Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks

Growing Pets in a Jar

This little jar of "ick" found in my watering can last week has taken us on an impromptu mosquito trial.

They are fiesty little things, still in the larvae stage (also known appropriately as "the wigglers") and look very much like this culex here:

They stay in the larvae stage for 4-10 days. You can't see ours in the jar so to show your children how energetic these larvae are, click here for a short video showing:  Asian Tiger Mosquito Larvae Swimming in Water

Ours should be going into the pupa stage soon.

Anybody want a pet mosquito?

Still Learning...

Something strange is happening at our beehive.

Opa warned us after we defaced the front of our beehive, that the colony might go looking for a new home. 

Here is a small section of the hive that shows what is happening.  Seems they are de-juicing the honey from the hive:

Are they moving the honey?  Are they transferring the eggs?  Or is exposure to air turning sections of it white?

The bees are working furiously.  They certainly don't believe in crying over spilled honey.

Sticky Sweet Sunday Science

Way back when I was in third grade, someone brought a jar of honey to the classroom.  Inside that jar was a huge honeycomb.  It was my first view of an actual real-life honeycomb and I, and all the other city kids in my class, were duly impressed.

Ever since spring sprung we have had a swarm of bees living in back of our old red shop which needs to be torn down.  My oldest son has been stung the times he drove the tractor too close to that shop.  My second son is more cautious and keeps at bay when he's on the lawnmower.

Today my dear husband was determined to get to that sweet sticky wealth of gold.  So he sprayed the bees on the outside of the wall and after church he ripped a piece of the wall down.

To reveal a real-life, honest-to-goodness honeycomb!

That's when the kids came and got me from the house.  We waited for the bees that were still alive to quiet down then my husband dragged the board away from the shop.

Even the dogs were curious at this new found confection...

...while the men did some problem-solving of their own.

It's awfully messy and awfully sticky and awfully yucky looking but it's also awfully amazing too.

We inspected the honeycomb and found the larva stage, the pupa stage, and some that were ready to hatch but still holed (bottom side up) into their little brood cell.  My pictures didn't do the stages justice and the close up shots were too blurry.  I was not able to get the larva stage in pictures.  Everytime we poked at one, it popped open like pus.  Pretty gross! 

This site gives better pictures of the various stages: Bee Life Stages

So what did we do with it? 

We're homeschoolers, remember?  We do more than just look and taste and study and analyze it.

We eat it too.   : )

We're pocketing quite a few pots of honey and sharing them around our neighborhood and with our family and friends. 

Which introduced me to lots of Internet study on the preservation of honey and (much to my family's cautious horror "Mom's on one of her weird kicks again." ) I'm looking at the medicinal benefits of honey:

• Honey is the only food that does not spoil. "If kept in an airtight container, honey keeps indefinitely."
• "Honey from your local area can definitely help your allergies."
• The nectar brought to the hive by the bees is about 60% water.
• Honey is terrific for a sore throat.  (I've had first hand experience with this.)
• Honey is good for your skin.  (I'm sure my hands alone with be silky soft for the next week.  It's a very messy job.)
• Honey is a natural antiseptic.
• Honey has these minerals in it: magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. (And I haven't even listed the vitamins yet)

[Disclaimer: To all bee enthusiast who are horrified that we may have taken out a colony of bees that benefit our communities and our gardens and our natural existence at large, let me assure you that the hive is still alive and well.  Or, at least we think it is.  Some of the bees are still swarming around the shop and, as far as we know, the queen bee is still there.  The worker bees are huddled in protective tribes around her. We have tried finding a professional bee removal person with little success.   We have an old business card for one...just one...bee remover and have not reached him yet.  One day the shop will need to be torn down and, now that our science experiment has been explored, studied, and duly recorded, we will turn over the hive safely as soon as we can.  Thank you for your concern.  I share your sentiments.]

Easy Science

Two super easy experiments to do when studying osmosis and dehydration.

Shrink an egg (diffusion through a membrance is called osmosis):

Boil an egg, remove shell and place in zip lock bag filled with clear corn syrup.  Check it every couple of hours the first day.  You'll see it shrinking as the water in the egg passes through the egg's membrance into the corn syrup. Leave it sitting a whole week before observing again.  Ours shrunk down to the size of the yoke.

Dehydration and evaporation (the loss of water from an object):

Take an apple and peel it.  Using a spoon or a butter knife, carve a face into the apple as you would a jack-o-lantern.   As the water leaves the apple, it will shrivel up to look like an old wrinkled face.

What a Bore

My son's superior academic learning...

Me (while checking over completed science papers and asking random questions):  "GameBoy, who first discovered and studied cells?"

GameBoy:  "Some guy who was really bored."

My child actually made a brilliant observation...one I hope to elaborate on in the near future.

Fireworks in Milk

<p><a onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=800,height=600,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" href="http://caygibson.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/100_2369.jpg"><img title="100_2369" height="225" alt="100_2369" src="https://caygibson.typepad.com/cays_cajun_cottage/images/100_2369.jpg" width="300" border="0" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px" /></a>We're re-doing this experiment which we first attempted on the <a href="http://caygibson.typepad.com/cays_cajun_cottage/2006/07/home_for_the_ho.html">4th of July</a>.&nbsp; Our first time doing it we used either 1% or 2% milk because that's all I buy.&nbsp; &nbsp;It worked a little (enough for the girls to get a hoot), but it didn't work after the first few drops.&nbsp; I found out why...<a href="http://4real.thenetsmith.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5265&amp;PN=3">click here to read up on the fat content making the difference.</a>&nbsp; So, this time it won't just be something fun to do on the 4th of July.&nbsp; This time we'll have an explanation of fat content in milk (and why we should drink skim milk) which is timely considering their beloved uncle just had a triple-bypass.</p> <p>Here's the experiment:&nbsp; <a href="http://www.kidskreate.com/fireworks_from_the_kitchen.htm">Fireworks in the Kitchen</a></p> <p>And we'll also <a href="http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000066">create a Jupiter storm.</a></p> <p>And, yes, my children will hollar, &quot;<em>Dad!</em> Mom's wasting the milk again!&quot;</p>

Fireworks in Milk

We're re-doing this experiment which we first attempted on the 4th of July.  Our first time doing it we used either 1% or 2% milk because that's all I buy.   It worked a little (enough for the girls to get a hoot), but it didn't work after the first few drops.  I found out why...click here to read up on the fat content making the difference.  So, this time it won't just be something fun to do on the 4th of July.  This time we'll have an explanation of fat content in milk (and why we should drink skim milk) which is timely considering their beloved uncle just had a triple-bypass.

Here's the experiment:  Fireworks in the Kitchen

And we'll also create a Jupiter storm.

And, yes, my children will hollar, "Dad! Mom's wasting the milk again!"

Science for the Day

<p><strong>This morning, after table time was done, we went and picked buttercups on our way to the mailbox.</strong></p> <p><strong>We inspected two extremely large mosquitoes (which I suspect aren't normal mosquitoes and probably have another scientific name that I'm unfamiliar with), mating on the shop door.&nbsp; They were very poised and hung together perfectly still on the door.&nbsp; It was a good opportunity for me to give my younger children a quaint lesson in reproduction.</strong></p> <p><a onclick="window.open(this.href, '_blank', 'width=216,height=209,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false" href="http://caygibson.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/weevil.jpg"><img title="Weevil" height="96" alt="Weevil" src="https://caygibson.typepad.com/cays_cajun_cottage/images/weevil.jpg" width="100" border="0" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 5px 5px 0px" /></a><strong>We also inspected our </strong><a href="http://www.whatsthatbug.com/Weevils.html"><strong>weevils</strong></a><strong> that we found yesterday in a bag of rice left over from the hurricane.&nbsp; That's what happens when your brother-in-law tells you that a ship load of rice is stranded in a New Orleans' harbor after Hurricane Katrina and there will be a rice shortage.&nbsp; You run to the store and buy <em>a lot of rice</em> and store it in your pantry only to realize eight months later that it was a false scare.&nbsp; Now you're left with lots of rice,&nbsp; lots of weevils,<em> and </em>a new science study inside your pantry. </strong></p>

Science for the Day

This morning, after table time was done, we went and picked buttercups on our way to the mailbox.

We inspected two extremely large mosquitoes (which I suspect aren't normal mosquitoes and probably have another scientific name that I'm unfamiliar with), mating on the shop door.  They were very poised and hung together perfectly still on the door.  It was a good opportunity for me to give my younger children a quaint lesson in reproduction.

We also inspected our weevils that we found yesterday in a bag of rice left over from the hurricane.  That's what happens when your brother-in-law tells you that a ship load of rice is stranded in a New Orleans' harbor after Hurricane Katrina and there will be a rice shortage.  You run to the store and buy a lot of rice and store it in your pantry only to realize eight months later that it was a false scare.  Now you're left with lots of rice,  lots of weevils, and a new science study inside your pantry.

Update on George the Flea

<p>Remember our <a href="http://caygibson.typepad.com/cays_cajun_cottage/2006/01/ongoing_science.html">pet flea science project</a>?</p> <p>Anyone?</p> <p>Well, we found dear George deceased as of Saturday, Jan. 28th.&nbsp; So he lived in a ziplock sandwich bag for approximately 5 days.&nbsp; I think he would have lasted longer had he not exerted so much energy trying to get out of the bag.</p>