Melanoplus Bivitattus. Try saying that ten times as a great tongue twister!
Brandon discovered Mr. Hoppy (pseudonym, courtesy the discoverer) on our way to the car after tennis. We were amazed at his size! He seemed terribly out of place on the aluminum siding and in danger. We decided to take him home and then set him free in the park after showing him to our friends.
Lii and I had a hard time trying to corner him into my emptied thermos until one of the drivers simply reached out, grabbed him and handed him to us! (Thankfully, the age of gallantry has not entirely eclipsed! Either that or he was tired of watching two females girlishly try to out-do a grasshopper!) At any rate, we got some twigs and greenery in our empty fish bowl and Mr. Hoppy was relieved to be released from our thermos.
He seemed to prefer the cabbage leaf to the cucumber and we all dined together. Not quite sure if he enjoyed us as much as we did him, but we were fascinated by his working mandibles and his reluctance to step on icky spots!
No guessing what we did for nature study the next morning!
Ria did a great job in her notebook and then Brandon and I set out to release Mr. Hoppy who seemed anxious to get out. The children were disappointed that their friends did not get to see him but it was making them sad to see him struggling to get out.
Surprisingly, when it came time, he was scared and kept retreating further into the bowl. Once he got out though, we lost sight of him in two big bounds. Wonderful, how these unexpected visitors hop in and liven up the day!
What a lovely drawing by Ria!
Thanks! I thought it was pretty good myself! Would love to see some of Sam’s too!
what a lovely post! Nature study does lighten up and liven up life doesn’t it! 🙂
Thanks! Adds a spring to our step, should I say? At least definitely this time around!