Summer...my favorite time of year. Everything is so lush and green. The night is filled with pleasant sounds of frogs and crickets. Everything is full of life...
Recently, we discovered some rather interesting natural phenomena in our backyard. The kiddos were rather intrigued. I was too, so I took some snapshots to share.
First, we discovered a Mockingbird's nest in a rather small tree. Interestingly, however, this very small tree, about 5 feet tall, has some very large thorns. My kids concluded that momma Mockingbird probably chose this tree on purpose because of all those nasty thorns as a means of protection!!! Kind of neat being able to observe our state bird raising some little ones.
Next, we have a seven foot tall butterfly bush that I bought off the sickly, half priced rack at Lowe's a couple years ago. That rather sickly looking bush, decided to flourish and is covered with all sorts of butterflies every afternoon. They don't seem to mind our nosiness either. Here are a couple of the larger swallowtails we've noticed.
Finally, I found this very special flower among a heap of weeds. I'm not sure how it got there or where it came from. As I spent a whole day weeding my flower bed next to the house, I ran across this Passion Flower. I've always wanted one of these vines because it's design is so extraordinary and intricate. This happens to be our state wildflower, too! So fun uncovering some treasures in my backyard.
Has anyone else uncovered some natural treasures in their backyard lately? My students will be going on a "Schoolyard Ecosystem Hunt" in the near future. I'm hoping they uncover some more natural treasures hidden around our school grounds!
No comments :
Post a Comment