Crabs

Dear Lilliputian ,

When you are at the beach this summer . . . I thought I would tell you about one of the things you might find . I bet you knew that this is a Crab shell . It was not alive . . . I found it on the beach all dried up . Were you able to guess that this was a female Crab ? I will tell you how you can tell that the one above was a female Crab . If you flip the Crab over and look at its stomach you will see the apron . I bet you didn't know that Crabs wear aprons .

Do you see that reddish shape on the Crab drawing above ? That is her apron and when the Crab is female they call her Sook . 

The male Crab has a very skinny apron and he is called Jimmy .

When Sook has eggs she holds them against her stomach underneath her apron till they are ready to hatch and then she lets them go . If you look at the photo below you will see Sook holding her orange eggs with her apron .

So this Summer if you see a dried up Crab on the beach turn it over and see if you can tell if it was a girl or a boy . 

 There is a chapter book that is perfect for young girls who like to read chapter books during the Summer . I read it aloud to my children when they were small . It is called Misty of Chicoteague by Marguerite Henry . It is about some children who spend their Summer saving up enough money to buy a wild pony on Pony Penning Day . The ponies come from a  the wild herd of ponies that live on an Island just off the coast of Virginia . 

Until next time ,

Wildbee

Shells

Dear Lilliputian ,

This is a common sight on the beaches of New England . It is a Clam's shell . A Clam has two 

shells . . . one on top and one just like it on the bottom . Until recently I always thought this is just what a Clam shell looks like , but . . . it isn't . This is what a Clam shell looks like after alot of time and work . The baby Clam starts out its life with out a shell but as it grows it needs the shell for protection and it makes a very teeny tiny shell to cover its teeny tiny body and spends the rest of its long life working on its shell . 

I have collected some Clam shells to show you how tiny they start out . You can also see how large they can get . This may surprise you  . . .  did you know they can live a very , very long time . About eight years ago scientists found a clam shell that they believe was living when
 Christopher Columbus was discovering the Americas ,

 and Leonardo Da Vinci was painting the Mona Lisa .

The way some scientists think that you can tell the age of the Clam is by counting its growth rings . If you click on one of the photos of the Clam shells above and look at the large shell you will see lines going across the shell . On the Clam shell found eight years ago . . . they counted 507 growth rings .  The scientists believe that means that the Clam they found was 507 years old . This makes that Clam the oldest living animal that has ever been found .

To make growth rings to fit its growing body a clam oozes out a bit of fluid around the outside edge of the shell . . . which hardens and makes a new growth ring .  You know how your bones grow each year to make you taller . . . well it is sort of like that .

So when you go to the beach this Summer look closely at the sand and see if you can find some of the little tiny shells . . . they were the homes of a tiny little ocean creature . Snails , Clams , and Mussels are some of the kind of shells you will find .

 Happy shell hunting !

Lets see . . . would you like to the know the title of a book we read aloud to my children every time we stayed at the beach ? It is a funny book titled Burt Dow Deep Water Man by Robert McCloskey .
Another book that Robert wrote was One Morning in Maine it is another treasure of a book . When you read his books you can tell that he liked to spend a lot of time at New England's beaches .

Until next time
Wildbee

Peregrine Falcon Nest

Dear Lilliputian , 

This letter is going to be about a very special bird .  It is a Peregrine Falcon . I think she is called   S71 , it is the number on her ankle band . If a great bird like this has an ankle band it means she was probably banded by a Massachusetts Wildlife Official when she was only a month old . The photo below is of a month old Peregrine who has just had a band put on its leg .

The reason they are banded is because the state of Massachusetts wants to keep track of these bird because they are rather precious . The Peregrine Falcons until not so long ago had disappeared from Massachusetts . Which means that there were no Peregrines living in our state at all . They have been on the Endangered List for over 40 years which means they may never live in Massachusetts
again . . . But , good news , changes were made ,  people thought they are too special to lose forever and now after many , many years of  putting up nest boxes and doing other things to help the Peregrines to come back here to live with us in Massachusetts we have a healthy bunch of Peregrines once again living in Massachusetts . Soon they will be taken off the Endangered List .  I am thankful for people like those at the University of Massachusetts who built the nest box above for the Falcons to nest in . The Mother Peregrine in the photo above is using this nest box right now and she plans to raise her young Peregrines there .
Right now there is a live camera that shows the mother and father Peregrine Falcon taking care of the four eggs laid just a few weeks ago on top of the Library at the University of Massachusetts . If you are interested in seeing them and even seeing the Peregrine's eggs hatch in about a week . . . here is the live camera address . Just click on it . I check the camera daily to see how they are doing .

http://www.library.umass.edu/falcons

Now . . . for a bit of news that may surprise you . The building that the Peregrine's nest is on is at the University of Massachusetts and quite few of our relatives have gone to this school . I know of a grandmother who is also an aunt that went to this university .  Two cousins ( one of those cousins is an aunt and one of those cousins is a father ) and my daughter also went to this very same
university . . . and if fact my daughter works in the building that the Peregrines live on top of .  Can you guess who they are ? I will give you a hint . . . they are part of your family .
If you can't guess who they all are you can email me and I will tell you .

 Underneath the mother Peregrine are 4 large eggs . Don't you think that the university was very nice to built a nest box for these birds ?

Here is a photo of the building that the Falcon lives on top of .

The eggs are due to start hatching in about a week . I will let you know so you can check out what newly hatched Peregrine Falcons look like .

There is a picture book that will tell you more about Peregrine Falcons and it is called The Peregrine Falcon - Endangered No More by Mac Priebe . It talks about how they became nearly extinct in North America and how we were able to save them from disappearing forever .

Until next time ,
Wildbee

Tree of Eyes

 Dear Lilliputian , 

I call this tree The Tree of Eyes because it has eyes on its bark . Most people call this kind of tree a Beech Tree . If you walk around a Beech tree you will see eyes like the ones above , up and down its bark . Some are large eyes and some are small .

The one above is a small one . . .  some of the eyes are as big as my whole hand .
Do you remember a few letters ago I wrote to you about how helpful trees are to many animals ? Do you remember the photo of the tree known as the Bear Tree with all the claw markings on the bark . Well , on my walk today as I was passing these trees I saw some more markings . . . this time of a cub that was climbing the tree .

Do you see how the little Bear cub used its small claws to grab on to the tree ? 

Now I am going to tell you about something most people don't know . . . 

Beech trees are also a source of food for Snails and Slugs . You are probably wondering how a snail can eat a tree . Well , it doesn't eat the tree it eats what is growing on the tree . . . Algae . 

I don't know if you can see in this photo above ( click on the photo to make it larger ) , but there is a very light green color growing on this bark , that is the Algae . Do you see that squiggly line ? That is a Snail trail . I am not sure how the Snail does this . . . drawing on the trees , but you must admit it is a very nice squiggly line . Do you think there is such a thing as artist Snails ?

I have read that it is the Snail's tummy that is kind of sweaty and it leaves a wet trail where ever it drags its underparts . This wetness drys and turns the Algae a lighter color . Some think it is where the Snail has been eating the Algae . Which do you think it is ? Either way if you walk around the next Beech tree you pass by . . . see if you can see if a Snail , or a Bear has visited it . And then if you have time . . . count the eyes and email me the number of how many you saw . 

If you would like to try to draw a snail I found this on line for you . If you need it to be bigger click on the image and it should get bigger .

I have two books to recommend to you this time . . . one is a picture book about trees . It is titled

A Nice Tree by Janice May Udry . Another book is called Tom's Midnight Garden 

by Philippa Peirce . This book is one of my favorites but it is not a picture book . . . it is a good book for someone who likes to read longer books and likes a bit of a mystery about a garden .

Until next time, 

Wildbee

Violets

Dear Lilliputian , 

I wonder if you have any Violets growing in your yard . I do . I have four different colors of Violets growing here and there in my yard . The one above is , I think , the most common , in fact it is called the Common Blue Violet even though it is purple . 

  

I am not sure of the names of these three Violets . . . but they are sweet .

Would you like to know another of natures secrets that most people don't know ? These flowers come in the Spring but these plants will grow more flowers at the end of the Summer that never open up . . . they remain little buds , and usually no one ever sees them . They grow under the leaves close to the ground and some barely raise their heads above the dirt as if they were hiding . These hidden flowers have a very important job . . . and that is to make seeds . The Spring flowers can make seeds also but because they come in the Spring the weather might make it hard for them to make their seeds . . . so they have these other very quiet flowers that grow to make sure each plant makes enough seeds so that next year we will have beautiful Violets in our lawn . I don't have a photo of the flowers that hide . . . but I found two beautiful ones on line to show you what some of the flowers look like .

                          

These have been dug up and even opened up so we can see into the secret life of the Violet .

Remember we talked about Ants coming to take the seeds away ? Well , the seeds of the Spring Violet flowers have the kind of coating on the outside that the Ants love to eat and so they carry the seeds to their underground home and eat what is on the outside of the seed but the rest of the seed is too hard for the Ant to eat so they leave it in their underground home . When Ants do this they are called Farmer Ants because in some ways they are just like a farmer . . . they are actually planting seeds . Have you ever seen an Ant carrying a seed ?

One of my dear Cousins has recently been reading some of Cicely Mary Barker's Poems about flowers
. . . here is one about Violets .

The Song of the Dog Violet 

The Wren and Robin hop around ;
The Primrose-maids my neighbors be ;
The sun has warmed the mossy grounds ;
Where Spring has come , I too am found :
The Cuckoo's call has awaken me !


 Robert McCloskey wrote great books , two of my favorites are Blueberries For Sal , and Make way for Ducklings . If you haven't read them you just have to read them this Summer .  If you have read them another book you might enjoy by Robert McCloskey is titled Homer Price . Homer Price is not a picture book like the other two I mentioned but it is a fun book to read in the Summer especially on hot days sipping lemonade while someone reads out loud to you or you read it yourself while sipping a nice cool glass of lemonade .

Until next time,
Wildbee

Dandelion

Dear Lilliputian ,

I thought it might be nice to talk about a flower that grows in everyone's lawn . I know you recognize this cheery yellow flower .  It is a Dandelion . One thing you might find interesting about this flower's  name is that it comes from the French language .  Dents de lion  are the French words for      Dandelion .  If you say those French words fast you can see that it sounds a little bit like our English word Dandelion . If you translate the words Dents de Lion it means Lions teeth . Look at the photo and you will see that the Dandelion's leaves have very sharp looking points very much like a Lion's teeth . 

The seeds form a lovely puff which is called a clock . Why do you think that is . . . do you think it is because it is round like a clock ? 

I will show you what one seed from the Dandelion clock looks like .

The seed is at the bottom and the fluff at the top is called a parachute . When the wind blows the seeds come off of the clock and because of the fluff the wind is able to blow it as far away as five miles . I bet some of your Grandparents don't even live that far  away . Why do you think it is called a parachute ?

I have heard that the Dandelion is the only flower that represents three heavenly bodies . The flower represents the Sun . The clock represents the Moon . And the parachutes represents the stars . I think that is rather charming , don't you ?

One more thing about the Dandelion is that it closes up at night . It is almost like you when you go to sleep at night you close your eyes tight . Then in the morning the flower opens up just like you open your eyes . 

Isn't it wonderful to know that something that seems so ordinary is really quite

 fascinating ?

I was thinking about chapter books that might be fun to read this Summer with someone you love .  The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth came to mind . It isn't about Dandelions , but maybe you can sit outside and pick Dandelion clocks and try to blow the seeds up into the air while someone reads to you .

Until next time , 

Wildbee

Wild Ginger

Dear Lilliputian ,

Isn't this such a unique sort of flower . To me it looks like a piece of jewelry that you would wear on a velvet gown . It is rather small and grows so close to the ground . If you notice in the photo above that it is hardly above the moss that grows around it . The leaves which are heart shaped grow
taller . . . they grow up to 4 or 5 inches tall .  One other thing that I think is special about this plant is the stem that the leaves grows on . . .  look at the photo above and see how hairy the leaf stem is . 

Most flowers are known by more than one name .

Wild Ginger has also been called Heart Leaf , and Little Brown Jug . Which name do you like ? This plant grows early in the Spring . In fact I just found this flower growing in the woods this past  weekend . It can still be chilly at this time of year and so some beetles have been known to climb into this odd shaped flower to stay out of the cooler air . Have you noticed that things in nature tend to in some way help other living things . We just spoke in our last letter about how trees help animals survive the winter . Remember the Skunk Cabbage keeps some creatures warm in cold temperatures . And just today we learned that beetles climb into the Wild Ginger to have some protection from the colder weather . It is important to learn about helping others . Don't you think we should all do something each day to help some one or something else ?

Emily Dickinson is a famous poet that lived in Massachusetts and she wrote some charming
 poems . . . if you like that sort of thing . Here is one below about helping .

If I can stop one Heart from breaking
I shall not live in vain
If I can ease one Life the Aching
Or cool one Pain

Or help one fainting Robin
Unto his Nest again
I shall not live in Vain

Today is Mothers Day . . . I bet your Mother or even your Grandmother ( because she is a mother
too ) could use a little help today . When you help someone or something you are like the trees , and the Skunk Cabbage . . . just not so smelly .

I like a little book titled The Mouse of Amherst by Elizabeth Spires . Maybe someone can read it to you . It is fun to read together . This book is about the poet Emily that I mentioned .

Until next time ,
Wildbee

The Giving Tree

 

Dear Lilliputian , 

Above are some trees that I saw on a recent walk . I am sure you have read the book by Shel Silverstein titled The Giving Tree . In that book it tells how useful trees are to all of us . The first photo above shows you what a tree looks like when a Beaver uses its teeth to cut down a tree . He will continue to use his teeth on this tree until the tree falls over . He will then gnaw off the branches to help build its home . Beaver will also eat the bark on the trees when it is hungry . The second photo of a  stand of trees shows how Rabbits , Mice , or Porcupine chew the bark off the tree to eat something called cambium that grows just under the bark. They eat the cambuim to keep from starving in a cold hard Winter like we had this year . The third photo is what a tree looks like after a Moose eats some of the cambium off of the tree . The Moose was hungry this past Winter too . . .  If you click on the photo you can see the big teeth marks the Moose has made . The tree down below is known as the Bear tree because it has so many marks on the tree . These marks are made by Bear climbing the tree . If you click on the photo you will see circular spots which is where a Bear dug his claws in to hold on as it climbed this tree . You will also see long slashes that show where the Bears claws scratched the tree . . . maybe as the bear was slipping . Can you guess how this tree is helpful to Bears ?

Did you think that maybe the Bear ate the cambium ? Well , the answer is that the Beech tree produces nuts called Beech nuts . The Bears love to eat Beech nuts . They climb very high in the tree to eat this special treat . 

These are only a few ways that the trees are very important . Can you think of any more ways that trees are important ? I am sure you can .  

If you haven't read The Giving Tree I would recommend it . . . and another book that might be fun is called Big Bad Bruce by Bill Peet . . . it is about a rather naughty bear . 

Until next time,
Wildbee

Spring Beauty

       Dear Lilliputian,


I wanted you to see that while we are not looking . . . flowers are doing the most amazing things . The flower to the left is a Spring Beauty that is newly opened . The pink anthers are still held high in the air on top of the stamen . . . but if you look at the second photo on your right the stamen of the Spring Beauty  have curled outward and the anthers are touching the flower petals . They quietly lie down while we were not looking . Each stamen has its very own petal to lie in .

(If you are wondering what is an anther and what is a stamen click on this next image)

This little flower is smaller than a half inch in size , but it is rather strong .  When the seeds are ready they burst out of the flower and travel up to 2 feet in the air . The seeds can also be carried away by   Ants to the Ant's underground homes like we talked about in the Lilliputian letter about Bloodroot  flowers . Aren't you surprised that such things as anthers laying down or that seeds bursting forth from the flowers are somethings that you never knew went on in a very quiet and wonderful way ? It makes me wonder about all the wonderfully quiet and shy children I have met . I wonder what amazing things they are doing in their quiet and thoughtful way . They are a lot like flowers . 

One of my favorite picture books is about a bull who loves to stop and just enjoy the beauty of nature . I think you might like this book too . It is called The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf .

Until next time , 

Wildbee

Coltsfoot

Dear Lilliputian ,

This is Coltsfoot . If you look closely at one of those yellow flowers that look like a Dandelion you think you are looking at one yellow flower but you are not . . . . You are really looking at nearly 100 flowers on each flower head . There are two kinds of flowers growing on each flower head . In the center there is a circle of what are called disk flowers . There are approximately 40 of the disk flowers in the center .  And , if you can believe it , all those yellow lines that look like the sun's rays are actually called ray flowers . There could easily be 60 of those on each flower head . When the flower is pollinated , it closes up tight , hangs its head , and starts to make the seeds .  As the seeds are being made the two different flowers wither away .

 In about 3 days this flower raises its head to reveal a white fluffy " Clock " which is really all the seeds with a bit of fluff attached so that when it is time the wind will pull the seeds up into the air and they will be carried off by the wind to as far away as 8 miles . . .  When the seed falls back to the ground it just might start to grow into a new Coltsfoot flower and lift its cheery yellow face up so that all can see it , and by doing so it will make the world a prettier place .

Remember to click on the photo above to see the flowers close up .

One of my favorite picture books is a story called Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney . It is about a woman who lived in Maine . She planted flower seeds where ever she went to make the world a more beautiful place .

Until next time ,

Wildbee