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  • Think Happy

    Such as are your habitual thoughts;
    such also will be the character of your mind;
    for the soul is dyed
    by the color of your thoughts.
    -Marcus Aurelius

    We become what we think about all day long.
    -Ralph Waldo Emerson

    Happiness is a habit-
    cultivate it.
    -Elbert Hubbard

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    Little secret blue jewels that open only while the sun shines on them,
    hidden in the midst of the ivy…
    like finding August treasure meant only for me.

    Not that it feels like August.
    “How sweet and keen the air! Every breath a blessing.”
    It is beautiful, cool; it feels like back-to-school.

    I find myself anticipating the gold of autumn leaves;
    I am planning for Halloween costumes;
    I am ready to bake pumpkin pies and fill bushel baskets with Granny Smith apples.

    What are you thinking about, all day long?
    Do you believe that the nature of your thoughts can transform the day?

  • Maverick Elton, Backyard Naturalist: Tomato Plant Edition

    Maverick and I just realized that he hasn’t published a “Backyard Naturalist” post all month. This is partially because Mav likes to do them as editions, so we kept starting and saving them to finish “later”, partially the fact that he will only work on them on Saturdays (two of which we spent at the beach, without access to my saved pictures), and partially the fact that I am lazy and bug identification is kind of hard.

    We finished two tonight. Here is the “Tomato Plant Edition”.

    Please remember to leave Mav lots of comments, they make him feel super special!

    Thanks-
    Robin

    These are all the bugs we found on our big tomato plant at one time.

    This is a long-legged fly. It is hard to tell which one because there are over 40 kinds and they are very small. You need a bug scientist and a microscope.

    This is a katydid. He jumped around a lot and didn’t want his picture taken.

    This is an Orb Weaver Spider.

    You can find it in tall grass or in vegetable gardens with lots of weeds.

    It eats its web every morning and spins a new one every night in total darkness using only touch.


    This is a Tomato Hornworm.
    He will eat your tomatoes, and your potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers!

    But you should leave him alone if he has white things on him like this- those are cocoons and they will hatch and the wasps inside will kill more hornworms for you.

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    This one is the best. It looks just like bird poop. But when my mom turned the leaf over to look for more bugs, it grew antenna and wings and flew away!

    It is called a clavate tortoise beetle and when they are young they hold their poop over their head like a shield so no one will eat them!

    I couldn’t believe how many bugs were on this plant.
    We didn’t even look very hard because we kept being bitten by mosquitoes.
    Mosquitoes love me.

  • Cicadas Just Wanna Have Fun

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    HOW TO MAKE A SWING
    WITH NO ROPE
    OR BOARD OR NAILS

    First grow a mustache
    A hundred inches long,
    Then loop it over a hick’ry limb
    (Make sure the limb is strong).
    Now pull yourself up off the ground
    And wait until the spring-
    Then swing!

    -Shel Silverstein

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    It’s nice to know that the swing the boys made is being put to good use!

    Posting a bit late today- got all tangled up in the greatness that is Shel Silverstein and A Light in the Attic. I kept stopping to read the kids all my old favorites.

    I think you should fully expect to see more of Shel in the days ahead…