Polliwogging at Pillsbury Crossing

My mom gave us these boots this Summer. Char liked them so much that he claimed them as his, even though he would have to jam his big feet in to get them to fit. He has finally given up the fight and passed them down to their rightful owner, McCabe.

 A little while back our family visited a new outdoor spot called Pillsbury Crossing. The spot is known for how the river bottom is made of limestone where the rivers cross. Our family hiked around the river trails for a while before we spotted bullfrog tadpoles! James and the boys were thrilled with our luck so we spent our remaining time there hunting them down to bring home as pets. That is, we'll raise them till they go through metamorphosis and then we'll let the little froggies go free. We all think they are pretty cool little creatures, but I'm not going to lie; they don't look any different than they did two weeks ago. I thought they would be frogs by now! At any rate, we like our little friends and enjoy the company they bring to our kitchen counter.

I adore his little skippy run. He wants so badly to keep up with his big brothers!

 To get Char to stop tantruming (his go-to response to anything that he doesn't like and how he spends the majority of his time), we played a game of follow the leader. You can't really tell, but James and McCoob just scaled a very large boulder to keep up with the leader of the pack.

 Polliwogging is hard!

 L:James and McCabe hunt for polliwogs R: Char found the tiniest little frog I have ever seen!

 L: Mason striking out on his own  R: McCabe, trying to make the most of his lot after being abandoned by his family

 Char and Cabe inspect the tadpoles.

Our polliwogs in their fishbowl. The fish that you see in the picture are now all dead. I have no idea how that happened. One minute they were all swimming around happily and the next every fish was belly up. Maybe they died from fright after discovering that they would occasionally have to share their bowl with polliwogs AND a hammerhead shark. Yikes!

Bullfrogs

Mr. Bullfrog. AKA Lightning

I honestly don't think of myself as an animal person. Honestly! But somehow the men in my life adore them to high heavens and seem to be making me soft. Hence all the posts about animals of late. (Beware, there are still more to come from our recent adventures). At any rate, the other night we went down to the rivers edge to see what we could see and James helped us catch TWO bullfrogs! These fellas are tricky to catch because they are such amazing swimmers and can jump like the dickens. However, with a tricky flashlight and a net, it can be done! I think our men have been ruined for any other sort of frog now that they have met these giants! We kept these friends for a couple days before letting them go again. However, all is not lost because when we did, we (meaning James mostly) caught bullfrog pollywogs for the boys to raise! I suppose my boys have every right to love their poppy as much as they do.

 I can't tell which face looks more pleased, James or Mason? James used to hunt these bad-boys when he was a little kid

 Char couldn't help but shower this frog with love.

 Our two friends

L: Mason and his frog  R: Char introduced his frog to one of our favorite stuffed animals (given to us by Conni and Logan. Thanks by the way! McCabe clutches it close on nearly every outing)

Anyone hungry for frog legs?

Meet Thomas

 Many mornings are started like this at our back door

We seem to have good neighbors here on our street, but by far our favorite is Thomas the cat. He lives next door but comes to visit us at all hours of the day. My boys adore him! Seriously, many a tantrum has been stopped in it's tracks by a visit from this new friend. I honestly have never come across a more mellow or social cat! The boys chase him around the yard whenever they get a chance and he still comes back for more!

Maybe it's thanks to an occasional snack-o-roo:

Or gifts from the dollar store:

Mason spent his own money on these cat toys at the dollar store and was very dismayed to find that Thomas wasn't even remotely interested. Maybe I should introduce him to catnip.

 Whatever the reason, we sure are glad he does! We love Thomas!

Char loves kitties most of all.

Toady

The one and only, Bow-and-arrow Frog

One of Mason's newest thrills is going toad hunting. The warm and humid Kansas Summers bring these little fellas out to play and Mason has a knack for spotting them hiding in the grass by Poppy's vet building (where we see all of our animals it seems). The only trouble is, the best time to go toad hunting is after the boy's bedtime, and James and I don't always feel like extending their day to accommodation his desire. Somehow Mason still wins out at least a couple times a week all the same.

The other night, while I was preparing dinner, Mason repeatedly asked James if they could go look for toads but each time the answer was the same. "No". Eventually Mason joined his brothers in the back yard while we continued to get things ready. At one point James and Mason's eyes met through the window and James mouthed, "I love you" to our oldest son. I was thinking, "Oh, how sweet! Mason probably ate that up!" But just as I was thinking that, Mason zipped inside the house and excitedly said, "What did you say, Poppy?" James repeated his sentiment and then Mason said, "Oh. I thought you said, Do you want to go toad hunting?" This boy has a one-track mind!

That night, while James was coming home from more studying on campus, he spotted a toad and decided to surprise Mason with a new little friend. Even though Mason was still half asleep, he was thrilled with his gift and kept saying, "I thought I was dreaming!" We let him introduce himself to his new little pet before he happily skipped/boogied himself back to bed.

 Mason and his toad

McCabe was pretty taken by the toad, too:

A goodnight smooch

Mason decided to name him, Bow and Arrow Frog, (which, incidentally, was exactly what I was thinking about naming him!) but we mostly called him Toady. We made a make-shift home and even went out and bought him crickets to snack on a time or two:

I would have wanted to keep him longer, but since we don't have a real aquarium, we felt a little bad for the guy. Don't worry though, we have since caught three more toads to hold us over. Today Mason found a cool feather but then he threw it in the water to see how it would float down a stream. When I cautioned him that he wouldn't get it back, he said, "That's okay. I have a toad. Toads are cooler than feathers."

 Since then we have let him go to save him from his doting owner and company. For a straight week, every chance they got, they would pull him out of his cage and play all sorts of games with him. Poor, good-natured, Toady. What a sport!

The boys were certain that when Toady would hop up on their shoulder, it meant that he was especially fond of them. That or he was willing to try anything to make a break for it!

 Brothers, bonded over a love for a toad. Mason was a sport to share him with Char as much as he did.

 The old, "Put the toad in your shirt" game never gets old!

Before we said good-bye, James even let them listen to his heartbeat with his cool new stethoscope!

 Mason wants to be a vet

McCabe's hair is in looking more and more like Moe's. I have to do something before he gets poked in the eyes!

We'll miss Toady, but I have a feeling that he is doing just fine without us!

Our Common Snapping Turtle

The common snapping turtle

The boys and I got an exciting call this afternoon while out running errands from our number one man! James was taking a study break/run and spotted a snapping turtle right next to his vet building! Being the brave and animal-loving man that he is, he caught it and called us to come get a gander. Luckily we were only minutes away and were there in no time! This animal was madder than a hornet but was nice enough to take a few pictures to hold us over till our next animal adventure. Apparently we could have taken him home for turtle stew but we decided to let him go instead. He's lucky 'cause Mason had his heart set on keeping him as a pet.

 James and his catch. These things can snap bones in two and are very ornery little buggers. 

 James was trying to get McCabe to come a little closer but Cabey wouldn't have anything to do with it! I guess he thought the feisty snapping was a little unfriendly looking. 

 Like a good soon-to-be vet, James helped our turtle friend by removing several leaches. Nasty.

The boys braved the beast and felt pretty cool about it!

 His nose is at the top of his little snout so that he can breath while being fully submerged and hidden, with only the tiniest tip of his nose out of the water.

Off he goes! This will make me think twice about setting foot in any murky water any time soon!

Sunset Zoo

There are all sorts of water towers out here in the Midwest.

We miss Poppy now that he has a very heavy load of classes to deal with, but while he is away we have been finding all sorts of things to do in this town. Even though it is roughly the size of Provo, Utah (where we lived before) this town has it's own zoo! It isn't big but it is big enough to house tigers, cheetas, jackals  bears, anteaters, flamingos, monkeys, etc.. Our little town in Cache Valley had a zoo but it's main attractions were the bobcats, coyotes, and the peacock that pooped in nearly every square inch of the zoo's grounds. So, to us, this zoo is amazing! To top it off, we got a yearly pass for only $50 that also gets us into any of the states larger zoos for free as well and 50% off almost all other zoos in the nation! Hot dog!!!! 

Earlier this week we got up, ate breakfast, and then drove the five minute route to our new favorite location. I don't know if it was because it was earlier in the morning or what, but almost every animal was out and about! We were all in hog heaven! It's safe to say that we will be spending many happy hours here these next four years.

 See, not huge, but big enough for us!

 McCabe wants to be big like his brothers so much these days. I had the stroller with me, but he seems to find it offensive when I suggest that he take a load off and ride for a while.

These are little Asian river otters and aren't they adorable?! The boys got a KICK out of them, especially since they are also in the mustelid family and made the cutest little squeak sounds. Mason kept saying, "I just want to break them out of there so I can snuggle with them!"

 This moment was the highlight of the trip for me!

 Last time the anteater was snoozing so we didn't get to really see him but this time he was out looking for bugs. Good thing, since Mason brought  along a zoo card with anteater info for me to read out-loud once we found him.

 What, you don't keep cards like these in your pocket? Watch out ladies, in only 11 years this stud is going to be ready to date!

 I couldn't help but take a picture of this for my mom and my brothers. Growing up, whenever my brothers would complain that something was too girly, my mother would just say, "It's unisex!" Besides her, I haven't heard this word used all that much....until Manhattan. I see signs all over town using the word in one way or another and it always makes me smile. So see, Tony? That pilgrim outfit mom made you wear in that school play wasn't girly at all! It was unisex. :)

Meeting a friendly tortoise

The marmosets were way too active to take a picture of but aren't they cute? What is is about having a baby that makes everything remind you of them? So, sorry McCabe, this little fella on the right reminds me of you. It might be the feathery hairdo.

The prized peacock feather that Charlie found (and Mason drooled over for the rest of the day).

 The red panda

The chimp with the creepy eye. Yikes!