My boys came running in the house the other day to inspect under the microscope a caterpillar that was found on Wesley and had been biting him.  They were wanting to know what kind it was.  I started looking up on the Internet about a black and white caterpillar but Zachary had his own ideas.  He thought from previous readings that the white on the caterpillar was eggs.  I scoffed at the idea (Would I do something like that?) took him lightly and kept to my own research. Well he pulled out his books, started going through them and found what he was looking for.  Guess what he found?  The white on the caterpillar was cocoons! …

"Hello there." We hiked 1.7 miles to Gem Lake.  It wasn’t quite the "lake" we had in mind; it was more like a pond.  The hike took us through a lot of rock so it’s somewhat curious to think of there being a spot of water at the top.  There was even a small sandy beach to sit upon.    I always find it fascinating to see rocks perched on top of another.  You wonder, "How and when did it end up there?"  Notice the rock with the hole.   "Peek!"   I was so excited to come home and identify these wildflowers.  They almost had the look of a tulip to me. …

What do you find when you go to Out of Africa, a wildlife park located nearby? Ostriches, the world’s largest bird, who in one stride can cover 10-16 feet.   Zebra’s – whose skin is actually white but has black and white hair patterns  Giraffes – who could care less about manners when eating… And have no shame when it comes to begging for food.   Common thought on why giraffes tongues are blue/purple is that it keeps them from getting their tongue sunburned .   Bearded Dragons   And many other wild animals from the land of Africa

I’m off today (Friday) to hear Mary Schofield speak.  I love anything to do with homeschooling, so I’m quite happy about this.  Mary wrote the book The High School Handout.   I thought, though, that I would share a few pictures showing some of the diversity our state has to offer.  I can hardly believe this is Arizona and it’s in my backyard.  I didn’t go on this 2 1/2 mile hike but the rest of the family, along with some friends, went and took these pictures.       Wesley actually got himself stuck in this piece of ice.   This was the 50′ waterfalls they hiked to.         

This week as we are thinking about being thankful may we take a few moments to take pleasure in God’s marvelous and incredible creation.  Why did He (God) expend such immeasurable might of mind upon a world which is to be burned up but that He would fit it perfectly to be not the home but the school of His children?  The infinity of His skill is such that the most powerful intellects find a lifetime too short to penetrate a little way into a few secrets of some one small department of His working. How kind we think it if a very talented friend spends a little of his thought and power…