The Big Cookie

Tonight at Awana, Dragonfly said three verses which meant her name was put in the drawing three times. She was one of six kids who won the big cookie. To say she was excited is a complete understatement. She was running around the church telling everyone.

Straw Painting

Insect Defenses

 We are continuing our study of insects with how God has designed each insect with a way to defend itself. After our reading, I gave the kids the assignment to create their own insects and tell us how they defend themselves. Logan's was by far the most creative with electrocuting antennae, an electrical mouth, and a stinger.

 Ladybug created a ladybug (such a surprise) that blended in with its habitat

Butterfly made a really cool headband shaped insect with webbed feet to swim and really big eyes.

Indian Creek Geocaching

 Since our normal Friday was cancelled for this week, I decided to take the girls on a fun field trip to a local park. This park has a walking/trail with several geocaches along the way. I decided this would be a great nature walk and a fun way to get in some exercise. Some of the girls brought their scooters and this path was perfect for it.

We found this new fruit on the ground and thought it was so interesting. I came home and found out it is:

Maclura pomifera, commonly called Osage-orange, hedge-apple,^[1] Horse-apple, Bois d'arc, Bodark, or Bodock^[2] is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to 8–15 metres (26–49 ft) tall. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants. The fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, but bumpy, and 7–15 cm in diameter. It is filled with a sticky white latex sap. In fall, its color turns a bright yellow-green. It is not closely related to the orange: Maclura belongs to the mulberry family, Moraceae, while oranges belong to the family Rutaceae.^[3]
Maclura is closely related to the genus Cudrania, and hybrids between the two genera have been produced. In fact, some botanists recognize a more broadly defined Maclura that includes species previously included in Cudrania and other genera of Moraceae.
Osajin and Pomiferin are flavonoid pigments present in the wood and fruit, comprising about 10% of the fruit's dry weight. The plant also contains the flavonol morin.
It was once thought that placing an Osage orange under the bed would repel spiders and insects. This practice has declined with the rise of synthetic insecticides. However, scientific studies have found that extracts of Osage orange do repel several insect species, in some studies just as well as the widely-used synthetic insecticide DEET.^[4]

 These are the trees they come from.

 The girls found several inch worms.

 We found two out of four caches that we wanted to find.

 We got back to the car and got out our lunch. After lunch, the girls were going to play on the playground equipment but the equipment was too hot so instead they waded in the creek near by.

Canning Day

 I have only done one other canning day so I was hoping to learn a few things to improve my process in the future. I also wanted PF to learn a few things as well. The peaches that I ordered were not in the shape I needed for peach sections so we switched gears and made peach butter instead.

 Tracy was busy making a whole list of items. I was in shock by how much sugar jams and jellies call for...WOW. I am sure that is why they taste so good especially home made strawberry jam!

By the time I had to take off, there were quite a few finished cans on the table. Today was such a blast! I am so glad to have friends near by that love to have fun days in the kitchen making yummy food. The kitchen smelled so good all day! Although today did make me really miss the island in the kitchen I had in NC. A kitchen island is a big priority for a future kitchen.