our field trip to Corpus Christi we were by the water and saw these guys. What are they?

Click on the pictures to enlarge if you want to see them closer. Look these guys up in field guides or online. Learn about them. Learn what they eat, where they migrate to, how many eggs they have, and perhaps learn one unique thing about them. Take out a nature journal and have the kids draw them. What about writing something about them. If the children are smaller they can copy a sentence you write for them or they can just write a one or two word description about them.

Just have fun and learn having fun. Don't forget to leave a guess and look back on here for the update.

UPDATE: Laughing Gulls it is. If you click on the bottom picture you will see a juvenile which is more brownish. They do sound like they are laughing. Pretty cool birds. Stay tuned to next weeks picture quiz. I wonder what it will be?

Friday Field Trip

I was in desperate need of some time away this past Friday. I got up early and went on a field trip to Corpus Christi to the Asian Museum. It was small but nice. It was especially nice since we went and met some friends. They had everything from origami to all types of Asian things.
Of course, the boys had to put on those hats and try to use those chopsticks.
They had some beautiful kimonos on display too.
It would not be complete without a picture of the boys in front of this beautiful scene. They always have to make faces though.
After our morning at the museum and lunch at Macaroni Grill we spent some time at two bookstores. Yipppeeee!! My favorite activity is the bookstores. Before heading home I stopped with the boys at our favorite stop by the water. The boys always enjoy this.
This play area is by the water. If you were on a boat and you went out into the water you would head straight to the Gulf of Mexico and out to Cuba. I don't think I would want to do that but that is where you would end up at. It was extremely windy that day and the waves would bang up against the shore walls and spray. This is one of my favorite places to go. It's very relaxing.
It was a refreshing day.