Friday, February 26, 2010

Catching Snowflakes

We have had 3 beautiful snowfalls this winter. During the most recent snowfall, I decided we would try and catch some flakes. We have attempted this before on black construction paper and it was never very impressive. However, this time I happened to have a piece of black fleece that came in one of Amanda's Hearts and Trees Kit. We were blown away by the results! I wish that Iwould have been able to capture some better photos, but this was all I could get.

I guess the fibers on the fleece caused the flakes to last long enough for us to see their shape. We saw dozens of different shapes and each one was amazingly beautiful. Of course we all "know" what snowflakes are supposed to look like, but it was really a wonder filled experience standing in the snow catching flake after flake. We were all very excited. I just wish that I could have gotten better pictures.

In the above picture, look at the bottom left and you will see a flower shaped snowflake!


The above photo is probably our best example.



Once we brought the fleece back inside the heat caused all the flakes to change their form...into ordinary water droplets. Later that evening we read Snowflake Bentley and then looked through a book with his snowflake photos.
"Under the microscope," he wrote in 1931, "I found that every snow crystal is a miracle of God's beauty." (taken from God's World News-Snowflake Bentley article March 2010 edition)

Monday, February 08, 2010

The Great Backyard Bird Count

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count! The boys really enjoyed participating in this event last year. Click on the picture to find out more!