5 little monkeys swingin' from a tree (at Rocky Mount)

The big girls' tree

(The local "hangout"...)

The boys' tree

(The location of the 2008 apple war...)

The little girls' tree

(Really just ... ahhhhhh)

I won't show you the mama's tree -
it had been cut down and built into a picnic table. ;-)

The McClung House

Photograph by Mitchell

Build in the 1790's, this house is thought to have been used as a hospital

for wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

An Interesting Cabin

An Interesting Cabin

by: Britany

Photograph by Mitchell

At the Appalachian museum I saw the actual cabin that Mark Twain lived in as a child, and it was interesting how similar it was to the one that is in my book, "The Little House in The Big Woods". In Twain's cabin was a trundle bed right below the regular bed. In my book Mary and Laura slept in the trundle bed. In a corner in the back of the room I saw a baby crib which was like the one that baby Carrie slept in. In front of the fireplace there was a butter churn. Mary used the butter churn to make butter. Above the fireplace hung a gun. In my book Pa would come home from a long day in the forest, and hang his gun over the fireplace. In the front of the cabin, in the left hand corner, there was a fiddle sitting on a table. In the evenings Pa would play his fiddle until the girls were asleep. Looking at Twain's cabin really brought the book I'm reading to life.

Blueberry Picking

Blueberry Picking

by Ronnie

Photograph by Mitchell

When we went blueberry picking there were tons of bushes to pick blueberries off of. There were big blueberries and small ones, but we wanted to get as many big ones as we could fit in our buckets, because they were the tastiest ones. We all plowed through bushes, picking blueberries and eating lots of them too. After a couple of hours of picking we had five gallons of blueberries. We made blueberry cobbler with some of them, and it was good!

Six boys in a stream

Six boys in a stream = Old fashioned socialization.

Angler Fish

This is the Angler Fish that lives in the abyss. He has a bright light that is illuminecent like a fire fly, and he attracts fish with it. When the fish come to check out the light, the Angler Fish eats them! The Angler Fish is real cool.

Flying Creatures of the 5th Day

Last year we studied science using the book, "Exploring Creation: Zoology I, Flying Creatures of the 5th Day" by Jeanie Fulbright. Science is definitely a favorite for all of us, and this book series is terrific! We built birdhouses, made suit, started a life book to record all the birds we've seen and many other fun things.

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How to Make Suet

By Britany

May 2008

Many birds like suet, including the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, the Hearty Wood Pecker, and even the White Breasted Nuthatch. These might live in your area, or they may fly through while migrating. If you make suet you will see more birds in your yard. All you need is: crunchy peanut butter, lard, raisins, sugar, oats, and bird seed. First, you melt the lard and peanut butter in a small pot over low heat. When the lard and peanut butter is melted add all of the other ingredients together and mix well. When you're finished, put it in the freezer to harden. When you are ready to put it outside you will need to put it in a suet feeder, and hang it from a tree. Making the suet was fun, but watching the different birds coming to the feeder to eat what I made for them is the best part about it.

Bay's Mountain

This time we went to Bay's Mountain just to wander about looking at the animals. Kim and Grayson came with us. While we were there, they brought out the Horned Owl. We've never been there when any of the animals have been out, and he was really neat. Later, we stopped by the lake to have a picnic.

The turtles were out sunbathing this time.

Squid Dissection

Squid Dissection

By Britany

We had a very busy day at the Hands On Museum yesterday, but the best part was dissecting a squid. The squid was very small compared to the giant squid. A giant squid can grow up to 55 feet long! I think that is pretty amazing. It was fun learning the different parts of the squid. Did you know that a squid's mouth is in it's tentacles? A squid only has two tentacles, and the rest are arms. Although it grossed out some people, it was still fun.

Do You Know Who She Is?

Do You Know Who She Is?

By Britany

I am writing about a very special person. Do you know who she is? This person has been married for twelve years, and has three very sweet children. She has two jobs, and is very smart. She is really funny and has a beautiful smile. If you haven't figured it out yet, then this might give you a clue: this person loves to teach, and she is good at it. Can you guess who she is?