Yesterday we collected some stumps from the Lawler's to use in our Stumpery.  B.J. and Laura went to Pleasant Valley and purchased five ferns to plant.  We were going to build it in our garden, but needed a shady area.  An alternate spot was found just a little ways away from the garden.  We dug up some holes and we put in the logs and put dirt around them.  Then we put the ferns around the logs.  We released our frogs in the stumpery.  They stayed around for awhile but then left.  Hopefully, more frogs will come to visit.
Eventually the stumps will begin to rot and encourage various insects, mushrooms, slugs, bacteria and fungi to come.  We will keep you posted on it's progress!

Today we headed to the Lawler's house to have a scavenger hunt.  We needed big rocks for our turtle, sticks for a natural fence for our garden and stumps for our stumpery.  We are going to build a Stumpery which will encourage frogs and toads to come into our garden.  The kids used loppers and saws to collect the sticks which will most likely be an ongoing project since we need 90 feet of fencing!  We will weave the sticks together in 5 foot sections to prepare for assembly.
We took a break and visited with the Lawler's neighbor, Stan and Delores Thompson.  They told us about raising sheep and saw two horses up close!  We talked about how and why the flies bother them.  Then we found a swing on an oak tree to play on for awhile.  Then we headed to Delores's garden and we each got to pick a zinnea.  For lunch, we had a picnic under a willow tree down by Claire's pond.
The class is trying to decide on a class pet.  Various pets were researched and student's prepared persuasive essays for their personal favorite.  Students and parents voted and even though the vote was extremely close...turtle ended up slightly ahead.  Tuesday, we will present it to the Cosgrove Board for approval!