“Are there bugs that get on other bugs?”
The Eight-Year-Old, watching Canelo stalk a spider in our sunroom: “Mommyo, are there bugs that get on other bugs?” Yes. There are also frogs who get on bugs. Click through for pictures.
Read article“What are saddle bugs?”
I have been fielding so many questions about butterflies, moths, and ticks, that when The Eight-Year-Old asked me what a saddle bug was, I leapt to the obvious and told her I thought it was a type of flea. Spoiler alert: It’s not. As far as I can tell, my daughter was actually thinking about a type of caterpillar.
Read articleScience News Roundup: Bon Voyage, Happy Feet, and Hello, Cyberbugs
Happy Feet is finally on his way home and DARPA’s latest initiative is straight out of a horror movie.
Read articleWhat was Dr. Hess’s Poultry Panacea?
One of the side effects of having wildfires reach within a dozen miles of your home is that it tends to focus your mind on completing those projects you’ve been putting off while you putter away at things that feel more urgent. For me, it’s the collection of old family…
Read articleWho ate my lettuce?: A Caterpickles Investigative Report
Somebody’s been eating my lettuce and it wasn’t me. Whodunnit? Was it the squirrel on the fence, the goldfinch on the sunflower plant, the gopher in his burrow, or the rabbit on the back deck?
Read articleEducational Resources – Scheduling and Course Planning
There are as many plans for managing this time as there are parents and educators willing to post about them online. Here are a few of the frameworks for schedules and course development that I’ve found so far. Send me your suggestions, and I’ll add them to the list!
Read articleWordless Wednesday: Obligatory summer caterpillar post
It’s not summer if I don’t have at least one bug post. Google tells me this caterpillar will probably grow up to be a Western Tussock Moth.
Read article“Why does bug spray smell so icky?”
I don’t know about you, but I have a terrible time convincing anyone in my family to wear bug spray. It just smells so bad. Sadly, that stink is why bug spray works.
Read articleWhere’s my Caterpickles?
The Ten-Year-Old was lecturing me the other day about how I haven’t answered her question about which modern instrument evolved from the sackbut yet. She wanted to know what I’d been doing instead, and when I told her I’d been writing a book, said, “Mommyo, you should let everyone else know that, too.”
Read articleWordless Wednesday: The Ten-Year-Old tours Jurassic World at the Field Museum
Scenes from The Ten-Year-Old’s recent trip to Jurassic World at the Field Museum, Chicago.
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