Friday, February 15, 2008

Brazos Bend Part 2


I never finished blogging about our nature day last Friday. I had used 2 different cameras, and I now have the photos on the computer. (She looks serious in this photo, but she really was enjoying petting the alligator. And, Ranger Sharon let them pet him/her for several months - not the usual "2 seconds.")


After storytime, Ranger Sharon had some things for us to look at and touch, including a baby alligator!

She also had an alligator scoot for us to see. I'd not heard of these, but they are what make up the bumps on the alligators back. The scoots have lots of holes which contain blood vessels. The main purpose is to keep lots of blood near the surface so it can be heated quickly. Remember, alligators are reptiles so they don't make their own heat - they are ectothermic (a term she taught the kids) and have to regulate their body temperature by finding heat or finding a cool spot. So, the scoots help regulate their temperature! (The thing above the scoot is an alligator's tooth.)

And, as I'd mentioned before, the kids went tree climbing which Alexandra doesn't have much experience with. They had so much fun!!! And, we enjoyed watching them.

3 comments:

live4evermom said...

Looks like fun.

Rhonda said...

She looks so happy climbing that tree. Look at that smile!

Robin said...

Those look like just the right kind of tree to start out on!
GB really liked the pictures of the baby alligator. Hopefully, we'll get to see some when we go to Florida next month.

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