Toad-A-Lee Bumputy

We went on a camping trip in Idaho, and I found a toad under a brick. I had to convince my mother that we should keep him and she finally agreed. We took him home and put him in a cage. I fed him a worm. I tried to feed him a fly, but toads can't climb like frogs, so he couldn't get a fly. The fly prefers the ceiling of the cage. He likes worms very well. They are very tasty things according to him. I named him Toad-A-Lee Bumputy, because he has bumps all over him.

My friend that was with us when we went camping, likes him. She likes all kinds of animals too. She took care of him when we went on a trip.

Toads are fun to play with. They are very funny creatures. This morning when I was trying to feed him, he didn't want to get off of my fingers. He has a very strong grip. He has claws that are somewhat sharp. He decided that he liked my hand much better then where I fed him. I finally made him get off. Then I fed him some mealy worms and put him back in the cage. You can buy mealy worms at the pet store. You can raise them yourself. They will turn into beetles, lay eggs, and then you will have more mealy worms. Toad-A-Lee Bumputy likes meal worms. Sometimes when he eats them he sticks out his tongue and tastes them first before eating them. I think he is afraid their stale. I would do the same thing if I were him.

CeCe Does Have Kittens!

I'm sorry I haven't written for a while. So I thought I should catch you up on what you missed.

Newborn David, my kitten

On April 30 CeCe had kittens. We were sitting and doing schoolwork when CeCe sat on Araya's lap. She started to cry. Mama thought that she might be in labor. We put a protective sheet and towel on the couch, and she had her kittens there.

CeCe to the Rescue of her starving kittens

As days went by they got bigger and bigger and bigger still yet. Then they got as big as their mother, and they kept growing. Now they are bigger then their mother. There were five kittens. One was called Samuel. We gave him to our friend Rachel. One was named Jonathon. We gave him to a boy named Mathew. But he got ran over. One was named Abigal. She was cute. She was Calico colored. We gave her to another family. One is named David. He's the longhaired tabby one. One is named Goliath, and he is the short haired tabby. We gave all the kittens away except David and Goliath. David is my kitten and Goliath is my sister's kitten.

CeCe havinig fun with her kittens

Recess time for the kittens

Even though their names are David and Goliath, I've never seen Davy pick up a stone and put it in a sling and try to hit Goliath. But they do like to play with each other. We named Goliath, Goliath, because he was the biggest kitten the batch. We David, David, because he was the smallest kitten in the batch. But now they are about the same size. Davy looks bigger though, because he is long haired. I don't know, maybe we should have named David, Goliath and Goliath, David. But I think their names fit.

The two giants Goliath and David

David, just after he slew the Philistine giant, Goliath, and the ladies sang, "Saul has slain his thousands and Davy his ten thousands."
And his fugitive life began.

I'm Going to Get a Betta Fish!

I'm going to get a betta fish! I town just put in a new Pet Co. We've been to it several times. I has the most lovely betta fish. I bet you've never seen a prettier fish.

Betta fish live in Thailand. They can live in rice patties and canals.

Betta Names

I'll just name a few bettas: half moon betta, crown tail betta or double tail betta. They all come in different colors. Each color has a name such iridescent half moon, and steel blue half moon. Half moons are my favorite betta. Crown tails are nice too. They use the same color names too, such as turquoise crown tail.

People farm bettas in Thailand and in other countries. Another name for betta is the Siamese Fighting Fish. In Siam, which is the old name for Thailand, they used to make them fight for people to watch. The males fight. If you put a mirror up to a bettas cage the male will flare up and possibly attack the mirror. If you have two males in a tank they will fight and one will die.

Fish that are ok to put with bettas

About the only fish that are ok to put with bettas are platies and mollies and slow moving tetras. Guppies aren't ok, and neither are goldfish. Goldfish are natural enemies of betta fish. They will fight to the death.

I can't wait to go to the pet store and get a betta. It will be so much fun.

Two Surprises in One Day

Today I finished my last first grade reading book. Because I finished have finished all these books, my mama bought me a new hermit crab. This is a picture of him exploring his new accommodations.
Hermit crabs are very accommodating pets. They don't pinch you very often, if your careful. I named my new hermit crab, Mr. Vince, short for Invincible, because nothing would stop him. He even walked over my other hermit crab when he was in the way.

Shortly after we put him in the cage, he walked over to an empty shell. "Oh, this shell is particularly beautiful. My shell is getting pretty much too small for me. I think I'll get a new shell. Is there anyone watching me? No, Hermie is sleeping. Here I go! Whew! I changed shells and no one saw me do it."

A few hours later, my other hermit crab, Hermie, walked over to Vince's now empty shell. "Oh, I like this shell. This is a nice shell. I think I'll move. I saw another hermit crab using this shell. He must have moved. Now I'll I'll just look around and see if he is watching. He isn't. Hurray! He's walking toward the cave. Now all I have to do is get out of this shell. Out I come. I'm out! I'm running as fast as I can to get it in. Whew! I'm in! I made it!"

Hurrays and Hurrahs for Painted Lady Caterpillars!

I just went over to look my butterfly eggs and they weren't butterfly eggs anymore! They were caterpillars! Each caterpillar is only about 1/16 of an inch long! They are really active youngsters, always looking for something to eat. I went down the hill and got them a great big thistle leaf, about 14 inches long. Mama got them some mallow leaves. Each leaf is about one inch across. We will see which leaf they prefer. This is the beginning of the second generation of butterflies. April 29 is our caterpillars birthday. Hurray! They have hatched! Pretty soon we will have some new butterflies. I can't believe that they can get so big. Right now they are so tiny!This is a picture of a caterpillar next to an egg. Click on the pictures to see them enlarged.

Passing on the Big E Award

I want to give my sister, Emily Rose, the Big E award, for an Excellent Blog. I want to give her the award because her blog is very excellent. She always writes excellent posts. I like her writing and her poetry. Good job, Emily Rose! You have a really good blog.

The Four Stages of the Painted Lady

My zoology book, "Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day", had an assignment to raise some butterflies. So we got on the web and Mama found a place to order butterflies called Butterflies and Blueberries. We ordered the kit with 5-8 caterpillars to raise to adulthood.

When our kit arrived, there were 7 caterpillars in a tiny plastic cup with some food. They were about 1/4 inch long when they came in the mail. Three days went by and then they were all about 5/8" long. The instructions said that when they were all that big, we should move them to another container, and give them some new food that was supplied by the kit. After a few days, I was looking at them, and looked at the lid of the cup. One was hanging. He was about ready to make a chrysalis. The next morning he was in a chrysalis, and two more caterpillars were hanging. One by one they all formed chrysalis.

About a week later I got up and something amazing had happened. There was a butterfly sitting in the container. We rushed out to the shop and got a giant aquarium to put them in. In three days all of the butterflies had hatched. The last one hatched the third day.

We were going to release them, but it was too cold outside, so we kept them and decided to try to get them to lay eggs so we could see the whole cycle again.

We put thistles in there for them to lay eggs on. Painted Lady caterpillars like to eat thistles. Two of the butterflies laid eggs, and maybe those eggs will hatch.

The Four Stages of the Painted Lady Butterfly

The first stage of a butterfly is eggs. On a bright spring morning, Mrs. Butterfly went over to lay eggs on the thistle plants. When the eggs are first laid, they are green. You can click on the photo to see it close up.


After a couple days, Mr. and Mrs. Painted Lady's egg turns gray. When it turns gray that means it is almost ready to hatch. After the eggs are laid it will take 3 - 5 days before they hatch.


The second stage is the larva stage. Most people think of caterpillars in this stage. The caterpillar crawls out of it's egg and eats it's egg. Eggs are natural nourishment for a young hungry caterpillar. They are very tiny when they hatch, but they grow very quickly. Within 12 - 18 days they will be 2 inch caterpillars and ready to form a chrysalis. In this time they will shed their skin 4 -5 times. They eat like crazy. They can eat commercially prepared food, or thistles, nettles, mallow or plantain that you gather outdoors. We fed ours the commercially prepared food that came with the kit. But we learned that after three generations they can go infertile on this food, and that it is better to feed them fresh food.


Third stage of a butterfly is the pupa. In this stage they form a chrysalis. While inside, they turn themselves into liquid, then reform into a butterfly. This stage lasts for about 10 days.

The natural predictors of a chrysalis is birds, frogs, snakes and lizards. Their defense is remarkably wiggling. I was amazed that they wiggle while they are liquid, but they do it some how.


The last and most delightful stage is the adult butterfly. They can live up to two weeks. They like to drink nectar from flowers and drink juice from orange slices. Our butterflies laid eggs on the orange slices, thinking their caterpillars will have good food.

I'll tell you about these pictures.
This picture is a remarkable picture of a butterfly drinking. To see it's full glory, I invite you to click on the photo. This is my favorite pictures of my butterflies. Mama took the picture of this butterfly drinking nectar out of the dandelion.

I like this butterfly picture because it shows the pollen on the stamens of an apple blossom.


This picture is a lovely picture of a Painted Lady drinking nectar out of the dandelion. To see it in full glory, you can click on the picture. I helped mama take these pictures. I held the dandelion in the light for her.

If you want to know more about how to keep butterflies go here.