No Impact Man

Thought this was kinda cool seeing as our project is all about conserving energy and trying to save the environment. We have hope!

Butterflies and Ants

On Sunday when I came home from church I spotted this little beauty from the corner of my eye on the back table. I thought "Wow that is such a pretty butterfly!" When I looked closer I had noticed that it was a very bright color and had a little part missing from it's wing. I know that butterflies are just starting to arrive in California for the winter time and I thought that this one was extremely special. Not only has it made an adaptation to life and flying, because of it's injury, it has made the long journey from the warmer, more humid regions, to sunny California for the winter time and I feel like it was all by itself. The color of my friend Betty the Butterfly was at first a surprise as I thought that being so bright would be like holding a sign that said "EAT ME" over your head, but when I thought harder, I thought that this would actually be a warning sign and a form of Müllerian Mimicry as well as Aposematic Coloration, which is basically warning coloration. This butterfly just kind of reminded me that the time of the migration was coming, as already this week I had been thinking about migration.

Speaking of migration.....Last Sunday, when my brother was going to play outside, he came across some very unexpected and unwanted visitors. ANTS. Personally, I have a mild case of Myrmecophobia, the fear of ants. Just so you can see how many there were I will put up a picture at the end of the post. Hurriedly, my mother goes to the cupboard to find we have no ant powder/spray/killer. NONE. The ants were going to have to be here to stay. We thought it would be okay, but as the rainfall increased, their number increased. Not only did they decide to migrate to my brother's bathroom, but they decided to grace me with their presence as well. Because our bathroom's are directly on top of each other, they crawled up through a space in the wall and invaded my bathroom and then my backpack (as it had a lollipop in it), then the bin in the hallway (I thought I could hide the lollipop from them!) until, finally my mother bought some ant spray and we could get in control of the crazy ants. Not only did we realize the back door needs to be sealed better, but we also found that there is a giant ant nest under the house that needs to be taken care of. Good thing the pest and insect man comes next week!

(I cannot find the photo, but I will post in the next few days!)

Nemo and the Angler Fish

Unlike most children who love animals, I love fish! So as one may guess, I love the movie "Finding Nemo"! I even have a blue beta fish named Nemo... :) Any ways... so the other day in Bio Class, we were talking about Angler Fish and Mr H says "You know, the scary, glowing fish in Finding Nemo?!" ANGLER FISH in Nemo.

Then the real thing, or as close as they can get since they live sooooo deep down!

So, some cool facts about Angler Fish. So one would presume that this feisty, scary looking thing would have to be a dude fish, but actually, male Angler Fish are only 1/10 of an inch in size. The scary creature above and all that are like that are all females. Pretty cool, ay?! Woman Power to the extreme right there! So there are tons of different species of Angler Fish and their Latin name means Log Toad Fish because they look like roots are all over them and the light thingy is like a plant glowing. They have amazing capabilities. Their stomach can expand to be twice the size of their body and they can turn their light on and off without eating for two whole months, talk about energy conservation! Yes, they are highly unattractive, but they are vicious killers. They lay on their back and open their mouth nice and wide then put their little light right in front of their mouth. The poor little fish who happens to be for lunch is attracted to the light and swims over to it, straight into Mr. Angler Fish's mouth. Trying to escape, the little fish swims with all its might, but the Angler Fish is to smart. Inside their mouths, they have their teeth pointed backwards and in so that nothing can escape and inside their throat's they have a second set of teeth making their little to no chance of escape! The glowing lure that protrudes from most species' head is usually filled with living bacteria that reacts with itself to glow. So, if you weren't already impressed by the super amazing Angler Fish, be prepared for it's mating rituals. So as males a so tiny in comparison to the females that their digestive tracts start to degenerate at one point in their life so they have two options: die or mate. Females release pheromones and then the males now that they won't be eaten by the females. They swim up to the female and bite on to her underbelly, releasing an enzyme that deteriorates their body in 3 weeks time, leaving only their testicles. They fuse their bodies together so that they become one meaning the female can fertilize her eggs at any time. Depending on their size, female Angler Fish can support up to six male bodies attached to her at one time. Pretty weird, huh?

Angler Fish live way down deep in the benthic areas of the sea and lead fascinating lives to those who live in, well, let's just say, more photic regions of the Earth!

October 4th

My Uncle David and Aunt Allison lived in a place formerly know as Inrianjaya, but now commonly referred to as West Papua on the island of New Guinea. They were missionaries with my three cousins (who were young children at the time) for a large number of years. The area they served was without a place to get clean water close by, without electricity, proper shelters, and many without substantial food. Little did the people know that my Uncle would change some of that. He had always been a very skilled carpenter and builder and made it his second mission to build these people some water pumps. Over the course of the years he installed many water pumps all over the island so that the people living there could have faster access to cleaner water. The pumps helped to filter the water from the streams and rivers for human use. He set out to building better shelters for the people that lived on the island and adding some adjustments or improvements to others. Everything my Uncle did, he did with the little money he was getting from his church back home and the money from his own pocket. People living back in Australia would send him tools and supplies, for they knew that he would be building something. My Uncle did all he could to help the community around him in such a way that we have access to each day when we turn the tap on to wash our hands or face without even worrying if one day nothing will come out.

Australia Zoo is a special zoo. Their mission is to only have animals that are injured or endangered in their zoo. They help the injured to get better before releasing them and the ones that are endangered can be put into special programs to track their progress and development when they are also released back in to the wild. This means that if you went to the zoo once a year, each time you went, new animals would be there for you to see. They work with a large group of animals ranging from the Asian Elephant, which is nearly extinct, to the common Australian Wombat. Each animal comes into their zoo for a special purpose. Their biggest specialty is their alligators and crocodiles. Many times you will find that the crocodiles that they have there are recovering from injuries or a special species that is rare or endangered. The Australia Zoo is maybe one of a kind and an amazing place to be in. They try to do the best they can that is right by nature and help those in need whether it be mammal, reptile, bug, or any other living creature. They give back whatever they can to the environment and the zoo is a must to visit! (http://www.australiazoo.com.au/conservation/projects/)

We as a class can be challenged to live well for the community in many ways. My proposal is that for two class sessions a week, instead of using the smart board and having all the lights turned on, that we as a class, re visit the past and use the old and faithful white board. As well as turning off the computer and smart board, we turn off all the lights and allow our classroom to be powered by the sun. You may think, oh this is only a tiny thing, but an extra additive that we can ensure we are trying to help, is to install energy rated light bulbs in the lights, so that even if we need to turn the lights on, we can still be headed in the right direction, to preserve our planet.