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06/27/08
Nature Discovery at Spring Bluff Nursery
Filed under: General, Birding & Outdoors, Grandchildren, Illinois
Posted by: Ken @ 1:41 pm

Our granddaughter attended a nature discovery program at Spring Bluff Nursery, Sugar Grove, IL. We accompanied her there today. Of course, the flowers were beautiful.

 These Blanket Flowers reminded us of New Mexico, where they sometimes covered the fields:

There were some delightful varieties– blues:

  

…miniature pansies:
  

A House Wren was singing nearby:

During winter, the nursery workers collect any cocoons they find on the trees, to be used in the nursery’s educational programs.
The children were shown a Hyalophora cecropia (Cecropia Moth) that had just emerged from its cocoon. The Cecropia is also known as the Robin Moth because of its red body and large size.

With a wingspan of 5 to 6 inches, the Cecropia is said to be the largest North American moth:

The male Cecropia had emerged the evening before. Within hours, a female was attracted to the entrance of its cage by powerful phermones, and they began mating.

The male is barely visible behind the larger female moth:

This little sequence that follows reminds me of my medical education. Referring to surgical procedures, we described the learning curve thus: “Watch one, do one, and then teach one.”

The teacher points to a creature in the little pond as Nieta studies it:

A frog! Her eyes reflect the joy of discovery:

The small frog sits on a lily pad, half submerged:

Now our Nieta puts her interpretive skills to work, exhibiting the frog to the other children:

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