Butterflies!

 We found a Black Swallowtail caterpillar munching on our carrots and put it into our bug jar to observe it. It was perfect timing! It quickly settled in and formed a chrysalis. As soon as it hatched, we gently took it out of the bug jar and watched as it dried it's wings and got its bearings. It lingered for quite a while, and we were able to take pictures and compare it to the pictures in our books.
There's been lots of reading about butterflies...

 
 And being butterflies...

And, more Swallowtails.
This one is a Giant Swallowtail, and it was found on our echinacea. It only spent a few minutes in the bug jar, just long enough for some photos and observation. The kids are very committed to not damaging our local butterfly population, and have been working on grand plans for a separate butterfly garden that's out of the area that the chickens forage in. 

This one hasn't been identified yet, but prompted at least two hours of scouring the identification guides, and some pretty impressive reading. It was in pretty bad shape when it was found.

We recently visited COSI for a Spiderman photo event, and couldn't leave without taking a few photos of the recycled butterfly sculptures of Michelle Stitzlein.

Bison hike and giant leaf pile

We went to the Batelle Darby Creek MetroPark for a preschool program about autumn leaves. We did crayon rubbings, identified leaves and trees, talked about the leaves changing color, and then jumped into an enormous leaf pile.

"My favorite part of fall?"

"I'll show you"

"Jumping into huge piles of leaves!"

1, 2, 3, Go!!

Coming after mama to make sure I don't miss out on any leafy fun!

Hiking to the bison

We are lucky to have Batelle Darby Metro Park a few minutes from our house. We'll be even luckier when they complete their nature center planned for next year. It's going to be similar to the Audubon Center, in that it will be built sustainably with as little impact on the surrounding area as possible. I'm eagerly awaiting the programs that they'll be offering. In the meantime, we can visit the bison. It's a little bit more than a mile walk from the parking area/naturalists office.

Almost there...

There are 6 bison, but it's a huge area (I believe they said 23 acres), so they aren't always visible. The bison love the chilly weather we've been having, and are happily lounging around and laying on the ground. This makes them a bit difficult to see, but we were able to spot one fuzzy lump from the trail.

Can you spot it?

Though they were a bit tired after our hike, the glimpse of the bison, and anticipation of hot cocoa at home was enough to prompt an extra quick walk back to the car. Bye, bison!!

I'll race you back!!!

Post Office tour

We visited Skip at the main post office this week, and were able to tour the whole mail sorting area. It's huge! We weren't there early enough to see the carriers, but did get to see where they work, and the process of sorting the mail before it even gets to them.

Carrier sorting area

The place is pretty automated, and it was surprising how few people it takes to move a whole city's mail around. The carriers don't have to do too much sorting before they go out on their route, but this particular office does more than most because of the volume of mail that goes through.

These bins are for larger packages

Skip shows us how to scan mail

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Station 1 Tour

The littles have been really interested in going to visit places that they haven't been before, and exploring things that they've read or seen on shows. Lately, they've asked to see a real firestation, so I called the local fire department and set up a tour to see Station 1. The firefighters were all very welcoming, and answered all of the questions that the kids had. We first went upstairs to see the dispatch area, the kitchen, and the tables where the firefighters eat. An interesting thing that we learned is that they all work shifts that are 24 hours on/48 hours off, which would mean that they are working either 48 or 72 hours a week. We also learned that the firefighters all eat their on-shift meals together. They each pay into the food fund at the beginning of the week, and take turns cooking for the whole crew.

Checking out the fire truck

Getting behind the wheel

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Old Time Harvest Days at Fryer Park

This is a hugely picture heavy post,  but this was a really fun day and you wouldn't want to miss anything, right? Fryer Park on Orders Rd is always a great place for an adventure. There is a super exciting playground, a large pond, and a small collection of historical buildings that have been relocated here. They have events a few times a year, but this is the first one that we've been able to attend. It was extremely well organized, had an amazing amount of activities set up, and was totally free! It was perfect for kids, and the littles were very interested in everything there was to see. I also saw younger kids who were able to do many of the activities with help from parents, and quite a few older kids/teens as well. The only thing that was missing this year was the wool carding and spinning demonstration, due to the volunteer being sick, but my kids get to see that at home :).

Stamping Leather

Knot tying

Pony!

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Not to put too fine a point on it

Sharpening pencils and crayons!

 The littles asked to do some writing practice, but the pencils they wanted to use were dull.

We got out the sharpener, and then all thoughts of writing were gone. They spent at least 45 minutes sharpening pencils, and then crayons. They'd take turns between the 2 sharpeners, and sometimes one would peel crayon wrappers off so that there was always a pile ready to go. 

We can always write another day.

Old Time Harvest Day

Old Time Harvest Day 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2
Old-Time Harvest Day in Grove City will give today’s generation a look into the past at historical Century Village, 4185 Orders Road. The City of Grove City and the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society collaborate annually to organize this fun, free and educational event for the community. Demonstrations such as leather tooling, soap making, blacksmithing, butter churning and two-man sawing will be presented throughout the day along with period-appropriate harp and dulcimer performances. Most activities are hands-on and appropriate for all ages. Children will also have the opportunity to make crafts and learn old fashion games. Concessions will be available. Century Village, located at Fryer Park, represents the initial stage of development for a typical central Ohio community in the 1850’s and features a one room school, outhouse, windmill, log cabin and barn.

Slightly underwhelming natural history exhibit, saved by the public library

Stick Insect

We visited the World of Wonder exhibit at the Grove City Town Hall and Visitor Center, thinking it would be a good afternoon activity. However, even though the collection was pretty impressive, it is most certainly not for small children.

Green Nymph Stick Insect

 The Visitor Center has a small collection of historical items from Grove City's past and are also currently exhibiting an aisle of display cases containing the Rodney Eaken Collection of crystals, insects, fossils, and shells. Our small group of 2 adults and 5 children walked into the Town Hall/Visitor center, and were greeted only by dozens of small signs warning us not to touch anything. We never did find anyone to answer any questions about the historical items or the natural history collection. The kids enjoyed looking at the insects and fossils, but I found myself having to constantly remind them not to touch, leaving us all feeling tense before we'd finished looking at everything. We'd been pretty excited to see the dinosaur egg fossil, but sadly ended up missing it.

Walking Leaf Insect

Ammonite Fossils

Trilobites

 After a snack and a calm-down on a park bench outside the Visitor Center, we all decided it would be a good time to walk across the street to visit the library. We knew that there were a few more cases of shells over there, and the kids wanted to pick out some new bedtime books.

More enormous shells

 I knew that the larger libraries in town had extensive collections of in-library materials for kids, and computers set up with learning games, but I didn't realize that our little local branch had those resources as well. The kids had some fun playing on the computers, but then found the LeapFrog readers and decided to park themselves at a table for a while with them. It was really cute watching them figure out the systems. They told me pretty emphatically that they want to go back to try the other books soon.

Having fun with soft toys and puppets at the library

 All in all, it was a successful outing. We got to see some really interesting fossils and insects, and the kids are even more excited to be able to go to the Smithsonian Natural History museum someday. We also learned about a cool new feature of our local library, and got to visit with some of our favorite friends. Bonus: the kids stayed awake on the way home, and went to bed easier and earlier than normal. Yay!

Exploring Gantz Park

 It was a perfect day for an adventure, so we headed out to Gantz to do some exploring. First thing out of the car, we searched for and found a letterbox. After adding our stamp and replacing it safely, we headed down the path toward the gardens. The kids said hi to the reading girl statue, visited with a cat that was lounging closeby, then ran off to walk the labyrinth.

Don't forget to stand in the center to hear the echos!

 

Callicarpa japonica

 We found this shrub, which caught our attention with it's striking lustrous purple berry. It's not one we were familiar with, so we made sure to look for the sign. It's called Japanese Beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica), and seems to be related to Verbena. 

 While we were there, a bride and bridesmaids arrived to take photos. The kids were quite curious about them.
After a walk around the park and some squirrel watching, we explored the creek a bit. There were quite a few fish, and H and I surprised a small water snake while walking across some partially submerged rocks.
To finish off our adventure, we hopped back into the car and drove a few miles away to find our first geocashe!

Rainy day at the Audubon Park

We went back to the Audubon Park today, despite the dampness outside, and had a great time. The climb up the water tower was quite exciting, since we'd forgotten to do that last time. J&H were so thrilled to be able to see the whole park from up there.

Going up the watertower

Checking out the view

Looking up

 We also had a rainy walk across the wetland area, where we got to see lots of ducks, frogs, water skimmers, and even got a glimpse of a quick little turtle that declined a photo.

Ducks!

Huge frog

Then we went back inside for a quick visit to the library, where we read a few books and did some birdwatching. The view from the library is amazing. You can see the whole wetland area from there.

View of the bird feeder from the library window

Trash butterfly

On September 10th, from 9am-12pm, the Scioto Audubon Center is having an Eco Back to School Event. There will be a children's clothing swap, raffles, games, and green products from local vendors. See the link above for more info and directions to the Center. 

Finally, when we got home, we were greeted by a brown praying mantis hanging out on our front porch. I'm sure it will be having a filling meal this evening.

I totally look like this jump rope, don't I?