Hi there!
Today we hatched out of our egg and became a caterpillar! When a butterfly lays an egg she has to make sure that it is on a leaf that the caterpillar will eat. Caterpillars will eat a lot right after they hatch because they grow so quickly. A caterpillar has an exoskeleton that will not grow with them so they will molt several times.
Just like everyday on the farm, we start with animal chores. Today the chrysalis group fed the kid goats and found out that when feeding the goats a bottle that they have a special flap called the rumino-reticular groove that allows the milk to go straight to the last of their four stomachs called the abomasum. A kid goat’s first stomach, the rumen isn’t fully developed and this is the only stomach that can process the milk at that age.
Some groups got to go to the pond and look at water for any microscopic organisms. Unfortunately it rained so hard that some groups missed out but they got to play fun games inside while we waited out the rain!
In morning garden kitchen we made spider oat balls. We used sun butter to use as a paste to hold the oat balls together and we mixed raisins in the oats too. Spiders are one of the many bugs that bats will eat.
We started building our bat houses today. First, we had to find a good location for them. Bat houses need to be about 15 feet above the ground to protect from predators, access to sunshine, and close to water so a mother bat doesn’t have to leave her young for long.
Today we decorated camp shirts by using tie dye on them. There were so many creative patterns and colors!
In the blanket bat caves we listened to bat echolocation noises and thought about different things the bats need in their houses. Bats prefer small locations to feel secure and stay warm.
After we decided places for their bat houses, then it was time to build them. Before they began construction of the houses they learned basic construction skills and some history of tools. The bat houses have grooves on the inside for bats to grip on to with their feet while they sleep.
Vampire bats can feed on the blood of large animals so we pretended to be vampire bats! We used beets, lemon juice, apples, and ginger for the main juices for our juice. Vampire bats feed mainly on blood and there are actually a few different types of “vampire” bats!
Tomorrow is going to be another fun day as we discover the vast world of bees!
Garden Kitchen Recipes
Spider Oat Balls
- chocolate chips
- toasted coconut
- vanilla extract
- sun butter
- old fashioned oats
- honey
Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to one week.
Blood Beet Juice
- 2 pounds beets (about 6 medium), trimmed, peeled, cut into 1′ pieces
- 1 pound carrots (about 4 large), trimmed, peeled, cut into 1′ pieces
- 1 Gala or Empire apple (about 8 ounces), cored, cut into 1′ pieces
- 1 Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces), cored, cut into 1′ pieces
- 1 3′ piece fresh ginger, peeled, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Pass first 5 ingredients through a juicer. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Pour into glasses.