24 h later ...

... Dudley was nowhere to be seen. When I checked on him this morning there was no sign of him. Then I turned over the poop, and still no Dudley. I picked up a stick and began to pry the poop apart where I could see loose bits. Then finally, finally, FINALLY I saw him, hidden way inside and having a mighty good time "tucking in". No claustrophobia for this guy! And no asphyxiation either. Wonder how he does it.
By the end of the evening, he'd dug himself in even deeper. But no little round balls yet ...

pony potato

Meet Dudley, the dung beetle. We found him trying to cross a path in the forest last night, along with 10 of his not-so-lucky comrades who apparently got squashed by cyclists or pedestrians. We were cycling too, but the second we spied the first corpse, we slammed on our brakes to investigate further. Some of the beetles were in good condition, so we collected them for pinning, but most were beyond recognition. Phoebe spied Dudley and didn't want to leave him behind, for fear that he'd become the next victim. And that's how he became our pet.


Kids have had their share of invertebrate pets lately, mostly beetles, snails and slugs. We did take in some tree frogs for a few days, and they did quite well eating worms and such, but I made the kids let them go as I didn't want to be part of the declining amphibians problem. Dudley's especially entertaining since he's often trying to escape. He tries to climb the walls of his container, but he's too bulky and topples over backward, making a big crashing sound. Hoots and hollers erupt from the sidelines when this happens! Makes you wonder why he hasn't de-evolved those paper-thin wings!

Strawberries were his first meal. But he didn't take too fondly to this BIG, red, ripe one. Guess it wasn't rotten enough for his liking. But it did give him a nice vantage point for scouting his territory, and that's when he spied the tastier treat ...

... which happened to be a leftover bit of Phoebe's strawberry that was already beginning to attract fruit flies (much to Stijn's chagrin). He knawed on that sucker for what seemed like ages, and if I'm not mistaken, it looked to me like he was trying to ROLL it! But he has no nest in this plastic sanctuary! Would he still try to roll food to a nest to feed young that didn't actually exist(anymore)? And wouldn't it be so great to witness this wonder of nature on our OWN breakfast room table?! But of course with the real thing ... a piece of herbivore excrement. That's his job anyway.

Here you see our little study in progress. Got the pony poop (hereafter called pony potatoes cuz the kids prefer that) from Phoebe's pony camp - nice and fresh! Dudley took a nibble the second I plopped it in his cage, crawled next to it and tried to give it a nudge, but then walked off, almost as if in defiance. Was it too big? Or did he prefer cow potatoes? He resumed his wall climbing behavior until dinner was served (our dinner, that is), and i couldn't resist taking another peek. Was so thrilled. He was chowing down! And he never stopped - been 5 h now - and he's made a gaping hole in one side, w bits and pieces strewn about, which is really making the thing stink (hint: don't take top off!). He's gotten himself completely underneath the poop and is making the whole thing move - it's one of the most AMAZING things I've ever seen. By the looks of it, Dudley's not going to catch a wink of sleep tonight - he's so revved up - and I'm not sure if i will either. How can i sleep wondering if he's going to make a ball and ROLL it!


...guess this will have to be continued.

s'more puh-lease

Had so much fun visiting Laura/Paul and Rochelle/Tom and their families in New York. Was good to see their new homes and lifestyles and to experience a little of what New York has to offer - beautiful natural areas and a high quality of life, among other things. It was so good watching the kids reconnect and share moments together, like when Phoebes and Jack waited for empanadas at Rochester's Open Market, one of the biggest east of the Mississippi river. The wait was definitely worth it as those were some tasty vittles.

And having some moments for the parents to reconnect, like when Rochelle and Tom spoiled us with a divine dinner, lovely as always, followed by a fire in the backyard. We'd experienced Wegman's earlier that day and got to pick out a scrumptious raspberry tart. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it! They happen to live minutes from a showcase store, meaning it's loaded with everything you could possibly ever want to EAT! And more!

The most relaxing moment of the trip was sitting atop this Seneca nation hilltop, watching the sunset while the kids ran around in the meadow finding Monarch caterpillars and doing who knows what else. There's a peacefulness about this place that you can't explain - you just have to be there. But the highlight was our exit, when Alex and Max led us together through the deep, dark forest (almost pitch black), with nothing more than their courage and the light of the fireflies to guide our way. You really couldn't see the trail(!), yet they never faltered or lost hope. Boy were we proud.

Nature, nature, nature - I couldn't get enough. Loved visiting all the natural areas and seeing what we could find. Six bald eagles flew by just as we made our first stop at Letchworth State Park, also known as the Grand Canyon of the East (just. 45 mins. from LP). Turkey vultures flew overhead and a variety of woodland songsters entertained us as we hiked up and down the gorge. The waterfalls were perfectly stunning.

A trip north would never be complete without SMORES! If you've been deprived of this campfire treat, I feel sorry for you indeed. After a long day in the field or working in the garden, there's no better way to top it off than by roasting a big, white fluffy marshmallow til it's crispy brown on the edges and squishing it along with a piece of Hershey's chocolate between 2 graham crackers. It's warm. It's sticky. It's sweet. I was in heaven! Watching the bats fly around was cool too, and the fireflies were in full swing with the boys flashing the girls and hoping to get lucky. Paul even heard an Eastern Screech owl, but i wasn't so fortunate. Could've sat by the fire all night...

never enough water

We spent some days in Florida during our recent stateside journey, and most of the time we were either in/on/or near water. It all started with tubing (Phoebe couldn't go fast enough) on a lake nearby brother John's house in Orlando ...


... followed by a bit of swimming and beaching and picnicing, but there were no butter and brie sandwiches this time because someone beat Stijn to the cutting board - whew!

There were a few dry spells, like when we celebrated everyone's birthday that fell between July and September, which included about half of us. It was a nice excuse for a party, and Nanas cakes were delicious as always! Is Phoebe still wearing her bathing suit?

Wasn't long before we were back in the pool - this time at brother Beau's new house in Winter Garden, which is just 15 mins. from John and Jaynes. We'd been swimming when the ice cream truck drove by, and we couldn't resist indulging in a favorite American pasttime. The next day we'd be hitting Wet-n-Wild (MORE water!), so this was a day of relaxation.

Canoeing and swimming at Wekiva Springs State Park was as beautiful as I'd remembered it 20 years earlier. Saw a family of river otters and lots of BIG, huge banana spiders which creeped the kids out a bit, and lots of fish (and don't forget Little blue herons, ibis, prothonotary warbler!), but no gators - sigh. What a way to round out our trip - a great time was had by all.

testing the new Nikon d40x

If I was to travel the world with nothing more than a modest backpack, I could NOT leave behind my new Nikon d40x! This camera is compact and easy to use (good for camera dummies like me), and it makes every picture look like gold. With 10 megapixels, there's great resolution, and even after cropping the fotos come out crisp and clear. Take these eyeshots i did just for fun - they're all cropped versions but still as sharp as the uncropped version! Well, Stijn's pic is a bit blurry but that's cuz he can never sit still for fotos or much else for that matter - that guy just has to keep moving! Can you guess whose eye is whose?