12 of 12- May

Yep, after a quick hiatus in April...I'm back on track for 12 of 12. The sad thing is that I actually took all my pictures in April, I just never had a chance to upload them and write pithy captions. But, I did have a great day on May 12, and that inspired me to get back in the proverbial saddle. Enjoy!
NOTE FROM NATURE GIRL: Holy Cow! I just checked Chad's original 12 of 12 website and I realized that I've been doing my captions incorrectly for years! I am now striving to remedy my blatant oversight. I've been forgetting the location part...

8:22 am- My Office
My fashionable footwear. I'm really into silly patterns on socks these days and these are no exception. Since I was scheduled to do an edible bugs presentation I felt that ladybugs were appropriate.


9:18 am- Ijams Nature Center
While I was waiting for a school group to arrive, I snapped a quick shot of these beardtongue flowers. Weird name- pretty flower.


10:45 am- Ijams Nature Center Pond
A preschool class from Garden Montessori. We were looking for tadpoles, newts, and frogs.


11:30 am- Animal Care Room
I snapped this shot of our little one-eyed screech owl before I put her back in her cage. I used her for the program with Garden Montessori. In case you're wondering, she got hit by a car and her eye wouldn't heal, so the vets had to remove it. She's, by far, the sweetest bird we have at the center.


11:55 am- Ijams Flower Bed
The kids found these monarch caterpillars while we were on our hike. I wanted to snap some photos of them because they'll probably be butterflies by the time June 12th rolls around. These guys are devouring the milkweed in front of the Nature Center.


1:20 pm- Walgreen's
I took a quick trip to Walgreen's to get some party mix for the edible bugs program...you'll see why in later pics :)


3:05- Ijams Multipurpose Room
We celebrated Sarah's birthday at our weekly staff meeting. Most photos that I have of her involve a double thumbs-up. In case you can't read her shirt, it's a mustachioed beaver saying to a wide-eyed starlet beaver, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a dam."


4:40 pm- My Office
In preparation for the edible bugs program, I whipped up some cheddar cheese mealworm chex mix!


5:15 pm- Ijams Multipurpose Room
Setting up for the presentation. I like to start my presentation with a quick Disney reference. Timon and Pumbaa are prominently featured in this particular slide show.


6:17 pm- Ijams Multipurpose Room
Folks partaking of mealworm chex mix and chocolate covered ants. Mmmm...tastes like chicken! Well not really, the mealworms actually taste more like popcorn.


7:45 pm- Calhoun's on the River
A celebratory dinner at Calhoun's. Emily and Than's field crew came down for the evening to attend the presentation. Before heading up to LaFollette to chase warblers, we grabbed dinner and drinks at Calhoun's.


9:05 pm- Calhoun's on the River
Jess and Phil proudly sporting their "I Ate a Bug" Club stickers :)


Bonus 13th photo: OK, so this one was stolen from the local paper's website this morning (5-13-09). There was a reporter and a photographer from the Knox News-Sentinel at the presentaiton and they wrote an article for today's paper. The article was pretty cute, complete with an adorable photo of a child with a mealworm on his tongue! To check out the complete article, click here.


So that was my day, hope you enjoyed a brief look into my life! For a look at what other folks did on the 12th or to learn more about the project, go here.