The Eagles Have Landed! The Decorah Eagles Are Nesting Again!

Last year the kids and I watched as the Decorah Eagles went from keeping 3 eggs safe and warm to viewing large and healthy eaglets venture from their nest for the very first time. 

What a wonder that is to watch! A set of 24/7 cameras situated on an eagles nest in Decorah Iowa, high atop a tree. Last year we left the laptop running as we went about our daily routine... oh how the sounds of nature filled our home!  We'd peak over at the screen if we heard a baby cry, or the sound of an eagle landing with a fresh fish for feeding. We'd nearly wet ourselves when we'd catch an eaglet shoot it's business at the camera. lol They shoot it wherever they happen to be pointing their hind ends... up up and away!

Dolphins Blowing Bubble Rings?

Yes they can! You and your kids will love this short video provided by Sea World, sharing the fairly recent discovery of dolphins blowing bubbles!




I only wish we'd witnessed this amazing talent on our recent trip to Sea World in November!

Animal Adoption... An Amazing Story of Love & Survival

'Much of life can never be explained but only witnessed.'
- Rachel Naomi Remen, MDA

A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa , officials said. The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean , then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him.

'It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother',' ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP.

'After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together,' the ecologist added. 'The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother,' Kahumbu added.

'The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years,' he explained.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter much when we need the comfort of another. We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures of God, Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.

~Author unknown... at least to me! This beautiful story is circulating in an email and unfortunately I don't know it's origins.

A Radically Different Approach to Studying the Dinosaurs

I found this interesting given that we spent the morning studying the Iguanodon, a prehistoric dinosaur said to have existed 125 to 100 million years ago. I found myself adding the statement, "this is what some people believe" to nearly every page we read. That's always fun, isn't it?

I want my kids to hear the theories of others (so no... they're not sheltered), but to also consider what our faith teaches. Basically, study science as it's presented, but keep your faith and don't lose common sense. Don't allow science to become your religion or follow the teachings of man above the teachings of the Bible. I'm teaching my kids to compare everything they're taught to what the Bible says, then make up their own mind. How terribly closed minded of me! lol No, not really... they're getting a more broad view than the kids in a traditional learning environment because they're hearing both sides of the argument and learning to digest the truth without the threat of ridicule or criticism.

glumbert - How to ruin a day at the museum

It's sad, but so predictable that Christians who refuse to embrace macro-evolution are considered freaks of nature. Not that macro-evolution is even what we're talking about, but it's the same folks who've embraced the notion that we evolved from apes that generally have issues with those of us who don't. Just so there's no mistake... I'm not threatened by what's being taught in classrooms around the world, but then why should I be? We're homeschooling!

By the way, we love studying dinosaurs and we don't claim for a minute to understand when exactly they walked the earth or how they might have died. We don't have to have every piece of the puzzle to enjoy studying what is generally agreed on and what men have speculated about concerning these great creatures of the past.

I should also add, I don't necessarily embrace every thought expressed in this video any more than I'd embrace every thought expressed by those practicing science as a religion. Yes, science can be a blind faith if there ever was one.

Teach Your Student About Teamwork by Watching Ants at Work

Part of our lesson today was to study things that live close to the ground. We're looking at ants specifically. I was able to use this video to not only show my kids ants in action, but also to teach them about teamwork.

Watch as one ant in particular uses his body as a bridge to allow other ants to come and go as needed to get a job done. Amazing what nature can teach us!

There are a lot of great close ups of the ant body, leater in the video, so be sure to watch the entire show!