Category: Nature

Birds

Grandpa has a nest on his house!
There are four baby birds in the nest. We have been taking pictures of them, here is one of the few good ones we have.
the nest is under the roof
The nest is under the roof.

Maple Syrup Update

syrup
This is most of what we canned this year. The rest has been eaten!

Our family canned more than a gallon of maple syrup! That equals 760 cups of sap which equals at least 47.5 gallons of sap from our one tree!

We decided to stop because it started to get warm in the night.  We thought we had enough for this year.

This summer we are going to find some Maple trees and mark them.  Then next spring hopefully, we are going to make some candy and some maple cream.

Our syrup tastes a lot better because it is not as runny and does not absorb into pancakes as quickly.  We know if it is done by picking some syrup up with a spoon and watching how it runs, and then tasting it!

Maple Syrup Weather

We got some plastic taps and tubes last year. When we were sure the sap was dripping–the weather was warming up–we went outside, bored a hole in our Maple tree and put the taps in. We put some holes in the lids of some milk jugs, put the tubes in the hole, put the lids on the milk jugs, and let it sit in a bucket.  That way if it overflowed, we would not lose it all.

Then we collected the sap for a week and on Monday started to boil it down. We started out doing it inside–which is not recommended unless you do not mind a very humid house– and then moved it outside when we got the outside stove done.

The stove was easy to make if you can carry the cinder blocks.  We took four cinder blocks and put them in two rows with a separation between it. We used the racks from our oven to hold the pots. (We learned not to use your good cooking pots because it gets all sooty and black.  Daddy bought us some 14 quart flat pans for our next batch.  We will try soaping the bottoms of the pan to see if that helps.) Daddy designed a chimney.  If smoke gets in the sap, the syrup does not taste very good.  Then you put a fire under it and boil the sap.

Then you sit around and make sure the fire keeps going.  Try to persuade your Mom to let you roast sausages and invite neighbors to see what you are doing. Do not put cold sap with hot sap, it could make the syrup darker.  The darker the syrup is the less fancy it is.  We used two pots and poured the boiling sap in the large container when there was room.  Take off foam when it boils.  When it is almost syrup, you strain it to get the sugar sand out.  Then you finish boiling it.  We checked to see if it was done by seeing how it ran on the spoon and tasting it! It took all day to boil it all down and some of the next day.

Let it sit overnight, keeping it cool.  Heat it to 180 degrees and can it in sterilized jelly jars.  When you are hungry you make pancakes or waffles.  Put them on your plate and cover them with your maple syrup.  Enjoy!

Raising a Milkweed Tiger Moth

Milkweed Tiger CaterpillarWe found this caterpillar about two weeks ago when we were getting some milkweed for our monarchs.  We discovered that it is a Milkweed Tiger Moth and it is also called a Milkweed Tussock Caterpillar.  

We’ve been raising it to see what it looks like.  Yesterday, it was roaming really really fast.  It looked like a piece of yarn that was in a race and had three minature jet engines going all the time (well, probably not that fast.)

Momma told the girls to put the caterpillar outside because we were not sure where they make cocoons, and the girls noticed it was a cocoon.  It’s a cocoon because it is a moth caterpillar, not a butterfly caterpillar.  Now we know.

CocoonSo now we wait over winter to see what it does.  That is called waiting “overwinter” for us.  We are going to put it in the garage.  We will have it in a small plastic container with holes so we can check and to, hopefully, keep animals away from it.

Momma read this is one of the easier moths to raise.  So far it has been easier than a monarch, because Momma cleaned it out when we weren’t watching and it did not eat as much milkweed as the monarch caterpillars.  She said that Banded Woolly Bear caterpillars are easy but it eats a few different plants.  Luna Moths are supposed to be easy too, if you can find them.  I want to raise a Luna Moth or two next. (Hint Hint–Gift idea! 🙂 )

Thanks Wikipedia!Here is what it should look like in the spring.

2009 Car

Happy Birthday Uncle Joe!

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy birthday Uncle Joe,

Happy Birthday to you!

 I-I ca can not put

I-I ca can not put

I can’t put sign language

on for you, Uncle Joe

(sung to the tune of Happy Birthday to you)

 

 

 Our new Car is:

  • Fun“Car”
  • Lovely
  • Fun
  • A butterfly that hatched today
  • Named by Adrian

Adrian holding his CarAdrian learning how to hold

 

Macchu Picchture :)

Macchu PicchuUncle Josh, we have a picture of “Machu Picchu”.  He is the baby caterpillar.  We were waiting for him to get big so we could get a good picture for you.

A different view of Macchu Picchu

HE HE HE  🙂

He is getting ready to make his chrysalis.  He is in the “J” shape hanging upside down getting ready to “spill his brains.”  At least that is what it looks like 😉

In “J” shape

Macchu Picchu ChrysalisHere is a picture of his chrysalis.