Eggs to tadpoles and we hope to frogs...

While exploring the vernal pools, Faith spotted two different types of frog spawn. Our leaders told us there was an overpopulation of frogs in the area, so we were welcome to take it. Faith waded right in & collected both types - thankfully one of our leaders had a water bottle and a plastic jar to keep it in. We separated it into four jars initially:
1. Species A in distilled water
2. Species A in water from the vernal pool
3. Species B in water from the vernal pool
4. A few eggs in tap water










Faith has faithfully recorded her measurements and observations every few days in her journal.


They are hatching! Yikes! Time to get our 10 gallon tank ready for them.


Tap water. We have to let it sit out for a few days so the chlorine can evaporate out. The chlorine will kill the tadpoles within a day.


Our whole family has embraced the project


Putting live aquatic plants in the tank. They help put oxygen into the water so the tadpoles can breathe it in thru their gills.

They are now nearly 3 cm long! Here they are just a little over one cm.


Jonathan with his magnifying glass. He was the first one to notice the feathery gills.

There were still a few unhatched eggs when we put the tadpoles into the tank. Most hatched although a few didn't. The tadpoles feed off of their egg cases for a few days and then you need to feed them.

If you look back at the picture which shows Faith measuring the eggs in one of the four jars on her desk, the jars are no longer there. Now, that space and the floor around it is covered with transplanted tomato plant sprouts. Our friend Lynne gave us a tomato plant kit from Wal-Mart recently. Seth and I planted the seeds and put them in our window sill. Well, they sprouted as you can see above. Seth and I transplanted most of these little sprouts into larger containers the Saturday before Easter and they are doing very well. Except for the 3 sprouts the squirrels ate when I put them out on the deck to get some extra sun - bad squirrels!

A recent Nature Hike with our 4-H Junior Naturalist Club

Some members of our nature club spent a recent morning checking on some vernal pools to record possible spotted salamander visits. Vernal pools dry up for part of the year, thus they attract the spotted salamander. The salamander won't lay eggs where there are fish (they'd get eaten), so the vernal pool is the perfect place. There are no fish in a pool which dries up for part of the year!

Spotted salamanders are "mole" salamanders - they spend most of their lives burrowed under the ground. We thought we might see some of them as there was a recent thunderstorm and the noise and vibration of the thunder alerts them that there is water above the surface of the ground. They need the ground to be wet so they can make their trek along the ground to their vernal pools.

We visited several vernal pools. We didn't see any salamanders but we did see evidence on submerged dead leaves that the males had been there. In a few weeks, the females should visit and use the spermataphora left by the males to fertilize their eggs.


Seth checking the depth gauge to one of the vernal pools.

Looking for spermataphora on the leaves

Looking under a snake board. A board is placed on the ground deliberately. First, insects take up residence under the board. Then mice come to eat the insects. Then snakes, after about 6 months, come eat the mice.

We learned to place a coin by animal tracks, etc. so we can later maintain a sense of scale when looking at our pictures.

Evidence of leaf miners which burrow under the surface of the leaves.

Many of us journal, take pictures, etc of what we find on our nature hikes. Christy is holding a gall. I'd never heard of one unless it was associated with being cheeky or a bladder! This kind of gall is an abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue due to fungi, bacteria, insects, mites...hey, on second thought, maybe you ought to put that down now Christy! Once we learned what these were, we saw several on bushes and trees during our hike.





Our leader found some frog spawn. Faith found some frog spawn in a different vernal pool a few minutes later and thus began a family tadpole project!

A treasured visit by Grandpa and Grandma Nowlin last Fall

Three generations of Nowlin guys

Apple Picking near the Shenandoah Mountains

Twas the end of the season so we needed long poles to get the remaining apples on top. We had NO shortage of apples though and it was very fun to use the poles! Apple pie, apple sauce, apple crumble, fresh eating apples...

Buying our apples, fresh cider, and some apple peeling knives.

Seth rolling out the pie crust for apple pie. Yum!!!!!

Grandma Nowlin makes the BEST homemade pumpkin pie EVER. We saved our autumn pumpkin for her visit and then she taught Faith how to chop it up and prepare if for cooking. Yum!

Making a lincoln log tower with Grandpa

Faith playing multiplication math war with Grandma

Janet was a librarian for many years and gave Christy some training in how to repair the spine of our Very Hungry Caterpillar book. A good skill to have in our family!

One of MANY books Grandma and Grandpa graciously read to the children.

WE MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did I tell you we made natural dyes last autumn?

Cranberries, spinach, acorns we collected outstide, fall leaves from outside, sticks from outside, unidentified berries from the Naylors woods behind their house, strawberries, raspberries, cabbage...all natural! We gave each child their own strips of cloth and they got and to choose which dyes to use on their cloths. We experimented with cotton and linen to see how the type of cloth affected the dye transfer. They soaked the cloths in the jars of dye until it was the color they desired. SUCH FUN!!!!!!

The Naylor family joined us on this adventure in our kitchen last fall and we can't wait to try it again. We are just now starting to grow certain flower seeds which we want to use to make dyes later in the year. Marcy just called me and has found a sheep farm which we can go visit in a couple of weeks to frolick with the baby lambs and also purchase an uncleaned and and uncombed fleece for each family. We'll go thru the process of cleaning, combing, spinning, etc to make our own cloth to dye with one of our natural dyes.

Happy Easter! He is Risen!

A selection of drawings from Faith's art journal

Faith has an art journal in which she has a combination of sketches from various outings in the area and also drawings from her once monthly art history class with her local 4-H club. I chose some of my favorites to share with you all:






She sketched these last fall whilst we played and rested on the lawn directly behind George Washington's house at Mt Vernon.







She sketched the daffodial just about 2 weeks ago in Mt Vernon's flower gardens. The house is something she sketched from a painting by Millet. She did this in her last 4-H art class.




Monet's Bridge - another 4-H class.


Yet another 4-H class. They draped a sheet over a chair and had the 4-Hers sketch it.

Faith's horse

Faith recently drew a horse on a poster for a demonstration she is giving for 4-H today. She chose the demonstration topic of how to groom a horse. She used a "how to draw" site from the internet to set up a grid on the poster board and followed the directions. She did the drawing all by herself - my one contribution was to teach her how to enlarge the grid on the paper to fit the dimensions of her work surface. I put the credit card sized plastic next to it to show the scale.