Budding Naturalist

Early this morning I went out in the garden to finish up some long neglected projects and use up the mulch (grass from the park) we had brought home. All 5 bags of mulch are used up and I'm looking for more. I fixed a leaking soaker hose and emptied a compost pit and filled it part way back up. I brought the girls--our three hens--out to eat the bugs in the compost. I've been making compost pits successfully--this is the fifth or sixth time I've dug one up and had beautiful compost. The only drawback is that it doesn't compost at a high enough temperature to kill seeds, so I tend to have volunteer tomatoes and squash grow where I use it. Here in the Sonoran Desert it is so dry a compost pile needs to be watered otherwise you have dried organic matter instead of compost. I dig a pit in a bed already on a soaker hose and fill it up. I use Effective Microorganisms to help it compost anaerobically (I'll post more about EMs later as I use them alot in the garden and the home or see EMAmerica)

The Girls--Bess, Grace, and Guinevere--eating bugs in compost pit

finished compost

A decorative millet blooming against a backdrop of basil

And corn...I planted this 2 weeks after the last planting date for our area (in the lower sonoran desert it is too hot and dry for corn to pollinate in June) but hopefully our unseasonably cool weather will allow this to mature. This is a variety from Native Seeds/Search that is a sweet corn in the milk stage and matures to red, white, and blue kernels. I'm hoping for at least enough to taste it and if we like it, save some seeds.

My mom helped with the mulching and dug out some potatoes, which aren't ready yet and transplanted the sweet potatoes.

mulched sweet potato plants

Jasmine has been captured by the chapter book I'm now reading to her. She did not want me to read this book but it captured her very quickly. I was browsing over at LaPaz Home learning(I get inspired by something every time I visit). She describes a book she's reading with her children The Trees in my Forest by Bernd Heinrich.

I realized that this is a genre--nature study-- that I have been sorely neglecting in my selection of chapter books. We have been enjoying a lot of historical fiction lately. I looked up the book at the library they didn't have it but had an interesting sounding one by the same author--Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds. In the book Heinrich sets up a blind in the Maine woods to observe Ravens. This afternoon we let the chickens into the front yard and Jasmine created her own blind and stocked it with tools of the trade and spent a couple hours observing the chickens and writing notes in her field journal. Isn't homeschooling great!

The blind

The tools of the a wildlife observer


I've been taking pictures of food for the blog so today Jazz made her lunch and took a picture of it. The carrot and the Thai basil she picked from her own garden.

This evening we rode our bikes over to the park to see if there's any more grass clippings to be had, grabbed a quick dinner, and headed out to An Evening in the Sonoran Desert program put on by our awesome local Non-profit group ISDA (International Sonoran Desert Alliance). A biologist from Cabaza Prieta Wildlife Reserve talked about insect and reptiles particularly those who come out at night. We then used black lights to search for scorpions which glow an eerie but absolutely gorgeous green under a black light. We had a great time tromping through the desert finding scorpions and a member of our group found a toad that usually doesn't come until out until monsoon season. Does this mean monsoons will be early this year? (Monsoon season in the Sonoran Desert usually starts the second week of July). I don't have pictures but maybe can get some e-mailed to me. Until then, here's a picture of a scorpion under a blacklight I found on the WEB.