summer

Sep 28 2009

Visiting Gma and Gpa

Lucy visited her Grandma Karen and Grandpa Tom this weekend, and had lots of fun.

Below are some pics from our visit.

Lucy and Gma share a secret…

Wheeling the “quad” around the kitchen…after this she opened every cupboard and drawer, took out pots and pans to play with, and measuring cups to sort.

She loves playing with the great variety of toys at their house, courtesy of her bigger cousin, especially the quad (above) and the drum. She wheeled all over the house and the yard, and serenaded us with drumming each morning.

At the park on the slide with Daddy; Gpa poses by the double helix ladder.

Lucy got to see her first riverbed up close…

and wade in the water.

She also got to touch a tiny toad…and a much bigger one.

Unfortunately my camera fell in the water just after this small toad, so the big toad will just have to wait for Mike’s fabulous video footage!

Thanks to Gma and Gpa for their generous hospitality and a wonderful weekend!

By jill • by Jill, Relatives, The Kid, Travel • 2 • Tags: animals, family, frogs, Gma, Gpa, Grandma, Outdoors, Outside, Relatives, summer, The Kid, Travel, wildlife

Sep 2 2009

The bug

One warm August night a few weeks ago, Mike pointed out a big, stripey bug on our front porch. None of us had ever seen anything like it!

So we looked up the big bug, and found out it was a June bug. This site said:

Ten-lined June beetle Polyphylla decemlineata Family Scarabaeidae

Identifying Features: Large size, brown and white stripes, silky hairs on sides.

This impressive beetle is most readily seen in July and August as the males fly about in search of females. They are attracted to night lights, and the large parking lights of a store complex can be swarmed with these. The males antennae are large and antler like, and they are used to sniff out the scent of females. This beetle lives as a larvae in the soil for three years before coming an adult and during this time it eats roots, which does not endear them to tree crop growers. The adults feed on conifer needles during their brief life above ground and also can feed on walnuts or apple tree leaves. If you dare to pick up one of these beetles it will probably make a loud wankkkk sort of squeak, kind of like a toy baby doll.