Explore Outdoors ~ Finding Beauty

 Every day I look for a bit of beauty in the natural world around me. Some days I get lucky and find diamond-studded spider webs clinging to the bridge railing. This usually happens in the early morning after a humid night (in this case the humidity was over 90%)

What beauty do you find in the natural world surrounding you?

Books for the Beach

 If you’re heading to a beach – whether it’s the ocean or a lake or a towel by the backyard wading pool – you might want to take along some beach reading…

theme: ocean animals, animal behavior

Speck: An Itty-Bitty Epic 

by Margaux Meganck 

40 pages; ages 3-6

‎Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2024  

Deep in a tide pool, too small to see, countless tiny specks go forth

These tiny specks are barnacle larva, tossed by waves and carried by currents until they find a spot to grow into a barnacle. They are part of the group of tiny edible things we call “plankton” and that fish and whales call “dinner.” 

What I like about this book: the text is lyrical and soothing, like the gently rocking of a boat at sea. I like the vivid watercolor illustrations (and the sweet expressions on the barnacle faces). I also like that the larvae are looking for a place to grow and thrive, just like us. I wish there had been a smidgeon of back matter so we could learn more about these amazing animals (barnacles are crustaceans) but even so, this book will leave children thinking about the smallest bits of life in the ocean.

Where Do Ocean Creatures Sleep at Night? 

by Steven J. Simmons & Clifford R. Simmons; illus. by Ruth E. Harper 

32 pages; ages 3-7

Charlesbridge, 2024  

Ocean creatures swim in their watery home…

But when their day is done, where do they sleep? Some burrow in the sand of the ocean floor, while others cling to corals or plants. Octopuses snuggle in their dens and otters snooze on their backs. Gentle rhymes and soft illustrations make this a perfect book to read during quiet time at the beach.

Beyond the Books:

Go on a barnacle search. You’ll find them attached to ropes, rocks, docks, and even mussels. Read more about barnacles at this Woods Hole page.

If you have the opportunity to spend part of the night at a beach, do it. What do you hear? What do you see? What do you smell? How does the air feel?

Check out some of these other books that are perfect “beach reads”

• How to Code a Sandcastle    
• Seashells: More Than A Home
• Look What I Found at the Beach
• The Tide Pool Waits

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers and Blue Slip Media (Speck).

Explore Outdoors ~ Spittlebug Caught in the Act!

 Every now and then I see Cool Things Happening in my garden. Like a couple weeks ago when I discovered a spittlebug in the act of creating a foam dome so they could hide from the sun. And predators - because who wants a mouthful of foamy spit?

Spittlebugs are plant-suckers. They stick their short pointy beaks into stems and then suck up the sap. But they are messy eaters! As they spill sap down their bodies, they add some air and make bubbles. Lots of bubbles. Turns out they can make 80 spit bubbles in a minute.

This week keep your eye open for spittlebugs. 

• If you see a spittlebug starting its foamy dome, stay and watch a while. How long does it take until they are covered?
• What kind of plants do you see spittlebug foam on? And where on the plant do you find it?  Do they hang out at the tips of plants? The base? On stems or leaves? In leaf axils (where leaves meet the stems)?
• How many foam homes do you find on plants? Are they close together or far apart?