Finer Things Friday: We Did Science!

 

The boys started their morning, picking up where they left off last night:  playing outside with  Cranium’s Super Fort Building Set.  In their adventures, they happened upon a baby bird that had fallen from its nest.  They were sad that its life had ended so quickly, but fascinated by its appearance:  translucent skin, HUGE closed eyes, tiny beak with a little tongue visible inside, “arms,” but no wings… and absolutely NO feathers.  From a bit of internet searching, we determined it was a Robin, only a day or two old.  My initial idea was to give the poor thing a proper burial, but NO, Grandma, the teacher, the adventuresome, creative one, suggested placing the little one in a jar of alcohol for future study… and  the boys thought it was a FANTASTIC idea… so, that’s what we did!  Sigh, I don’t think I was cut out to have boys.  I’m more of the tea party and dress-up kind of gal, but as my Mom said, “I’m making strides!”

Next, a neighborhood friend showed the boys her special backyard finds:  a robin’s nest built in the arms of their patio umbrella with FOUR little blue eggs inside and another little nest built into her  Mom’s Mother’s Day hanging basket.  There are eggs, light colored eggs with dark flecks, inside this one, too, but they were difficult to see without disturbing the nest… and unfortunately, a bit of internet searching here didn’t help narrow down the possibilities much.  Song Sparrows, House Sparrows, Chickadees, Carolina Wren, Tufted Titmouse, and Nuthatches are all cavity nesters, all have small eggs with darker colored flecks, and all have been seen hanging out at our bird feeder.  Since we don’t want to disturb the eggs to get a closer look, I guess we’ll just have to be patient and hope we catch a glimpse of either Mama or chicks flying out of the nest one day soon.

Finally, the boys hung around with their friend to help her build a fairy house.  Neither Ryan nor Connor were quite sure how to build a fairy house, but Vivi, their friend, was a fabulous foreman.  She explained that fairies like their homes built from natural materials, that all items have to be found on the ground as fairies do not like things to be “picked” because “that would hurt the nature they love,” and that if you build the fairy house just right, you may soon see signs of a fairy:  fairy dust, cookies (apparently, fairies are excellent bakers)… all sorts of things!  All three kids had a great time exploring the neighborhood for sticks, pine cones, pine needles, dropped flowers, and leaves to create the fairy houses.  Their creations were works of art, and I am confident that the fairies will be moving in very soon!