Wood Duck

"God did a good job on that one!" (Chloe quote)

Fall Day at the Zoo

Flamingos--One of Chloe's favorites

Komodo Dragon--all thought he was "cool"

We were fascinated by this Macaw.

Allison enjoyed feeding the ducks as they would eat right out of her hand.

These tigers had just been given a treat as we walked up to see them.

The zoo keeper said they like to tear open boxes for something to do.

This fellow was smelling some meat inside as well.

Tiger number two finally brought its treat out in the open where we could watch it enjoy its treat too.

The zoo keeper also told us about this treat for these lions. They were supposed to have eaten their treat the night before, so that zoo guests wouldn't be upset by the sight.

However, they didn't choose to eat the poor goat until the next day when guests arrived at the zoo to watch. The zoo keeper said the goat was a real treat for these lions. I tried not to think about it too much. :)

Quote of the Day: Chloe: "You can see the most amazing things at the zoo!"

Anyone Need a Quill Pen?

Just look at all the feathers!

While in the kitchen cooking dinner tonight, I heard a "wham!" against the side of our house. I looked out our back sliding glass door just in time to see a shower of feathers raining down all over our backyard and porch. When the feathers cleared, I noticed a HUGE bird sitting in the yard. I was so stunned that I just kept looking at that bird, which I quickly realized must be a hawk. He had a dove in his claws and was contemplating his next move.

Two of my kids came around to the back gate and scared the hawk and his dinner up over the fence. Just like that he was gone! I could just kick myself for not grabbing my camera and trying to get a picture of what I later figured out was a red-tailed hawk! All I have left of the incident is sprinkled all over my back porch. Abby looked out and said, "Anyone need a quill pen?"

Birds: Lots of Activity This Fall

Sunflowers in Bloom

Taller than last week!

Jemez Mountains

A little over a year ago, Kyle took Grant to the Jemez river to do some fishing. The rest of the family finally got see the Jemez mountains and river this week when we took Gigi and Poppa with us while they were visiting.

We saw lots of red dirt on the way up.

We braved the trail up to the waterfall where they kids played.

We had a picnic among beauty.

And, the kids played more in the river.

I followed this loud squawking stellar jay trying to get his picture, but he didn't like me following him. You can kind of see the crest on his head here, ...

...and a little of of his striking blue color here.

Sunflower Growth Check

Our sunflowers are finally about to bloom!

They've definitely grown taller this week!

Saguaro Cactus Study

We've been enjoying a few books on the Saguaro cactus since we took our trip to Phoenix, AZ. The Sonoran desert is full of them!




We discovered in our reading that all kinds of animals live in holes in the Saguaro cactus. Our favorite is the Elf owl. The Elf owl is only 5 inches tall! Chloe ranks him high on the cuteness meter.

Click on this link and scroll to the bottom until you find a picture of a Saguaro cactus with a hole in the middle. If you click on the picture, you will be able to see the cutest little Elf owl sitting inside the hole!

Weekly Sunflower Growth Check

The kids are home, but fortunately the sunflowers are the only ones that grew mightily in one week!

Petrified Forest National Park

Although we were more amazed by the Painted Desert on our way home from Phoenix a couple of weeks ago, we also found beauty and wonder in Petrified Forest National Park.

Petrified wood gets its name from the Greek word "petra" which means rock. Petrified wood is literally wood that has been turned into rock.

The wood from trees has been preserved through the process of petrification.

Petrification occurs when the wood gets buried under lots of sediment and is deprived of oxygen. When water containing minerals then flows over the sediment, minerals get deposited into the plant taking the place of decaying plant cells. A stone mold then takes its place. The colors found in petrified wood come from elements, like iron and copper, that are in the water and mud during the process.

The Petrified Forest is mostly comprised of badlands, or areas of scrub brush and rock formations. The area is very hot and dry, but we thought it was beautiful as well.

Growing Plants: Growing Kids

I took this picture of Chloe right before we left to take the kids to their grandparent's house for a week. I'll take the picture again when they get home. My guess is that both Chloe and the plants will look bigger!

Painted Desert

On our way home from Phoenix, we toured the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. As we traveled through the Petrified Forest, the landscape looked mostly brown. We drove around a bend and suddenly the landscape had changed. Now, instead of brown, we saw brilliant colors--red, orange, pink, shades of gray, and even lavender stripes.

This picture is one of my favorites because you can see the rain falling around the outskirts of the desert.

I also love these next two pictures because of the way the desert looks so vast and almost unreal.

God's creation is truly amazing!

Introducing the Saguaro Cactus

Did you know the Saguaro cactus can only be found in the Sonoran Desert?

Saguaro cacti are everywhere!

But, they were especially intriguing in the wild on the side of the highway.

The Saguaro cactus is the largest cactus in the United States. They need very little water and lots of heat to grow well. You can find them in Arizona or western Mexico.

Allison even found one on a cupcake! Check out her blog post to read more about her Saguaro cactus cupcake adventure.

Cactus Desert: One Small Square
Read this book to find out more about the Saguaro cactus!

Sunflowers Again

Our sunflowers are growing again...

...and, Chloe is going to help me keep record of how big they get and how fast!

New Mexico Rains

Rain falls in New Mexico quite strangely. Sometimes I can smell it, but don't see it. Usually it rains lightly or very heavily for short periods of time. We almost never have a good old fashioned thunder storm like Texas gets.

This evening, rain came from seemingly nowhere. We heard the rain, and looked out to see sunshine and blue sky.

Our front yard, however, revealed a gray sky.

We see rainbows pretty frequently here in the summer.

But my favorite rainbows are the ones that arch over the mountains.