Monday, May 18, 2009

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Our neighborhood has quite a few Red bellied Woodpeckers. Though this is the most common woodpecker in Florida, it's one I've had trouble capturing for a photo. We see and hear them often, and even saw an entire family at the feeder once (of course my camera wasn't handy then). I finally caught this female in our backyard.


Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Continuing Dog Study






We're enjoying our study of the dog, and having fun with the activities in How Smart is Your Dog? (see sidebar). As suspected, Dingo is a willing, though unenthusiastic, specimen. We briefly covered the parts of a dog, learned about dewclaws and stop pads, and that dogs come in more shapes and sizes than any other mammal (I'm not sure if that fits nature study since the many varieties are due to man's interference).

We now know that Dingo has a plumed sword tail, almond shaped eyes, and semi-prick ears. We found out that a dog's nose print is like a human fingerprint. Each one is unique. Dog nose prints have actually been used for identification. Want to take your dog's nose print? Follow these instructions, which we found in the book listed above:
  • Pour some food coloring on a paper towel. (we used green)
  • Dry the dog's nose and try to keep him from licking it.
  • Gently rub his nose on the paper towel to transfer the food coloring to his nose.
  • Gently press a sheet of paper to the front of his nose, letting the sides of the paper curve around his nose.
  • You want a print where you can see the little patterns, and might have to try more than once to get it. If the nose print is too light, try more food coloring on his nose. If it's a blob, try less.
  • If you have more than one dog, get each of their nose prints and compare.
We also took Dingo's paw print. The plan was to make a negative, then make a cast print. Unfortunately, the two stuck together even though we followed directions and put petroleum jelly on the negative. We were able to get them apart by breaking the cast print. Dennis didn't want to take a chance again, so we saved the negative and will end it there. Next up, we'll study the dog's bones.


Monday, April 27, 2009

Studying the Dog

When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always."
~Rudyard Kipling

We're beginning a study of the dog, as outlined in The Handbook of Nature Study and from Barb's Outdoor Hour challenges. We began by watching PBS Nature video of In the Valley of the Wolves.
The full episodes are available online. By having some background of wolf behavior we can compare the similarities and differences between wolves and dogs. After watching the video, we began learning about dogs. We're using How Smart is Your Dog? 30 Fun Science Activities with your Pet, as our main text. This book is full of information about the dogs, and has plenty of safe, fun activities to do with your dog.

It isn't necessary to have a dog, but lucky us, we have one. Meet Dingo.


Dingo the Shetland Sheepdog, is almost 5 years old. He came to live with us when he was 9 weeks old, and was my son's 7th birthday present. We call him our Hurricane Puppy. We brought Dingo home on Wednesday, my son turned 7 on Friday, and Hurricane Frances came on Saturday. I got my first dog when I was 7, and have had dogs throughout my life. I have to say Dingo ranks as one of the best, if not the best dog I've ever had. I know he'll let us poke and prod and inspect him as we study the dog.

I do want to get this blog going again, blogging our dog study is just the push I need.