Reproduction and Harvest

For the last few weeks we have been watching flowers bloom and mature. In the process we have come across many creatures in and above ground, mating, laying eggs, incubating eggs, completing life cycles.

The chickens and ducks that were hatched in the classrooms are now in the chicken coop and (in my laundry room) growing and eating all the delectables insects and grasses the students can bring to them. We've found the chickens really love waterbugs(roaches), grubs(larva of beetles), and worms.

Mrs. Uskovich's class hatched ducks. Some of them didn't hatch. After most hatched she waited a little longer and decided the ones remaining weren't going to make it. This presented an opportunity to explore the interior of a developing duck egg. We opened the eggs and found baby ducks in arrested developement. A few were farther developed than others, but something inside them was wrong and they stopped growing, and died. It was sad to see life ended, but it was also interesting to see developmental stages of the growth inside the egg.

We have been beseiged by potato and cucumber beetles. Both are pests, but attack the plants differently. The potato beetle larva seem to be the most aggressive in eating leaves of potatoes. The adults also eat leaves, but seem to spend most of their time mating and laying eggs. The cucumber beetles eat the leaves and spread diseases. The cucumber beetles are hard to catch as they fly the second you go after them. The potato beetles are easier to catch. They move slowly, preferring to drop to the ground and play dead. Some teachers are taking them into their classroom to observe their behavior there. We are catching more everyday.

We have found crab spiders on coreopsis, and a female with an egg case wrapped in a potato leaf. She really didn't like us prying into the leaf to observe her with our USB camera. She is now residing in a plasic container with her eggs. We hope they hatch soon.
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)

Visitors

visitor, noun, 14th century
-a person who pays a visit; caller, guest, tourist, ect.
-one that visits; especially: one that makes visits of inspection
Just spend five minutes in our garden and you will greet many a guest. Our guest may include those that will stay until October (plants), those that say hello for twenty or so minutes (insects), and those visitors (children) that will have memories that remain with them forever with visions that can not be described.
The bluebonnets are just fading, yet their children (seed pods) will revisit us next spring. The larkspur, Indian Blanket, blue flax, echinacea, and too many to mention will stay until it is time to sleep. The Cabbage White, hairstreak, and Admiral pass through with a brief thank you for providing such beauty.
Our posterity depends on the visits of the children of Stonewall. It is they, these visitors, that will reap our gift for generations. As they silently stroll the pathways, their observations are the ones that enlighten the host. I for one, could listen endlessly to their voices of expertise. It is they that notice the number of petals on the Engelmann daisy, it is they that observe a crab spider on the evening primrose, and it is they that will chase roaches from the compost pile to feed the chickens with squeals of delight. These are opportunities that must be enjoyed and then shared. These are the conversations that we share with the adults that come to inspect and replicate our incredible canvas, Stonewall Gardens.
I observe with wonder and excitement at this opportunity for our future. These young visitors have only a healthy fear. They accept the adventures of nature and revel in cognitive enlightenment. It is our home, Stonewall Gardens, that allows any visitor to relish in its wonder. This wonder will hopefully, in time, prove the visions of the elders that said, "Yes, the world is good".
Barbara Uskovich, 1C
(garden provided by: Mark N. Painter)
(photos: Barbara Uskovich)