Catch A Fish Out Of Water: A Party Game

Posted Jul 19, 10 -Filed Under children's activities (recycled materials), party: Circus, reuse fishing pole, reuse lamp or other lighting | 2 Comments

I saw kids playing this lampshade fishing game at a summer cookout. They were having a great time. Of course I had to make one; plus put my own spin on it. You should too.

Set up:

Get an old fishing pole. Use a string or some fishing line to attach your lampshade. Use stuff from your garage or find objects second-hand. You will want the string/ line to hold the lampshade so the shade hangs down at the right level. Test it out to make sure. You will also need goggles that have been altered so you can’t see through them, a blindfold or nothing (if player keeps his or her eyes closed). When we play this again at our next party, I’m going to add funny (crazy) eye pictures to cover the goggle eyes. That will make it even funnier to watch. I’m thinking red and black Swirly eyes.

To Play:

Each player has a turn and will be timed. The person who can get the lampshade on their head the fastest is the winner. What makes this hard to do is the fact that the player can’t see the lampshade. Also, the player can only use one hand. (The other hand must stay down: you can’t touch the lampshade with your free hand!)  It isn’t as easy as it sounds. The shade swings around and usually bumps against the player’s head a bunch of times.

This is a great party game because it is rather amusing for watchers and challenging for players. Make sure you have a camera nearby.

This is one of the games played at my daughter’s circus (Cirque du Soleil) birthday party. Try this at a family picnic, kid’s party, cookout or whenever. It’s even fun for the grownups.

What made this nest? Brown Thrasher Nest and Eggs

Posted Jul 10, 10 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | Leave a Comment

Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum

How fun: a pair of Brown Thrashers decided to make a nest in my yard (June 2010)! We found the nest hidden in a tangle of grape vines. Later we discovered three eggs inside the nest. According to Wikipedia, both parents take turns incubating the eggs. We often saw the mom or dad in the nest. We were very hopeful at the prospect of baby birds but when we returned from vacation sadly the nest was empty.

What made this nest? I’m going to post pictures of bird eggs and nests in order to help others identify nests or bird eggs that they find.

This nest was made mostly of small twigs and dried leaves in a tangle of grape vines in a yard in Southern Maryland. It was about five feet off the ground.

I’m briefly holding this egg in my hand so you can see relative size.

The brown thrasher is still commonly found in its range but its numbers have declined in some places due to habitat loss.

Land Snails: How To Care For Your Newly Found Pet

Posted Jul 6, 10 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification, children's activities (recycled materials), garden (gardening info and eco-friendly project ideas), reuse elastic bands, reuse glass bottles/ jars, use for vegetable scraps | 2 Comments

Teach kids how to care for the simple needs of a land snail. Locally found snails don’t cost anything to keep and don’t require a big commitment. They can be kept until the novelty wears off and then released back into the wild. Keeping a pet snail (however temporary) will give kids an opportunity to learn about it. Watch closely when they eat. You can’t see its mouth but you can see how the food is munched bit by bit. They use a radula to file bits of food into its mouth. A radula is like a tongue with teeth. Cool, I know. The land snail pictured here is interesting to watch. It has eyes at the tip of its antennas (the top pair) and the bottom pair is used for feeling and smelling. Best of all you can watch your snail slime its way around using only one muscular foot.

I live on the East coast of the United States so this is a common land snail around here.

If your snail starts to dry out, it will close itself inside its shell and wait for conditions to improve before venturing out again. This state of inactivity is called estivation. They can seal the opening with a sheet of a clear substance that looks like dried egg whites.

If you plan to keep your snail for more than a week or so, you will need to add a source of calcium to the snail’s enclosure. For this you can add a piece of plain chalk or a piece of cuttlebone.

This is Snailie the land snail. You might just find your next pet in your flower garden.

Set-up:

A glass container works well. I found this vintage jar in the woods at an old unofficial trash dump. All that remained of the dump was glass and large metal items. I thought this jar was cool so I took it home. Do they still make jars like this?

A piece of cheese cloth or breathable fabric. You don’t want your pet snail getting lost in your house.

An elastic band. Save and reuse elastic bands that come off vegetables like broccoli and asparagus.

Daily care:

Wash jar. Don’t forget to take the snail out of the jar first!

Replace damp paper towel.

Add food: a leaf of lettuce (not iceberg), a piece of your apple core, spinach, carrot, or a raw potato slice. You are sure to find some yummy vegetable scraps left-over from dinner preparation. The food scraps shouldn’t be rotten however. Take out any food that gets moldy.

Keep your snail out of direct sunlight. You don’t want it to get too hot or dry.

As a child I had a vivarium set up with plants and a pet snail or two. If you choose to set up a vivarium (terrarium), make sure you choose plants that like a moist environment. Also add potting soil, plants, a log and some dried leaves to mimic it’s natural environment. Keep the soil damp.

Note: avoid chlorinated water, avoid washing your container with soap (or at least make sure you rinse really well).

4th Of July Centerpiece Made From Recycled Materials

Posted Jul 3, 10 -Filed Under children's crafts (recycled materials), crafts (recycled materials), holiday crafts: 4th of July (recycled stuff), reuse chopsticks, reuse twist ties | 2 Comments

Happy 4th of July everyone!

Looking for an easy craft to decorate for this patriotic holiday? Here is a super easy craft that is red, white and blue- and “green” too. The swirls make you think of fireworks.

Save the twist ties off lettuce or other vegetables. In this instance you will want to use the ones that are red, white and/ or blue. Make tight curly cues by winding around a pencil and make larger curls freehand. Twist one end to the top of a clean saved chopstick (saved from last year’s outings). You can glue in place. Arrange your sticks in something you already have: an interesting jar could be nice.

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