Melissa's Idea Garden

45 years ago today at 9:17 p.m., I opened my eyes and said, "Hello, world! Gee, it sure is bright out here!" Onlookers thought I was just saying ' waahhh!' but that is because they weren't smart enough to understand newborn baby talk:) It is hard to believe that I am closing in on the 1/2 century mark. In some ways, I still feel like a 'twenty-something.'

I feel a little retrospective today. I have so much to be thankful for. Life has had its ups and downs, but overall, I consider myself to be very blessed. So here I am to count my blessings!

1. I am the child of a loving, living God. What can possibly be better than that?! He is forgiving, loving, and has provided directions for me to grow into a better, more complete person.

2. I am grateful to be alive. My dad's side of my family is known for longevity. My mom's father and grandfather and great-grandfather all died in their early 40's. My mom and I have both passed that milestone in good health.

3. My parents are both alive and are healthy. Though they didn't remain together, they are both now in happy marriages. I am glad.

4. I am blessed to have spent the last 21 years with my wonderful husband. It hasn't always been easy for either of us. But we have weathered the storms, grown stronger through them and our love keeps evolving into something more and more beautiful and permanent. He is my knight in shining armor, my shoulder to cry on, my personal cheering squad, my comedian, and the love of my life. I look forward to our further adventures.

5. I have four wonderful, amazing children:

Bruce: who keeps me on my toes by encouraging me to think outside of the box. Who never lets a Mother's Day or birthday pass without a call. Who calls sometimes just to chat. Who is always ready to help when I have a cooking question and who is always up for watching a movie at midnight.

Charles: who always makes me smile. Who has loved me even when I didn't deserve it. Who is trying to figure out his way in this crazy world. Who doesn't take himself too seriously. Who is always ready to have some fun, play a game or act a little crazy! Who will climb trees, crawl into the crawl space, and who watches out for damsels in distress.

Jack: who loves the Lord. Who will watch SciFy with me at any time. Who is so good with younger children. Who is respected and loved by his peers. Who isn't afraid to be vulnerable. Who doesn't kill his sister when she plucks his last nerve. Who has a serving heart. Who is stretching his wings as a leader and who gently reminds me when I might want a better choice of words.

Katrina: who is my only daughter. Who sometimes drives me to distraction, but never ceases to amaze me with her acts of kindness for me and others around her. Who talks openly to me about what she is thinking and what is going on with her (I deeply treasure this). Who loves to help me and help others around her. Who is creative, ambitious and leaves sweet surprises in my lunchbox.

6. I am blessed to be part of an awesome church family. People who are supportive, uplifting and working hard to walk with God. People who are real and honest. People who have serving hearts and bring out the best in me.

7. I am blessed to have a job, especially during these economic times.

8. I am blessed to have a comfortable home nestled on five acres of land. My children have all been able to play outside without fear (except during hunting season). And at night, I can look up and see the stars and listen to the tree frogs.

9. I am blessed to have a working vehicle in very good condition which was a gift from my mom and stepdad.

10. I am blessed to have been able to travel to so many places in the last 21 years. Australia, New Zealand, Paris, Winnipeg, New York, Boston, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, Maine, Ashville, NC, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, SC, Hico, WV, Savannah, Hilton Head, Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale, Bowling Green, FL, Washington D.C., Chicago, St. Louis, San Francisco, Los Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Sunset Crater, Sacramento, Napa Valley, Indiana, Denver, Boulder, Estes Park, Durango, Albuquerque, Four Corners, Santiago Peak, the Grand Canyone, and Flagstaff. I love traveling and I'm ready to go again (hint, hint, sweetie!)

11. I am blessed to have been able to homeschool my younger children. I have loved every field trip, every 'ah ha' moment, every pajama day! I have been blessed to watch them grow up, to learn with them, and to just have fun with them. Our children grow up so quickly and I am grateful for every moment I have with them (even the unhappy ones).

12. These are all huge blessings, but they don't stop there. I have food to eat everyday, clothes to wear, tons of books to read, the ability to worship as I choose, friends, my health, and happiness. I have great memories from my childhood (walks in the woods with my dad, movies with my mom, fun on the dairy farm, trips with my grandma, playing with my cousins, beating my dad at rummy and shopping with mom.) I attended the best college in the country (William and Mary) and I had so many wonderful experiences there. I enjoyed most of my years in public school where I made friends, learned, and had some truly wonderful and inspiring teachers.

Today I am 45. I am blessed. And if you have read ll the way to the end, I hope you realize how blessed you are as well! Have a great day and thanks for being part of my life!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:53 AM | Permalink

As you know, bats find their dinner by using echolocation. But not every bat goes for flying insects. There are bats that eat fruit and bats that enjoy nectar from plants. So, how do they find these delectable treats? Well, most of them use smell. But some use echolocation and some plants have adapted to make themselves easily located.

It turns out that the Marcgravia evenia has leaves that act like satellite dishes!

In experiments, bats found a hidden feeder about 50 percent faster when the feeder was accompanied by the specialized M. evenia leaf than without. Attaching a regular leaf reduced bat search times by just 6 percent.

The researchers also studied the intensity and direction of simulated bat sonar reflecting from the M. evenia leaves. These results showed the echoes would sound the same to a bat at almost any angle, which should be "conspicuously constant to a passing bat," the authors said in their paper, published July 29 in the journal Science.

M. evenia is rare and has a patchy distribution pattern in the wild, Simon said, so being able to attract bats from a distance is crucial for its survival.

"The bats have a large range and can bring pollen to specimens which are far apart," he said.

Another neotropical plant, M. holtonii, signals bats via a specialized acoustical "mirror" inside its flowers.

Interestingly, the Pallas's long-tongued bat, which was followed in the study, has the fastest metabolism ever recorded in any mammal - it is similar to that of a hummingbird.

Links to check out:

National Geographic(origin of photo and most information)
Glossopedia
Bat Conservation International

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:05 AM | Permalink

One of my favorite things to 'report' on is the discovery of new species. Seems like the news is always full of stories about species that are disappearing, but they somehow neglect to share with us new species that have been discovered. My personal thoughts is there is an ebb and flow in wild life. I have seen that here at my own home. Some years there are squirrels running rampant for instance and other years, we don't see any. But I digress...

So, up to four new species of shrews have been found in Indonesia. Now, these little guys aren't the cutest in the land...unless you like critters with big ears and long noses (the better to hear and sniff you with my dear), but they are an important part of our environment!

Yes, they do resemble the mice that I recently was so upset about, but guess what...they are not part of the rodent family (that's what I learned new today). They are very closely related to moles though! They are found world-wide, except there aren't any native shrews in New Guinea, Australia, or New Zealand.

In general, shrews are terrestrial creatures that forage for seeds, insects, nuts, worms and a variety of other foods in leaf litter and dense vegetation, but some specialize in climbing trees, living underground, living under snow or even hunting in water. They have small eyes, and generally poor vision, but have excellent senses of hearing and smell. They are very active animals, with voracious appetites and unusually high metabolic rates. Shrews must eat 80-90 % of their own body weight in food daily.

Shrews are very territorial and only come together to mate. Shrews can have up to 10 litters a year! They have a gestation period of 17-32 days. No wonder they are everywhere!

They only have one set of teeth in their life time which don't grow like rodents, but can be worn down. This can be very bad for an 'old shrew' since there aren't any false teeth at the local shrew store for them to pick up.

Two types of shrews use echolocation and some shrews are venomous! The venom is conducted not through fangs but through grooves in their teeth. But get this..."one chemical extracted from shrew venom may be potentially useful in the treatment of blood pressure while another compound may be useful in the treatment of some neuromuscular diseases and migraines. The saliva of the Northern Short-tailed Shrew (Blarina brevicauda) contains the peptide soricidin and has accordingly been studied for use in treating ovarian cancer."

And one last cool fact to leave you with. I am not sure how the shrew got it's name, but when you look at shrew...think shrewd! Shrewd is defined as astute, sharp, keen, piercing! Well get this. The shrew's brain makes up 10% of it's body mass! This is the highest brain to body mass ration of any animal (including humans!)

So if you want to learn more about the shrew, check out these links!

Wikipedia
Natural History article
Enchanted Learning
National Geographic (this link has more pictures of the new species found in Indonesia)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:46 AM | Permalink

So, a few weeks ago, we saw a mouse scurry through the house...then there were signs... chewed up Qtips under the bathroom sink, dropping under the stove... so I looked at Sam's for mouse traps. But, alas they don't carry them and the mouse got a reprieve of a week (I only shop one day a week as one effort to conserve gas).

Then I picked up glue traps. I shy away from the snapping traps for two reasons. 1) I have had many instances where the mouse triggers the trap and doesn't get caught or eats the food and doesn't even trigger the trap and 2) the regular old mouse trap can be a bit messy.

The first night I got one mouse. Success! But then no more. I thought we only had one mouse, but then we saw one scurrying across the floor. I checked the other glue traps I had set down and couldn't believe my eyes...they had mouse footprint on them! Some of them had so many, it looked like the mouse had been doing the cha cha on them!!!!

So, Tuesday, on my way home from work, I stopped at Food Lion to pick up the good old fashioned mousetrap. And guess what! Food Lion only sold decon and glue traps!!!!!! Wednesday Katrina and I were in town and we got the old-fashioned mouse traps from Wal-mart. Last night, I caught three more mice!!!!! They were all smaller than the first, so I think it was a mom and her children. Hopefully this will be the end of the problem.

I hate killing anything, but I have had clothes ruined and then there are the germs from mice. So, mice...you are on notice. Live in the woods all you want, I am happy to have you there, but please, please, please...stay out of my house!!!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:24 PM | Permalink

Well, I have been hankering to write on my blog again. The problem has been that I have two working blogs and I am not one of those people that can carry on multiple blogs. I like all of my thoughts in one place. On top of that now that I am back to work, life has been busy and I haven't really had the time to write.

But life has been kind of calm the last week and a half and I decided to see if I could bring all of my articles from Homeschool Blogger over here to this blog. And guess what!? I could! It was easy peasy!

So now I am planning to blog again on a regular basis. Whatever comes to mind or tickles my fancy. If you decide to drop by, be sure to say hi:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:47 PM | Permalink