Bases Loaded with One on Deck

Willy is a whale and he makes me smile!

Friends Don't Let Friends Drink and Handle Snakes

We had the pleasure of attending a "Snakes of Georgia" presentation at a friends house today.  The boys and I, along with several other homeschooling families got to see a sampling of snakes (venomous and non venomous) native to our area.  It was extremely informative, and we all certainly learned a lot, but I must admit the parts that I found the most interesting had nothing to do with our Georgia serpents.

First, the presenter and snake handler was named Patrick Ireland.  I kid you not!  This is his real name.  (If you fail to see the irony in this you need to read up on this guy.)  

One of the first things Patrick Ireland shared with us was his knowledge of certain television shows.  Shows that because I have four boys, I am very familiar with and have most likely seen every episode.  Ever watch "Crocodile Hunter" or "Jeff Corwin"?  Ever get nervous watching those shows, cause you just know one of these times their luck is going to run out and they're going to get bit?   If so, you worried in vain, because it's all pretty much fake!  The live snakes are most likely from their own personal collection, not from deep in the jungles of Borneo.  And the snakes that Steve Irwin would rush up and grab by the tail, were mostly likely dead snakes that had been frozen, then thawed for the shoot.   I guess it all makes sense.  The crews for those shows must be huge, and it would probably be a most cumbersome and time consuming task following Jeff and Steve through the Amazon looking for that perfect specimen, much easier to bring your own and stage it!  Patrick also explained that most snakes found in the wild aren't as "attractive" as the snakes raised in captivity, since they are not as well feed and can often be scared from encounters with other animals in the wild.  

This lead to the discussion of who gets bit more; men or women?  And where do people get bit most often; near home or in the wild?  The answer: Men, who find a venomous snake on their property and instead of calling in a professional they either try to kill the snake themselves, or imitate what they've seen on "Animal Planet".  Many times there is alcohol involved.   I certainly believed this because after hearing this bit of information, I immediately thought that it was a good thing these shows didn't exist when my dad was in college, who after drinking a bit to much with his fraternity brothers, decided to imitate what he saw on one of his favorite shows.  In this instance it was an ax being thrown into a tree.  In the show the ax would embed itself into the trunk of the tree and stay there.  In real life, it bounced off the trunk of the tree and back into my dad's foot. 

To sum it all up this is what we learned today:

• Copperheads are the only venomous snake that we would possibly see slithering around our house.
• Non-venomous snakes are good!  They eat venomous snakes.
• Hollywood is a magical place, and not everything you see is real, so please, don't try this at home!

              

Thirty Pieces of Silver

Today is Holy Wednesday, also known as Spy Wednesday.  It is the day that we remember how Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas Iscariot. 

Two years ago, I came across this post at Dawn's.  I loved the simplicity of the idea, and tried it last year.  I made 30 silver dollar pancakes for breakfast and we read the account of Judas' betrayal.  It was a big hit with the boys, and it lead to a great discussion as we were eating.  I decided that in the future we would do this for dinner instead of breakfast, so that Kent could participate with us.  Of course this year he's out of town, but I'm sticking with my plans none the less.  

Even if your dinner plans are already set in stone for tonight, you could easily do this for an afternoon snack.  And in case you are one who does a boxed mix for your pancakes and are out, here is our favorite recipe for "Good Old Fashioned Pancakes" (a bit of vanilla added to the batter makes them even better!) 

"He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me.  The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!  It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." 

 

Funny, I thought it was spring!

It snowed today.  Not much, just a minute or two of light flurries.  It didn't stick and we couldn't make snow balls, but the fact remains that it certainly did snow. 

Hey Granna!

You wanna do the Chicken Dance?