2017 Winter Week One

It's been a week since we left home, and I promised Anna and Rylee that there would be a blog waiting for them each Monday morning at school in my absence.  So here you go, girls.  Get those pencils sharpened and your booklets ready to answer some questions! 

We ran into some snow on our way south through New York State.  Happily, it had come the day before, and just looked really pretty. 

This big truck, which had crashed the day before on snowy roads, slowed us down for about an hour. 

But we finally made it, and the last 2 days were sunny and bright.  

Here's something for you to do, but nothing to write down.  If you have time, look in an atlas and see if you can find the state of Florida in the United States.  

We stopped for a day at a very famous beach called Daytona Beach, and walked for a while on the beach.  These little birds, called Sandpipers are lots of fun to watch. 

The Pelican is a pretty big bird, and does a lot of fishing to satisfy his hunger!  He is one of my favorite birds to watch when in the south. He sees the fish from pretty high up, then dives in head first to catch them.

How do you think you would like to live all the time in a house like this?  It floats, and is tied to a dock, but I don't think it has any motors, so would just stay at the dock in the marina all the time. 

 We finally arrived at our destination, which is Kissimmee, a few kilometers from Disney World, on Tuesday, and I just had to go for a walk after I had unpacked.       1.  Here is your first question, Anna and Rylee.  Look at the 3 pictures of the duck,  and notice that it is dipping its bill into the water, then lifting its head up.  Why do you think it was doing that?

By the way, this is one of the MANY  muscovy ducks that we see around here.  They are wild ducks, yet very unafraid of people. 

 We often see Red-shouldered Hawks in a park that we ride our bikes past, and this one was finding some lunch for himself.

 And sure enough, if you look at his beak, you will see that he found some.  2.  What do you think it is?

 This beautiful bird, which we see in Ontario as well, is called a Great Blue Heron.  He was standing very still by a pond, also hunting for his lunch.

 And sure enough, he found something as well.  3. What was his lunch?

 We often take a thermos of coffee or even a lunch when we go biking.  And of course, a book to read. 

This tiny little alligator was resting in the water beside where we were enjoying our coffee.  He was only about a meter long. 

This bird has been hanging around the resort where we are staying, and I was only about a meter away from her.  She is called a Pea Hen.  4.  What would her mate be called?

This is our view from our balcony each day, and would you believe that even though we have been here since Tuesday, we have never gone into the pool? 

This pretty little bird is a Hooded Merganser.

This is also a Hooded Merganser.    5. Which of these do you think is the male of the species?   6.  Why did you say that? 

Say hello to the most common bird around.  It's called the White Ibis, but some people call it the Florida Chicken, because there are so many of them! 

 It seems that there are alligators in most every little pond in Florida, so we see these signs a lot.  The building behind is the one we are staying in.  7.  Girls, remember how we have talked about not ending a sentence with a preposition?  Re- write this sentence the way I SHOULD have written it. 

This poor little squirrel was part way up this palm tree, and couldn't get down.  He was very agitated! 

We stopped in to a donut shop yesterday.  It is called Krispy Kreme, and they make thousands of donuts here every day.  Paul is eating a hot gooey one right off the conveyor belt! 

The donuts are made behind glass so that we can see every part of the process.  This is the final stage before they get cooled and put into boxes or on trays.  The machines run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Here, they are going through a "curtain" of liquid icing and coated with a glaze.  The icing that does not go onto them gets caught and pumped up to coat the next ones. 

This little girl really wanted one of those donuts! 

Someone else is getting his lunch!  This bird is called a Limpkin, and likes to find shells, and eat what is inside the shells.  He must have a very strong beak!

If you look very closely, you will see that he was also successful! 

There is a place near us called Old Town, and it has quite a lot of rides.  This ferris wheel is a new one. 

 This Great Egret is looking for some lunch.  I don't know how he can find it in this water that is covered with something called duck weed, but he seems to be able to.

8.  Why do you think this bird is called a Wood Stork?  9.  Do you notice anything strange about his legs? 

 This is a female Boat-Tailed Grackle.

I think someone just showed up with lunch! 

 These people were enjoying a ride on an airboat.  It's a good kind of boat for a shallow lake like this.  9. Why?

This diving bird is called an Anhinga, and is drying his wings. 

That's it for today, Anna and Rylee.  I hope you have had time to answer the questions.    Until next time.......