We finally made it to Milwaukee Public Museum on Sunday. We didn’t go on Saturday because there was an IMAX movie, Bugs, playing at 10:30 am on Sunday I wanted to see. If we had gone on Saturday we’d have had to wait until 3:30 pm to see it, and as much as I like the museum, there’s not enough there to keep us there that late. Ironically enough, the movie broke down just as it was starting so we didn’t end up getting to see it anyway. C’est la vie.
The main reason for going was the special exhibit, A Chorus of Frogs, so we checked that out first. It wasn’t as big or impressive as I was hoping, but this one Waxy Monkey Frog was the highlight of the trip. I’m not sure whether he was cute or creepy, though. Be the judge for yourself and check out the video.
My, what big eyes he has! Here’s one more video of a butterfly from their live butterfly wing. Don’t get me started on the idiots trying to touch all the butterflies.
Exciting stuff! I live life on the edge; don’t hate.
Look what Joe brought home from work earlier this week. Isn’t he strangely cute with his grumpy looking face? He found it in the warehouse where he works. Even though he’s currently the size of a half dollar, he will grow to 30 lbs and live 40 years!!! Needless to say, I asked Joe to release him in a marsh nearby his warehouse the next day.
Here’s a cute video I took of him. He could really move! That orange stuff is cantaloupe but he wasn’t interested in eating it.
Back in June when we visited Milwaukee, we accidentally stumbled upon Racine Zoo and a cute area of Kenosha right by Lake Michigan, so two weeks ago on a Saturday we made a return trip to check it all out.
First we hit the zoo which is quite small, but has some interesting exhibits, particularly for the giraffes, penguins and meerkats. The parking was free, the admission was reasonable ($6.50), and the place was deserted. A winning combination, really. What’s very interesting about the zoo is that it’s right on the lake in a regular neighborhood. There was a house literally next door to the giraffes. What a view!
After the zoo we headed South to Kenosha where we stopped at a drive-in for lunch. The food was ok. Very cheap, and the drive-in experience was something different. The onion rings were the best I’ve had so I guess there’s something to be said for that.
After lunch we stopped at the Kenosha Public Museum. It’s not very large but it’s free and has a Woolly Mammoth exhibit worth checking out. Next door is a Civil War museum but we didn’t go in. Out back was a farmers market, so we walked around that and then walked down to the lakeshore and took pictures of the lake and pier light.
Bordering the area is the Kenosha Streetcar, or what I like to call a cute trolley, which is fifty cents to ride so we rode it the whole loop, then went to a nearby bar for a drink before heading back home.
In all it was a very nice day. I wish I was filthy rich so all days were as enjoyable!
Project Mantis has been a colossal failure. WTF am I talking about? Our attempt to raise a praying mantis.
It all started a month ago when I received a catalog from Insect Lore, the same place where I got my butterfly kit. As soon as I saw their Praying Mantis Pagoda, I knew I had to have it because the Praying Mantis is one cool insect.
The kit I got came with a live egg case which hatched last Thursday. It actually scared the crap out of me! It was after work and I was cleaning out Bonzai’s tank when my eye caught movement. I looked over at the container where I had put the egg and saw ton of mantids crawling around. I jumped back in shock, then took a photo and texted it to Joe, who was with his kids at the time. I believe my exact words were, “Holy shit, they hatched!!!” There had to be at least fifty of them in there, if not more (the site estimates between 75-200 nymphs will come out of one egg).
Not expecting them to have hatched so quickly, we had no suitable food on hand. A newly hatched mantis is about the size of a large mosquito and they only eat live bugs, so I was worried how we’d feed them. We waited until Friday after work to look for bugs outside, but we couldn’t find any of the aphids they would eat, so we released the majority of them in plants around our patio, but kept three in the included enclosure.
On Saturday we visited a very cool pet store out in Marengo, IL. The place is huge and very clean! It was like visiting a mini zoo. Unfortunately, they didn’t have the pinhead crickets they advertised on the site, but they had some relatively small ones, so we bought a bunch of them and put three in the enclosure with the mantids. None of them went after the crickets, however. We kept trying to catch fruit flies, by leaving fruit outside, but dammit, it wasn’t happening. We got ants, and tried those, but still, nothing happening. By the time Monday rolled around we had three dead mantids, some dead ants, one dead cricket, and a bunch of live crickets. With much disappointment, we let the remaining live crickets free.
At least some of the mantids we released are still alive – I keep checking on the big potted plant on our patio and there are at least two in there right now looking even more lively than they did originally. I read that they don’t stray far from their original hatching location, so maybe we can grab one when it gets bigger and try again.
Templeton says hi! He and Nutterbutter are doing well. They’ve been moved up to K’s room (hence the blue carpeting) until Spring since their regular space in front of the fireplace gets drafty in the Winter.
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We did our little once in awhile Sunday circuit this morning which included breakfast and shopping at IKEA, a stop at Petland to see all the furry pets, and Bed Bath & Beyond. At IKEA we purchased some more ceramic bowls (in purple and blue) as part of my quest to rid the house of plastic-ware. I also got two smaller light purple glass bowls which would be perfect for ice cream since you can’t fit more than a few scoops in them. I need something to help me moderate my snacking!
Bed Bath & Beyond is where I finally found something to cook a single egg with so that I can put together my own egg and cheese McMuffin. I’m becoming addicted to McDonald’s but they are $2.87 with tax and I know I can make them myself cheaper than that. I couldn’t decide between this single fry pan and these egg rings, so I got both.
We almost ended up getting another hamster too. I know, after I already said I’m done with hamsters. But this one wasn’t only cute, it was friendly and calm! The opposite of Oreo. It had longer fur but we could hold it without it squirming and trying to get away. We took turns petting it while the other held it and it wasn’t fazed at all. It was very tempting to get it but I’m rather tired of the weekly cage cleanings we have to do as it is so I decided to wait for now. Maybe after Oreo has passed on I may give another hamster a shot now that I know some nice ones exist out there.
We found ourselves in downtown Geneva in the afternoon so we could check out a record store I had read about on Yelp. I even scored a Cure LP! Then we decided to check out a new restaurant for lunch but as luck would have it, all the best reviewed places aren’t open on Sundays so we ate lunch at a cute Mexican place in St. Charles instead.
Why do the weekends always fly by? I know, stupid question. At least we’ve got the season premiere of 24 tonight! Jack is back! I’m going to nosh on Joe’s homemade chicken & dumplings while we watch.
