poppoppop Popcorn!

Popcorn!I am selling popcorn for Scouts.   We use the money for lots of different things like  camping and badges.

My pack wants me to sell a certain amount for the pack’s needs.  After I sell that amount, I  get a personal account where I get a small amount for camps.   If I sell a lot of popcorn, I may not have to pay for camp all year!  If I sell a LLLLOOOOOOTTTT of popcorn, I get a college fund set up for me.

There are lots of different kinds of popcorn.  My favorite kind is the chocolate one.  They also have microwave ones in butter, butter light, also kettle corn (microwave), and three kinds of Carmel corn.   There is also pop corn kernels (that you have to order on line).

Some of the popcorn we brought home.

I like the 5 Way chocolate tin.  I also like the Cheese corn.  Andrea says she likes the chocolate popcorn and chocolate pretzels and the cheese corn.  Audrey likes the chocolate pretzels and all the microwave ones.   Adrian likes the sweet microwave one and all of them.  Momma likes the caramel corn with almonds, pecans, and cashews.  Daddy wants to try the trail mix.

If you want to order some you can e-mail me, or I hope to post an order form soon.  We brought all the different popcorns home and if you want some, we have all of them right now.

Did you know that trans -fat is not in Trail’s End Scout popcorn?

Did you know that the popcorn in many stores are seconds?  Trail’s End popcorn isn’t and it is the BEST!  Not only does it taste good, it helps Scouts do fun things!

Did you know that Trail’s End Microwave popcorn is only $1 for a pack of yummy microwave popcorn?  Except for the Kettle Corn, it costs a little more.

I’m hoping to get to a high enough level to get a gift card to get a camera that I want.   I have been saving up for one for a long time!

 

 

Done for this year

Letting them goLetting one go on the Thistle bush

Castor and PolexWe let eight butterflies go yesterday.

Before we let them go, Adrian wanted to hold a butterfly!

Most of them did not want to go.  Two flittered off immediately.  The others we waited awhile and put them on the Thistle in our front yard.  When they flew away we yelled “Bye butterflies!”

One of their proboscises unwound, it was eating nectar!  This one came back

Here are some pictures, that Momma took.

I didn’t want to let them go,  but Momma made me.  We let them go so they could fly to Mexico or someplace in California.

The butterflies thought, “what are they doing?  Hooray!  I’m hungry.  Feed me!”  or “Goodbye!”  Flitter flitter.

After we let them go,  they came back sometimes and we were all very happy.

Adrian held another butterfly!

Butterflies!

Adrian looking at butterfliesAdrian held one!As I told you yesterday, six butterflies emerged.  Today another one came!   Ten have hatched, three we released and there is one more to go.  When they are all finished, I am going to be sort of happy and sort of sad.  Happy because I got to see them, sad because we will have to release them.

We rescued this one.This one we rescued.  It’s leaf dried up and fell off.  Momma taped it up to the aquarium.  The next morning the tape did not hold and it fell!   Momma and Daddy tied a string around the chrysalis, put a drop of super glue on the knot and then taped it up.  This one was the first one to emerge!

Yesterday, Thomas and Sarah came to watch them emerge.  They watched all of them emerge.One out

Cracking openWhen they emerge, they millimeter  out  of  their  chrysalises :)  Then most of them stretch out their wings.  Momma says it looks like they are stretching their backs.  Then they dry their wings.  When they are coming out, it takes about one minute.  It takes a half hour to an hour to dry their wings.

When their wings are dry we move them to the cage we made for them.  Before that we play with them!

Sarah playingThomas enjoying the butterflyEven Curious George wanted to play

Andrea’s trick

Andrea did this.  She put two butterflies on my arms and then put this one on my face!  I was not impressed.  Momma thought it was funny!

Grandpa sent us this note:Grandma got to play too.

Thanks for the morning.  Ma (Grandma Nana) enjoyed watching the new butterflies, she had never seen that happen before.

We tried to feed to feed them the day they hatched, but they did not eat anything.  We gave them watermelon last night.  They did not eat it.

Eating sugar waterToday we were hoping to let them free (sort of) and because of the rain we didn’t.  We gave them sugar water and watermelon.  And when they land on it and their proboscis unrolls, they drink the sweet juice from inside.  This picture is of us feeding it on a Q-tip.

We also tried to play with them, but they kept flying away.  We gave them a shower.  We spritzed them with water!

Faster and Eating

Eating

Faster

Faster and Eating emerged this weekend.  When we had to let them go, I really did not Mark holding Eatingwant to.

AndreaEating, I had to leave to get him to go.  We got to play with him a little bit.  We had fun with him.   The girls got him in their hair.  We tried on Adrian, but he went “No! No! No! No!”.    He climbed on my finger and all over me.  We tried to get him onto a flower.

He emerged in the morning when it wasn’t to warm.  It means that he could not fly as well.  Plus I think he liked me, because he would not fly away when I held him outside.

Faster did not come quite as fast, but he flew away fast!  (Maybe Faster was a good name for him!)  He came about 10:30.   When he was about to come, Momma Emergingsaid she heard a crack and told us to come.  We got to see him emerge most of the way!

We let him free around 1:30.  The weather was warm!Emerging

Whenever we tried to play with him, he would fly to the window.   He was ready to leave.  I did not want him to leave yet.   When we took him outside, he just flew around the tree and I think into the woods.

Later that day we saw another butterfly that looked like he had emerged that day.

Letting Eating Free

Thomas

Today is Thomas’ 9th birthday!

Thomas

Thomas is my friend.  He is lots of fun.  He teaches me how to play games and last year especially he used to sneak up at me at church!

He can walk upside down on his hands!  When he does it, I think, how does he do that?  I have tried doing it and I can not do it!

Next month he is going to the Dominican Republic.

He is learning Morse code.  A Stag Beetle (I think) that Thomas found!

He found this Stag beetle and sent me the picture of it.  He also gave me a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly he found for my collection.  (His Mom helped him).

…..-.–..–.-.–  -……-.-….-…–.–  -….—–.-…!

Can you guess what this is?

..  .—   –..-…–..  -…..–  -.—–..-  .-.-..  —.–  ..-..-….-.-…-.-.-

This is FUN  for everybody! 

Click on the above link to get to the fun place.  Read the page directions and have fun playing!  I like the drums the best.

Chrysalises Galore!

Holding a caterpillar

Beginning moltingYesterday, six caterpillars made their chrysalises!  Today, just one did.  We onlyMolting still have one caterpillar left!

My friend, Thomas and mom and sister Sarah, came over to watch them make their chrysalises.  We played outside, played inside and watched them make their chrysalises.

We learned a few things;

  • Caterpillars act like an accordion before they make their chrysalises
  • When they molt before turning into chrysalises they look like they have a really bigCaterpillars Hanging brain
  • It looks like their skin splits as they molt
  • It is only a matter of minutes to molt and change into chrysalises
  • They take different amounts of time to molt
  • The newest ones will probably “hatch” Thursday or Friday.
  • Eating and Faster may emerge on Sunday–ohhhh 🙁
  • Our last one is roaming
  • They can form their chrysalis wherever; some are on leaves, some on coffee filters and some on the glass! Our chrysalises

We have questions

  • Do you know if they are attached to the side, will they survive?
  • Will they turn into caterpillars in the same order as they formed chrysalises?
  • Will I be able to raise Luna Moths next year?
  • Do you think it would be fun to raise Monarchs?

Today is Sarah’s Birthday.  She is eleven!  Happy Birthday Sarah!

A Miracle!

Our caterpillars eat lots!On 22 August we moved the Peanut Butter, the Hatchery, and the Nursery caterpillars to the clean cage.  We put the Blue Lid Caterpillars into the Nursery.

The caterpillars in the cage eat and eat and eat and eat!  We kept going to get milkweed!  The night before emerging.They ate it all again.  Then in the night we had to get some!  Then in the morning we had to get some more! ):

Just before emerging.Saturday night we were worried that our butterfly might not make it, cause her chrysalis was turning black.  We could sort of see through it though, so we did not know.

On Sunday morning before church we watched the first butterfly emerge!  I missed it up to her head coming out.  Then I watched her pump up her wings.   We went to church.Wings are dry

Just out!

Pumping up wings

When we got home, she was drying out her wings.  She did not want to eat.  We broughtButterfly her outside and she flittered away!

I didn’t want to let her go.  We worked so hard to raise.  We let her go so she could migrate to Mexico.  I want to go to Mexico when it is winter here.  So I can see if we can go to see lots of monarchs hibernate in big big big BIG groups!My butterfly

Another one!

Upside downCreating chrysalisStill workingChrysalis is almost doneChrysalis is Done!

We have another pupulating caterpillar!  We have three total.  Faster is not eating anymore, he made his chrysalis (or as Audrey used to call it, crystals!) today.How he did it was he shed his skin and his new skin was greenish.  Then, I don’t know what happened, maybe his skin dried and he shriveled up and got shorter and fatter!  When it dried it made his chrysalis?

Eating on left, Faster on rightHe went faster than the other ones.  Maybe it happened because of his name.   He was attached last night at 5:45 and then Momma saw him in a half “j” before bed.  He was finished by 10:30 this morning!

Just for fun we are predicting what each butterfly will be.  I think the first one will be male, the second (Eating) a girl and Faster a boy.  Adrian thinks they are all boys.  Andrea thinks Eating is a boy and the rest girls.  Daddy thinks two girls and one boy.  Audrey thinks two girls and one boy.  Momma thinks they are all girls.  I hope not!  Because I want them to mate and lay eggs!Done molting.

Here is a picture of another caterpillar molting!

More Monarch Day Care

  • Cage; “Eating” ready to pupulate.  He is big and he is looking for a place to make his chrysalis.  He has been roaming all over the place, especially up, up, up.   Daddy says that “Eating” acts like a dog getting ready to have her puppies.

“Eating” on roof of cage We taped up a quarter of a coffee filter.  We are hoping he will build his chrysalis up on it so that we can move it and not leave it in there.  It won’t be so dangerous for the other one to eat the leaf that he is on.  As always, “Eating” is still eating.  But this time he is eating the coffee filter and tape!Faster trying to catch up!

“Faster” should have been named “Eating” because he is still eating.  He is even eating the stem!  No wonder they demolish the whole plant.  Measured him, he is about 5 cm!

Momma said she could hear them eating last night when everyone was in bed!

Eat one leaf in one day!

  • Blue lid container; spritzed the leaf, both are 8 mm.
  • Peanut butter container;  “Mess” is 15 mm and “Sea” is 2 cm (20 mm)
  • “The Hatchery”; “Milk” is 17 mm and “Weed” is 16 mm.
  • Nursery; Castor and Polex are both 20 mm.
  • Aquarium; still in chrysalis.  I feel like an expectant father waiting for my new butterfly.