Aquarium of the Pacific

We recently took a trip to California, while my husband was off doing his own thing I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. It was a nice aquarium w/ several touch tanks spread throughout the aquarium. They had great displays and information about the different areas in the ocean. They also had a Lorikeet fly zone where you walked thru and the Lorikeets flew all around you. You could also buy some necter to feed them & they would land on your hands to drink it. I would recommend a visit if your in the area.

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Get your own

Your it!

So Kristina over at http://momtionary.blogspot.com/tagged me. From what I understand, I must now share 6 things about myself that no one else from my blog community knows.

1. I once desired to become an entomologist, until I found out they also study spiders. I still find insects fascinating and photograph them on occasion (as I've sure you noticed).

2. For a few years my girlfriend & I had a landscaping company, designing and installing perennial gardens.

3. When my husband and I were first married neither of us wanted children. Then we came to our senses and the Lord has blessed us with 3 here on earth and 1 in heaven.

4. I used to have recurring dreams about losing my teeth. Which I've heard is common for those of us with TMJ.

5. I don't like watermelon or any other melon as a matter of fact.

6. I've worked on and off for my husband since we've been dating. That's about 18yrs. My jobs, while working for him, have included receptionist, biller, title clerk, accounts payables & receivables and landscaper.

I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit more about me.

Now I shall tag:
Ruth @ http://hope46.blogspot.com/

Insects

Insects:

-There are more insects in 2 square miles of rural land than humans on Earth

-Insects account for 8 out of 10 of all know species.

-They are found everywhere on the Astronaut's Globe, even Antarctica.

-Over 900,000 species have been identified.

-The weight of the Earth's insect population is 12 times greater than the weight of all the people.

-Only 1% of insects are harmful to humans.

(Info from A Crewmember's Guide supplement to The Astronaut's Globe by Earth Seeds Project http://www.earthseeds.net/)

Here are some photos of the wonderful, interesting insects you can find in Michigan.

Now before you get to creeped out don't forget insects include beautiful butterflies which help to pollinate plants and bees which are also useful pollinators. Without them we wouldn't have most of the flowers, fruits and vegetables that we do.

They are varied in shape, size and color

Some blend in with their environment

In some cases, such as the Praying Mantis the female will eat the male after mating.

Some are destructive like the non-native Japanese Beetle

Homeschooling

I am getting ready to embark on another leg of the journey, homeschooling. It actually something we all do from the time our children are born and then most turn over a large portion of teaching their children to public or private schools. We've decided to keep our children at home and continue their education ourselves. We will be starting DS#1 in preschool this year. So I have been busy doing lots of research on the internet, taking books from the library and searching out local support groups, co-ops, etc. In doing so I've come across homeschool blogs which has led me to this contest:
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/BChsMamaof3/575002/?#c1126593

Check it out and enter if your also a homeschooler!

Sunflowers

from Wikipedia: The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas in the family Asteraceae, with a large flowering head (inflorescence). The stem of the flower can grow as high as 3 metres tall, with the flower head reaching up to 30 cm in diameter with the "large" seeds. The term "sunflower" is also used to refer to all plants of the genus Helianthus, many of which are perennial plants.

They are beautiful flowers that come in different colors and a variety of heights and sizes. They also do something really cool.

"Sunflowers in the bud stage exhibit heliotropism. At sunrise, the faces of most sunflowers are turned towards the east. Over the course of the day, they follow the sun from east to west, while at night they return to an eastward orientation. This motion is performed by motor cells in the pulvinus, a flexible segment of the stem just below the bud. As the bud stage ends, the stem stiffens and the blooming stage is reached." (from Wikipedia)

They are a fun flower to have in the yard but be warned if you have deer they love to eat them.

For those of you with babies or expecting one, here is a nice website that has a good blog and great products in there web store.
http://blog.mom4life.com/
http://mom4life.com/

Cherry Festival Air Show

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

We were able to visit one of Michigan many treasures, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. There is a wonderful drive, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, the winds it's through a portion of the park. All of the pictures are from along this drive except for the dune climb. The children had varying reactions to the dunes. DS#1 at 4 yrs had the most fun climbing up and then running down the dunes. DS#2 at 2 1/2 yrs had the most fun just playing with the sand and DD at 10 months had fun watching all the people. I enjoyed looking at the beautiful creation of God and how wonderfully diverse it is.

Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

We were able to visit the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium in April. It is a great zoo. They have a wonderful play area for the kids to climb & slide and the sea lions are right next to that. They also have a neat play area next to the lunch area where the kids can do things like climb thru tunnels like a naked mole rat. We took so long looking at the animals & letting the kids play that we didn't get to spend much time in the aquarium but from what we saw it's a very nice one. I would recommend a visit if you get the chance. I hope to return there one day.

Milkweed

Common Milkweed
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Common Milkweed

Genus:
Asclepias
Species:
A. syriaca
Binomial name
Asclepias syriacaL.
Common Milkweed (Butterfly flower, Silkweed, Silky Swallow-wort, Virginia Silkweed;Asclepias syriaca) is a species of milkweed, native to most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, with the exception of the drier parts of the Prairies. It grows in sandy soils and appreciates lots of sunlight. Several insects live off the plant, including the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus), the Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetraophtalmus), Small Milkweed Bug (Lygaeus kalmii) and Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis).

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go for a walk, just me & my camera. I had come to photograph all the insects that were on the milkweed plants. This is a plant that many of us should consider adding to our flower beds, not because it is a showstopper but because it is the sole food source for the Monarch Butterfly. Unfortunetly the Monarch Butterfly population is decling and they may become extinct in the next seven years! Maybe if enough of us use less pesticides and plant food plants for caterpillars and butterflies we can keep that from happening. I know I will be adding this plant to my yard and hope maybe some of you will too. Many other insects, including several species of butterflies seem to enjoy this plant also.

Detroit Zoo Trip

We took a trip to the Detroit Zoo on Tues and had a wonderful time. They have added some new animals. Some hummingbirds have joined the butterflies in the butterfly garden and we were able to see some of them. "The group consists of a pair of giant hummingbirds (Patagonia gigas), a pair of Peruvian sheartails (Thaumastura cora) and a male sparkling violet-ear (Colibri coruscans). They are all from Peru and range in size from one of the smallest species of hummingbirds, only 1.5 inches long, to the largest species, measuring 7 inches long." We were also able to see the new Red Panda. The boys seemed to really enjoy the snakes, lizards & turtles in the reptile house. I hope you enjoy some of my pictures.