Dear Grandchildren,
I was thinking about pumpkins today...maybe it was because I had pumpkin pie a few times during the Thanksgiving Days-yummy!
Pumpkins also make me think of Jack-o'-Lanterns right? I love those bright orange pumpkins. They're so beautiful. I know you love them too :)
Well this year I didn't make a pie out of my pumpkin...
I didn't keep it for Halloween...
I took some flowers from our garden and planted them inside my pumpkin! Imagine...
And while I was fussing with this I noticed my very first caterpillar inching his way across the sidewalk...
...but when I tried to put him on my finger look what he did...
...he was scared and so I let him be...
...tidying up some flower beds I noticed this little ladybug...
...do you notice the little dent on the ladybug's back? How did that happen? I felt bad for him...I hope he'll make it. Do you think it will hurt him?
...another surprise...a spider...
a fat Charlotte's Web kind of spider...
it was hard to get a good picture... it was in a very big hurry to get away from me. Do you see how well camouflaged it is?
That is a little brown leaf in the foreground...such a good match for the spider.
...and then more creatures emerging....
...snails, snails, snails...so many snails...and then I realized they were in their natural habitat, just like the ladybug, the spider and the caterpillar, hiding under the shrubs and flowers that I was clearing away...they must have been scared too...look how far this little snail is sticking out his feelers...I usually don't feel too sorry for snails since they spoil my flowers but I felt kind of sorry for this one and let it go.
..oh, oh what's this...
...it's Charlotte again, some distance from where she'd
struggled to get away from me...
she was very busy getting over these twigs and clumps of dirt...
she fell upside down many times but didn't give up. She just kept going. I also saw a wee tiny white spider in this area but it was too quick for a picture and later on a huge black spider scurried away along the foundation of the house.
Good thing it was outside and not inside!
There are just so many creatures hidden under a leaf or a blade of grass or under a rock or flower basket. They all have a special purpose and work to do...they really belong. We all have a special purpose and work to do too and we really belong! You really belong!
These creatures made me think of a great author of childrens' books, Eric Carle. He has written books about some of these creatures. Do you remember
The Very Hungry Caterpillar,
The Grouchy Ladybug
The Very Busy Spider?
If you don't have these on your bookshelf see if your Mom will get them at the Library for you to enjoy. Eric Carle also is an artist and does beautiful art work using tissue paper along with his paints to illustrate his stories.
