Rose Knows: Warning: Very long post with lots of pictures

Okay, so that's not a warning for grandparents. More like an advertisement.

Micah helps me fold Daddy's socks. He's very proud to have such an important job.

We were driving home down a backroad the other day after getting haircuts and Matt spotted a bird in the road. It was in the opposite lane and just sat there as we drove closer then hopped around a little as we passed. Matt asked if I wanted to go back and get it. I didn't really. A minute later he turned around and went back. Having babies sure can increase your pity for others, even birds. We saw it on the road shoulder as we re-approached and I got out to try and catch it. That's when I saw it was just a baby. Then my mommy instincts kicked in and I felt sorry for it. Unfortunately, its mommy was flying back and forth in the bushes above me and I don't think she was feeling much love toward me. I jumped back in the van before she had a chance to dive-bomb my head and we drove off. I wanted to cry because I was taking this mamma bird's baby and she was obviously upset. But the baby couldn't fly well enough yet to get back in the bushes or the nest.

At home we put it in a box and Camie made several trips to the dirt by the shed to dig for worms, amassing a total of 3, and Lissy contributed a rollypolly. The bird either had no idea how to eat on its own (and I wasn't about to play mamma bird's role there) or it was too stressed to care.

I went online and read that if you find a baby bird, it's better to leave it where the mother can still care for it even though it's out of the nest. And being eaten by a predator is more humane and quicker than the slow torture of dying of stress over 2-3 days. I told Matt about it and he said I could drive back out to where we found it if I wanted and return it. The article said you could tie a small basket in the bushes and line it with tissue paper as a substitute nest. So, 10 pm found me cruising through town with a bird pleading for its life in a bag on the seat beside me.

I felt like McGyver (sp?) as I got Matt's little LED flashlight out and zip-tied an old basket I had dutifully lined with tissue paper to a bush in the fence-row. Too much paper, it turned out. Birdy immediately hopped out and hid himself in the brush. As I was searching for him, getting my arms scratched on sharp limbs, I was hoping no one in the house across the road happened to peak out the window and feel the need to call the cops. I retrieved birdy once more, removed all but a little of the paper from the basket and carefully deposited him back in his new home. He leptout again. By then I was losing my feelings of pity for him. He'd been fussing and chirping during all this, so maybe mamma bird heard him. I got back in the van and drove down the road a bit to turn around. As I came back by , I was glad that baby bird was not in the road. Then a skunk ran across in front of the van and over near where I'd left the bird. Do skunks eat baby birds?

The moral of this story is. . . umm. . . don't get too attached to the ones your rescue?

Yesterday Camie came in the house with a blue butterfly she's caught with her hands. We'd tried earlier to catch a yellow one with a net but had no success. I was surprised she'd been able to catch this one, and very proud of her. Although I was fixing lunch , that got put on hold as I remembered reading about making a butterfly observatory. (Click here to see for yourself:
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=11995 ) We of course didn't have the listed materials, but made do with a lace curtain, safety pins, and a small tupperware lid for the feeding dish. Our butterfly had the fanciest condo around! (Camie thought the lace curtain was my wedding veil. Now that would have been desperate!)

The kiddos standing in front of the butterfly house. We released the poor thing later that afternoon.

I enjoy reading a blog by a lady named Alyssa Welch. She is due to have her 7th baby any day now. Their oldest is about 11 or 12. I've been reading her posts from several years back and found this one today (the Tues. Dec. 5th one). I loved reading all these questions her boys asked her.http://resolved2worship.xanga.com/?nextdate=12%2f3%2f2006+23%3a41%3a11.180&direction=p

I tried several times to get a good picture of Camie while they played out by the shed, but she moves too fast and usually has her mouth open (talking).

Lissy was climbing on some old lighter knots and said the one she was standing on was her alligator.

Micah found a bent screwdriver in the shed and claimed it for the afternoon. Here he's fixing the trailer.

This was taken May 20. She was a month and a day old. I think the sun was too bright for her. I found out the shed has good natural lighting so I'll try some pictures of her out there. . .one day.

Matt bought a dogfood feeder for Buddy, our rat terrier, because we kept having pieces of dogfood all through the house when the kids fed him. I came outside and found Lissy getting his supper all lined up for him (pun intended).

Today we were eating lunch and talking about dinosaurs. I asked if they knew what happened to the dinosaurs. Lissy said they died. I asked, "Do you know how?" Micah piped up, "Died on da cwoss!" I couldn't help laughing at him for that. He tries so hard to be included, and just knew he had the right answer this time. Don't worry. I corrected him and told about God creating the world, dinos included along with all the other animals.

Camie told me one kind was called a "regg-asaurus".

Yesterday I felt inspired/crazy, so I dressed the girls in white and tried taking pictures. Lissy was all excited, Cassie was fussy, and Camie was looking for anything to be contrary about. Micah wanted in the shots too, but I couldn't think of anything he had I could dress him in to coordinate. I finally let him be in some after the girls had worn out from (not) cooperating. Maybe we'll try again some other time. I thought the progression (de-gression) of the pictures was entertaining enough to include here.