Kai's Whole Earth Field Guide

A few months ago Steve got a brilliant idea. Take pictures, make notes, make drawings of anything and everything of interest to Kai and stick it in a binder. Sort of Kai's very own blog. So far we have one of the first versions of Kai's table prayer ("Uhhhhh... Nana.... Papa.... Nana, car, fast car, bus, water, Dada, Puck, Mama....uh....AMEEN!"), photos of spring flowers, a photo of the MUN! (moon), a house fly and a bee (actual bugs stick onto the page with tape), and a photo of our beautiful Echo Mountain in the throes of spring. Here is the author and his editor starting the project: The main thrust of the Guide has thus far been nature. Kai, thanks to careful nurturing by his dad, is fasinated by bugs. He adores rolly pollies and cut worms. While looking for rolly pollies, should an earthworm appear, he becomes ecstatic. Our little corner of the plantet is chalk full of interesting bugs, spiders, scorpions, birds, worms, and snakes. Here's our little man with a few of his "pets".Today's discovery was:

"Mama! A LADYBUG!"

"Ohhh! Let's see! Uh. OH! Um...wow, Kai! That sure is a big bug!"

"Howd it?"

"You want to hold it?! Uh, OK, then!"

I'd forgotten that a couple of weeks ago, Steve actually bought a book of bugs of the Southwestern desert. I could have looked this one up. If I had, I would have learned that this is an Iron Cross Blister Beetle. Red light! This beetle can ooze some sort of substance from it's joints if startled that can cause mild blistering! Oops! Kai! Put that bug down! Phew, the little man is just fine. Guess he was gentle. Which is remarkably so with his little friends.

A few weeks ago a neighbor stoned a rattlesnake to death in front of our house while he was out for a walk with his 2 year old. It had just been run over by a pick up truck but wasn't yet dead. (Side note here - I have since learned this neighbor went to my high school in India! Teeny tiny world, eh?) We discovered it shortly after the stoning. Of course, Kai and Steve were on it instantly.
A most bizaare natural event occured this past Saturday right in our own backyard only hours after we threw a big party in which a dozen or more people and children milled around the house and garden. A swarm of bees set up residence in our sweet acacia tree for the night. They made a football sized pod on one of the branches. It was rather eerie for they were buzzing around like crazy one minute, then the next, calm and quiet in this pod.

They left the next morning.

So that's some of the natural news on our corner.