March is Roaring Like a Lion

Have you ever heard the saying, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb"? Do you understand what that means? Well, it means that as March begins, it can still be quite wintry and blustery (windy) even though March 20th marks the official "beginning" of Spring! Then, as the month progresses, it's supposed to calm down, warm up a bit and "go out like a lamb"... quietly.
Too bad weather doesn't work like this... especially where I live, in Wisconsin.

If you live on the East coast, you are experiencing the storm we dealt with the past 2 days. It sure was or is (depending on where you live) ROARING outside like a lion with all the snow this storm has brought to us! At times the storm brought some pretty fierce winds and heavy snow. But once in a while, if you were able to just look around, you could still see the beauty of Mother Nature in all that drama. I had the chance to take my kids sledding with my husband. I didn't do much sledding, but I got to give the kids' sleds a push down the hill and watch them slide down, laughing the whole way. So while I was standing there, I had plenty of time to look around and see the wonder in all that snow (about 10" to be exact). Although the winds were swirling everything around and it was hard to see at times, I just took a moment, stopped and watch the beauty of those snowflakes swirling around. They are pretty amazing things in that each snowflake is different. All that snow. Each snowflake unique. Pretty amazing, if you ask me!

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (yes, there really IS such a place!), snow is ice crystals which begin in clouds "when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses directly into ice without going through the liquid stage." When it forms, more water vapor from the air accumulates on the ice crystal and creates a snow crystal or pellet and drops to earth. Snow pellets are also known as graupel and they form in clouds when the cold water droplets which are not yet frozen, freeze onto the ice crystal and forms a pellet. Snowflakes differ from snow pellets in that they are just ice crystals that form together without the extra cold water droplets attaching to them.

As for me, I saw both snowflakes and snow pellets yesterday and they combined to create a lot of snow for my kids to play in, my husband to have to snowplow and the beauty of which I was able to appreciate (for now). I am hoping that March can truly "go out like a lamb" by melting some of this snow with warmer temperatures to come this weekend. Living in Wisconsin, I can deal with quite a bit of snow, but after a warm February, I don't think I will be able to welcome it as a guest in my world for too long. I had the taste of Spring and I would like it back please! By next week, if at all possible.

Get out in the snow while you can and enjoy some Backyard Adventures for yourself!
-Cheryl

Resources:
For more fun facts about snow and ice, beautiful photos, and lots of educational resources, please check out the web site for the National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/

Save The Butterflies!

Have you ever heard of the "Butterfly Effect"? It's a theory that, when a butterfly flaps its wings, it creates small changes in the atmosphere which could eventually lead to changes in weather on the opposite side of the world! For instance, people have said that when a butterfly flaps its wings in the China, it may actually cause changes in the weather so as to make conditions perfect for a hurricane in the Caribbean. Is this theory really true? Well, there are scientists who would argue for and against it. But what I believe the theory is trying to say, is that the world is all connected, so much so that if a small creature does something as little as flapping its wings, it can cause much more than just letting that creature fly. It seems like everything is connected when you think about it. If an animal becomes extinct, other animals may suffer because they no longer have their prey to feed them. Or perhaps a flower becomes extinct and could have been used to cure a type of disease. We will never know if it is truly gone from the world. One such problem we face today is the possible extinction of the Monarch butterfly.

(Source: Brower et. al 2012 updated with data from the author for the past two years)

You may have heard that Monarch butterflies are some of the farthest-traveling creatures when the migrate. Some of them travel about 3,000 miles every year to migrate to Mexico for the winter. That's one LONG flight! They make stops in different places along their route in order to eat and gain the fuel they need to make the rest of their trip. Each year since 2003, the butterflies numbers have been declining. The number of butterflies has declined before, but never to the extent that they are now. In the last 20 years of scientists measuring the number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico, this past year (2012 - 2013) has been the absolute lowest. So what is causing this decline in Monarch butterflies?

There are theories (again with more theories!) that the butterflies are quickly declining because of a few things. One possible problem is deforestation in Mexico. The other two issues that scientists believe are causing the butterflies to die are recent bouts of poor weather conditions and the use of an Herbicide, named Roundup, that is killing the plants that Monarch butterflies need for breeding and surviving. That plant is the Milkweed plant.

I do believe that all of these things are likely to contribute to the death of many butterflies, but the one that seems most in our control here in the United States is stopping the use of Roundup. If you or someone in your family ever used Roundup, you know that it pretty much will kill ANY plant life with which it comes into contact. This stuff means business! The problem of course is, that while it may kill some of these "unwanted" things in your yard or garden, it is also causing much more harm than good. Our bodies are exposed to the harmful chemicals in this herbicide whenever it is used in areas that people may use. Also, other animals and insects may have far reaching consequences due to the exposure to the Roundup. If you don't think that this is a problem, perhaps you need to research this a little more and realize that these insects and creatures actually are helping to pollinate gardens to help grow your food and to provide other animals with their own food. It's a circle of life! Bigger animals may eat smaller animals or plants and those animals may be our own food! SO what happens if these animals are full of deadly chemicals because of what they ate? Guess what? Then you get to share in all those deadly chemicals too! Not a good idea.

So what can we do? Ask your parents, teachers, friends, and anyone else you know to stop the use of Roundup. There are other ways to rid a yard or garden of unwanted weeds! Just look it up on the internet! It's right at your fingertips. Also, if you are able to plant milkweed plants, it would help the butterfly population. The only problem is, you have to make sure to watch for when the plant goes to seed and take the seeds off and dispose of them properly, or you will eventually have a complete yard filled with milkweed! It is pretty invasive (which means it grows fast and easily).

So help a butterfly out and be aware of what you use in your yard. The wonderful and beautiful creatures are depending on us... and we are depending on them!

Hoping you have more (chemical-free) Backyard Adventures!
Cheryl


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/06/08/the_meaning_of_the_butterfly/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/01/29/the-monarch-butterfly-population-just-hit-a-record-low-heres-why/
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/01/monarch_butterfly_decline_monsanto_s_roundup_is_killing_milkweed.html
http://action.sumofus.org/a/monsanto-is-killing-the-monarchs/
http://blumengardens.com/blog2/2011/09/01/native-plants-to-attract-butterflies/

Paper Wasps

Well, after my own hibernation, I am back to writing. There have been a few things that we have been curious about over the last two months. I hope to share those with you over the next few weeks. But for today, I am going to cover a topic that we first discovered this past summer... Paper wasps!

Of course now, in the middle of winter in Wisconsin, we don't need to worry about wasps of any kind. But last summer, we were lucky enough to find a very large paper wasps' nest in our neighbors' shrub. I say "lucky" because it was so interesting, not because it's such a great thing to find in your backyard.

Paper wasps are the wasps you will find that build their nests under the eaves of your roof. You may knock those nests down before they get too big, which is good if they are built in places where people walk or play. The reason it's good to discourage the building of nests near your home is because these wasps are VERY defensive of their nests. If they feel threatened, they will sting. In a nest or surrounding areas, there can be hundreds of the wasps. If one wasp is threatened, they will "call" out to their friends and more wasps come to the rescue! This can mean bad news for the person near the nest or wasps. So, if you see these nests being built where people may be around, it is best to carefully get rid of them. Usually this is done best at night when the wasps are sleepy and respond more slowly than normal. This can involve a wasp spray or may use other techniques, but it is best to have an adult do this and to research this before undertaking this job. If you have a lot of the nests being built or they are getting quite large, you may even need to call in an expert for the situation.

So, back to the wasps' nest we found. Our neighbor needed to cut this down because it was in an area where kids would play or where people walked around it. When nests get to be a bigger size, there is an increased chance of someone getting hurt because there are so many wasps that call the nest home. It was pretty big (about a foot long and almost a foot wide) and was built right into the shrub which made it a little harder to remove. The branches had to be cut and had to be taken with the nest as you can see below.

We did not cut the wasps' nest down until we were certain that the wasps were dormant for the winter, had left the nest (which is something they usually do in the Fall) or had died. This nest was cut down in late October after we had a few colder days. We secured it in an old fish tank and put a screen over the top so we could see it while making sure no other wasps were going to come out of it. We wanted to save it until now and then cut it open. The reason for waiting so long to cut it open was that we wanted to make sure everything was frozen inside, so if there were wasps still dormant in the nest, they would not be able to come out and sting us if we disturbed them.

The nest itself is quite beautiful with amazing subtle color differences. The wasps build this nest by chewing up different wood and mixing it with their saliva in their mouths, then spitting it back out to create this papery nest. The nest actually feels almost like a papier-maché ball. It is quite fragile and the outer layers will rip easily. There are layers upon layers of this "paper spit" that the wasps put out. They leave a small hole open for the wasps to get into and out of the nest. You can see it here:

It takes quite a while and many wasps to create a nest quite this large. You may even see larger nests like this high up in some trees. These nests are better off left alone, not only for your own safety, but also because these wasps are beneficial in the sense that they are pollinators. That means that these wasps pollinate the flowers around the area which can make plants grow. We need pollinators to help produce food for us. So if you see a paper wasps' nest somewhere where it would be safely away from people, I encourage you to let those stay put so we can have help with our plants.

Today was the day we decided to split open the nest and see what was inside:

We found many "combs" that had many cells inside. Each of these was built by a paper wasp. It is utterly amazing what these wasps can do and how perfect each cell actually is. We recorded the process of cutting open the nest in order for you to see it. With me being like a kid, and being extremely interested in this, I have to say... IT WAS AWESOME!!!! See for yourself below:

We learned a lot about wasps just by finding a nest in a neighbor's backyard. I guess it pays to keep your eyes open and be curious. I know that I have a new respect for these creatures and all they do. They truly are amazing!

I'm hoping you find many new Backyard Adventures!
Cheryl

Resources:
http://www.everythingabout.net/articles/biology/animals/arthropods/insects/wasps/paper_wasp/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_wasp

The Weta Bug - Awesome Insect, Or Nightmare?

A Giant Weta
Taken from socialmediaseo.net

Today I need to blog about a bug a friend of mine from Facebook discovered. She lives in New Zealand and found a stray Weta Bug in her bedroom. Now, while it may be winter here in the United States, New Zealand is just starting their summer! So I am sure that bugs abound there right about now!

Weta Bugs are generally pretty big but there are some that exist that are even larger than the one pictured in the link. Case in point, the Giant Weta pictured above. When I saw this bug on my friend's Facebook page, I was astounded! It looks similar to a grasshopper, but on a much larger scale. One Giant Weta was found in New Zealand on Little Barrier Island. This "giant" was much larger than any bug and even ate a carrot from the hand of the person holding it! Take a look at the article and photo here. After seeing these photos, I had to know more about these incredible bugs.

These bugs are mostly omnivores and like to eat other invertebrates, but the Tree and Giant Weta like to eat plants the most. Thank God that the Giant Weta doesn't usually eat other animals! People would have to keep a close eye on their cats and dogs with the size of them!

There are 70 different species of Weta in New Zealand (take a look at some of the species here). The Giant Weta was believed to be extinct on the mainland, but when they were found, they were protected and now show signs of recovery. Although Weta bugs can bite (and have a pretty powerful one at that!), it doesn't happen often. They also are capable of giving painful scratches to anyone or anything that threatens them. Their bites are pretty painful, as I am sure you can imagine. When they move their legs to scratch, it makes a distinctive noise. This helps with their defense to ward off attackers. Mostly, if given the chance, the Weta Bugs will just turn and try to run away. I would definitely give them the chance.

The female has something that looks like a stinger, but instead it is an ovipositor, which is something that lets her lay her eggs into wood that is rotted or into chambers at the end of burrows in the ground. The female will lay her eggs in the fall and winter and they will hatch in the springtime. Because Weta Bugs take up to two years to grow, they must shed their skin up to ten times in order to accommodate growth.

These bugs are nocturnal, so when they come out at night, they are hunting for their food. The Tree Weta will live in holes in trees that are rotting or where other bugs have created a hole. Some Weta have been known to be kept in gardens as pets! I think I'd rather have a dog (big enough so the Weta couldn't eat it).

While I find the Weta fascinating and I'm sure my kids would LOVE to see one up close, I'm pretty  thankful I'm not finding them in my bedroom like my poor friend. She says from now on, she's going to sleep with the lights ON. I think that might be a very good idea.

Cheryl


Sources: 
http://socialmediaseo.net/2011/12/02/giant-weta-insect-pictures-the-worlds-biggest-insect-eats-carrots/
http://www.nhc.net.nz/index/insects-new-zealand/weta/weta.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weta
http://www.asianscientist.com/topnews/mark-moffett-weta-bug-discovery-new-zealand-little-barrier-island-2011/

Where Do Bugs Go In The Winter?

As the temperatures drop outside, I have noticed more bugs trying to make our home their "winter home". No, it's not a coincidence if you start to see more bugs around your house starting in the fall. These bugs are looking for a place to stay warm over these freezing cold months that are considered winter. I found out that bugs have many different ways of surviving the winter.

Some insects will actually migrate (fly or move) to warmer climates. One insect that migrates, is the Monarch Butterfly. This butterfly will actually fly about 2,000 miles from the areas that it lives in the summer to the areas it lives in the winter time! That's one LONG journey! Other insects also migrate for the winter, such as a few other butterflies and some dragonflies.

Other insects like to stick together in order to benefit from the body heat from their other insect friends. Honeybees like to huddle together so they can keep warm when it gets colder. Can you imagine the buzzing sound that huddle would make? Ants and termites like to dig way deep down into the ground to get below the freeze line. Because there are so many of them, they can stay warm and they have enough food to last them throughout the winter months. I wonder how they store all that food?

One of the most interesting things I found out is that some insects will actually use a type of "antifreeze" that their bodies make in order to stay alive throughout the winter. It's not the type of antifreeze a person uses in a car, but it works in a similar way! The insects actually make glycerol, which is a substance that helps to make it harder for the fluids surrounding the cells to freeze. That way the insect itself doesn't freeze completely through. A snow flea produces this antifreeze, along with certain beetles and caterpillars.

The last two ways that bugs survive the winter are types of a hibernation of sorts. One type is called Torpor which is a way of sleeping that makes the insect completely unable to move. This is temporary and will last while temperatures are coldest at night and as the day warms up, the insect comes out of torpor. The other type is called Diapause. During diapause, the insect can stay completely still for a long period of time. That's what makes it different from Torpor. During diapause, insects can be in any stage of their development. Some insects may be in the larvae stage, while others are full-grown adults!  The Praying Mantis and the Wooly Bear Caterpillars use diapause while a type of cricket that lives in New Zealand will use torpor. Either way, the insects get to sleep right through the cold! I wish I could do that sometimes!

I guess that there are more ways for bugs to survive the winter than to just come into my house! While we may have friends over at times during the winter, I most definitely have NOT sent out invitations to the insects! So they will need to find another place to stay.

Cheryl

Sources: About.com - http://insects.about.com/od/adaptations/p/wintersurvival.htm
nytimes.com - http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/19/science/19creatures.html?_r=0

How to make a Pine Cone Turkey

I love to use pine cones to decorate my home, especially in the fall and winter. One of the ways I thought of using a pine cone to decorate was to make it a turkey! If you look at the bottom of a pine cone, it kind of looks like the feather from a turkey, so I thought  this might make a nice craft for Thanksgiving.

You will need a few supplies:
Pine Cone
Feathers (you can get these at joann.com)
Colored Pipe Cleaners (I chose black, yellow and red) (you can usually find these at a dollar store)
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors

First, you will take the pine cone and wrap the black pipe cleaner around the tip of the cone (I wrapped mine below the first "tier".

I then made a small "loop" at the top and came back down to secure it and create a head for the turkey. Cut off the excess of the black pipe cleaner. Then wrap the yellow pipe cleaner around the black pipe cleaner for a beak and cut off the excess.

Do the same with the red pipe cleaner, wrapping it around the black pipe cleaner, below the yellow "beak"to make the turkey's wattle.

Cut off the excess red pipe cleaner. Then take the rest of the yellow pipe cleaner and wrap it around the pine cone (about 2-3 "tiers" down) so that half the pipe cleaner is on one side and half is on the other.

Then twist the pipe cleaner at the bottom and make the "feet" by bending the ends. Cut off any excess yellow pipe cleaner.  Now you are ready to start gluing in the feathers. My kids pick out their feathers and then arrange them on the table the way they would like to be placed. I do the gluing because the hot glue gun can get so hot. I glue the feather in the last "tier" on the cone.

Once you glue in the feathers, you now have a fun little turkey for decoration or you can make a bunch of them to use for place card holders!

Here are a few my family and I made:

Hope you have fun making a pine cone turkey! Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Gobble Gobble!

Cheryl

Pine Cones

I love trees. When the words "tree hugger" come up, that would be me! I actually wouldn't mind hugging a tree. Think about how much trees do for us. Here are a few of the many things trees do for us:
1. They take the sun's energy and convert it to oxygen for us to breathe.
2. Some give us fruit and nuts/seeds.
3. They provide shade on a hot summer day.
4. They give us wood for heating our homes and for making furniture and paper.
(Read "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. It will give you a glimpse of how much trees give us!)

Yes, I would hug a tree any day!

When looking at the many different trees in our yard and our neighbors' yards, I started thinking about the pine tree that my neighbors have that happens to be right near our yard. This tree has provided my kids with pine cones to enjoy while playing outside for quite a few years now (Thanks to J&C!). We have taken some of the cones and put peanut butter on them and rolled them in birdseed and hung them from one of our own trees. The birds LOVED us! (So did the squirrels!) The kids collect them and play with them, so they are all over our yard or porch. They can't get enough of them!

All these pine cones got me thinking, "why do pine cones grow?" I kind of figured that God didn't just place those cones there for our decorating purposes. So off to the internet I went to investigate. What I found out is that pine cones hold the seeds to make more pine trees. One of the best and easiest sites I found to describe and educate on pine cones was eHow.com. They explain that pine trees are conifers (a tree or bush that stays green all year and produces cones). The pine cone serves as a protective "house" for the seed of the pine tree. Each year, most pine trees have both male and female pine cones. The male pine cones tend to form near the tips of the branches and are small. In the spring, the male cone lets go of its pollen. The pollen flies around the tree in the wind and when it lands on the female cone, it fertilizes it. Eventually, the female cone, which starts out small, will grow to almost twice that size. It will open up as it changes to brown from its original color of green. Some pine cones can take up to three years to reach this point! When the pine cone opens up, the seed is released onto the ground where leaves and dirt may cover it. This gives the seed a chance to grow into another pine tree!

Both animals and people have used the pine seeds as food. Pine seeds (nuts) are sold in stores for people to use in salads, soups and other dishes. Some animals take the pine cones to get the seeds out to eat over the winter.

We found a few pine cones outside yesterday, but they weren't open. They had fallen off the tree, but were still closed. I found out that when the cones are wet or damp (which would be the case after this past weekend's rain) they stay shut. You can gather these closed pine cones, and put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and put them in the oven on low-heat (200 degrees) to dry them out. Once they dry out, they will open up. If you do put them in the oven, you have to watch them so that they won't burn. It can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes for this to work. Ours started to open up after just sitting in the house overnight.

So I guess pine cones also serve a few different purposes, like trees themselves do!
1. Pine cones provide the seeds to create new pine trees.
2. The seeds pine cones produce can provide food for people and animals.
3. Pine cones can be used as decorations! (see the next blog for a fun fall craft)

I was pretty impressed by what I found out about pine cones. It gives me another reason to love them! Now I think I will go outside and hug my trees.

Cheryl