Sick Day

I've not been feeling well today. I wasn't feeling great yesterday but ignored it and went on with my day. By 8:00 I had to admit defeat and was in bed by 8:30. So I've declared today a sick day and have been trying to rest and take it easy (as much as is possible with 3 kids and a 7 month old) My kids, however, feeling just fine, have been quite busy.While I've been laying on the couch, nursing the baby, reading and watching tv this is what they've been doing.

Tanner spent the day working on building a rabbit hutch for a potential rabbit with scraps of wood she found in the garage.  Last week she was desperate for a pet pig. And while a pig might be fun someday.......maybe? A rabbit is a little more realistic.

Dominick has been scouring youtube for ideas on how to make a go-cart. He's been drawing up plans for a little while now and purchased this PVC pipe yesterday which he turned into this frame today.

 

  I was feeling sickly and a little overwhelmed by chores so this cleaning lady paid a visit. She knocked down cobwebs, cleaned the windows and washed the walls. What a very sweet helper. I cleaned up her cart

Aravis and her friend found this outside. Dominick caught it and put it in the butterfly house. It hasn't moved very much so we think it may be dead or dying. Just last week, Aravis and I looked up the differences between a moth and a butterfly so we put our knowledge to good use. It was a little difficult to identify because it has mostly moth characteristics but, at the time, its wings were up on its back like a butterfly.  After a little research we discovered it is indeed a moth, a Polyphemus moth. The eyespots on its wings make it look like an owl to predators. You can't really tell in the picture, but the 4 dots in the center are actually clear and you can see right through them. Interestingly, the Polyphemus caterpillar looks exactly like one we picked up in NY a few summers ago. At the time, we thought it was a Luna Moth caterpillar which is also part of the Saturniid family, but now I'm not so sure. Unfortunately he went into hibernation and never woke up. Possibly a 2 day car trip and drastic climate change might not be ideal conditions for hibernation. At any rate, if it is sad but true that this guy is taking his final rest inside our butterfly house, he'll make a beautiful addition to our collection of cool things.