My First Fish (15th blog post!)

I got a fish yesterday!

The story of how I got him...

    Last night at youth group we had a gift exchange.  I got a gift from my friend that said, "FRAGILE!!! DO NOT SHAKE!!!"
"Hmm..." thought I...
The fragile gift was a Betta fish!  I named him Mikey after our St. Michael's youth group.

( my sister thinks I should name him Red Skull. yay or nay... ? Nay.)

The gift came with:

1. the fish (obvy)
2. a tank
3. tank decor
4. fish food
5. reversible backgrounds

It didn't come with pebbles, so I collected some from outside.

Thank you, Eden!

P.S. My 15th blog post!

~Emma

Horses

 Pictures to share...

Horses are my favorite animals. This is Velvet, my BFF's horse

Me and Socks

Me and Charlie Brown.

Rocco, the dummy horse.

Sam feeding Charlie B. a carrot.

He loves attention.

MiMi and Hugo.

I love all horses, but C.B. is my favorite!

~ Emma

New Orleans

This fall my mom and I went to New Orleans.  It's a really cool city!

The Mississippi River

Jackson Square

The St. Louis Cathedral.

Here are some pictures inside the old church.

The alter and Tabernacle.

There were Frescos of the Saints on the ceiling.

This is the only copy os St. Louis's bible.

There were trollies all over the city.

We got a day pass and toured the city.

The old Usuline Convent.  Nuns still live there, and part of the building is a museum.

Sadly, it was closed for renovation, so we couldn't see it.

Once an old blacksmith shop in the 1800's, this building is now a bar.

This is the paddle boat, Natchez, which takes tourists up the river daily.

Behind this once plantation home is the battlefield of the Battle of New Orleans, hence the memorial.

We also took a carriage tour of the French quarter and the first cemetery in New Orleans.

Finally, we made sure we picked up some beignets before we headed back to the airport.

This picture was taken from the sky deck of our hotel.

New Orleans is such a beautiful city and there are so many things to do! I would go back in a heart beat.

~ Emma

Praying Mantis

We always have praying mantis bugs around our house, so I took some pictures.

I think this one was a baby.

Of course, this insect gets it's name praying mantis because it looks like it's praying.  A full grown mantis' favorite snacks are leaves, crickets, and butterflies.  Their colors of their long bodies can be green, grey, brown, or even pail pink, depending on where it lives and what it mainly eats. A praying mantis usually lives for about a year.


~Emma

Grasshoppers

These things  are so gross!

I think these two are mating...

Every year, grasshoppers swarm everywhere!!  They eat our garden, rose bushes, and anything green or pretty.

The brown one is the female, the green one is the male.

The grasshoppers are related to the katydids.

Here is a better picture.

As you can see, they kinda look like leaves.

There are also green, black, and red grasshoppers.

~Emma

New Spider

This is a very interesting looking spider!

It is a white spotted jumping spider, a.k.a. Phippus Audax.  They are not poisonous, but they do bite is they feel intimidated.

They are also called Daring Jumping Spider because it's prey consists of insects much larger than it, including the black widow!

~Emma

Leaf Footed Bug

There has been a large, leaf-like, bug flying around our house this summer and I have been wondering what it was.

I looked it up and saw that it was a "leaf-footed bug".

I read that when threatened, they release a strong oder, kind of like a stink bug.

When threatened by other leaf-footed bugs, they can either fight them off or fly away at first sign of danger.  They also make a really loud sound when they are flying to sound scary.  They eat leaves, too, so you don't want them in your garden.  They live mostly in the southern states, but range mostly across North America.

~Emma

Orb-weaver spider

Check out this creepy spider!

They are Orbiculariae, a.k.a. orb-weaver spiders.

Despite their looks, these spiders are pretty harmless!

Even though they have toxin to paralyze their prey, they are non-toxic to humans.  They are basically a normal, eight-legged, eight eyed, spider!

What's interesting, though, is their webs. Aren't they pretty?

Another name for them is St. Andrew's Cross, because of the way their legs make an "x" shape.

Orb-weaver spiders are insect predators, so if you see one in your garden, leave it.  It will eat your garden pests!

~Emma

The Katydid

Here's another pest for you: The katydid.

They eat leaves off of plants so get out your bug spray!

Some facts about katydid:

The katydid is native to the Amazon, and the US.

Some species of katydids can grow as large as your hand!

One species is even purple!

They also like to eat roses.

~Emma

Cucumber Beetles

Gardeners beware! These little bugs may seem like cute little ladybugs, but they are actually garden pests.
They eat cucumbers, lettuce, and all the leaves off of vegetable plants and flowers.

photo credit:: internet

To get rid of them, you'd have to buy pest repellent, I don't know which kind though.




~Emma

Fishing Gear

Several weeks ago, I started fishing at a neighborhood pond.  The first time I went, all I had was a stick (pole), floss (line), a bent earring (hook), and some cheese (bait).

After (finally) finding a real hook on the dock, my sister and I caught two fish.  When we told our dad about our little adventure, he decided we needed the proper gear if we were to do real fishing, so he gave us two poles and a small tackle kit.

Our hot pink pole.

Tackle box.

It came with weights, hooks, bobbers, a stringer, and a lure.

My trusty "turtle" multi-tool.

It's a six-in-one: pliers, flathead screwdriver, file, Phillips screwdriver, knife, and key chain.

I used this glove the first time a caught a fish without my dad.  I don't use them any more though. ;D

And there's me with my first catch! (note the floss and stick!)

~Emma