Friday, November 06, 2009

where's the rest of it?

for show and tell (where we only show books and nature for the most part) a child brought in the flattened head of a cockatoo. it was in a tall box that opened at the top and the main teacher actually got it out and showed a group of 25 children (she did put a latex glove on first). i had to photograph it for the child's folder (i won't be posting that photo here). i'd assume the head was flattened (and kind of disfigured) because it had been run over by a car but what happened to his body?
i do have this other cool nature photo i took at work (that is a bit much if you don't like spiders up close):
the spider actually ate the entire caterpillar (it took him/her a half hour or so). when i looked at the gum tree over the next few days the spider was always in the same spot. i gave her a bit of a nudge with a stick and she barely moved. the next day there was no movement. i don't know if the caterpillar killed it (poison or just gluttony) or if it just died. now, over the dip where the spider is sitting a web/cocoon like thing is being formed. we can't figure out if the spider is alive and doing it or if another animal is making some sort of coocoon type thing over it. there's all sorts of other interesting things happening on this gum tree too (and meanwhile kids are going unsupervised while i'm fascinated by tiny insects doing their thing on a tree).

1 comment:

  1. That is sooo disgusting (the bird, not the spider)! How could the parent let them bring it in? How could the teacher allow it to be shown? I would never allow that in my class!
    FAIL

    Tahn
    PS poor you for having to photograph it!

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