St. Peter’s Fish

By Wendy Lanier   Ever hear the story of how the disciple Peter caught a fish with a coin in its mouth? Maybe you wondered what kind of fish would have a coin in its mouth and why. It’s possible the fish Peter caught was a musht fish. Whether it really was or not, the fish has become popularly known as “St. Peter’s fish.” Musht fish are still caught in the Sea of Galilee today.   A musht fish is a type of tilapia that grows anywhere from 6 to 18 inches long and can weigh more than three pounds.  They have a long dorsal fin along their back that looks like a comb when extended.  The word “musht” is Arabic for comb. Musht fish have a large head with a bag under their mouth. Every year in the spring the musht fish lay their eggs. After the...

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What Do You Know About The…

Giant Panda?   Stay tuned to find out everything you need to know about this black and white bear—the Giant Panda. A Giant Panda is very shy and big. It is found in only one country in the world – China. Do you like playing at the beach? The Giant Panda doesn’t. In fact, the Giant Panda prefers the cold and lives in the mountains of China, where the temperature can be as low as 19 degrees. Did your mother hold you a lot when you were a baby? So does the Giant Panda. For the first three weeks, a Giant Panda mommy holds her baby with her forepaws. Giant Pandas eat mostly bamboo. Sometimes they eat small rodents, especially mice, reptiles, lizards, and insects. They even eat cockroaches. Did you know that Giant Pandas are fully grown by the time they...

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These Insects Are the Pits!

By Wendy Lanier This summer, while you’re out running around, keep an eye out for peculiar inverted cones in loose soil like these. They are often found near anthills. Sometimes the anthills look very similar, but ant mounds are above the ground like this. These strange looking indentions are not the work of aliens. They are traps set by the  larval stage of an insect known as an antlion.  Antlion pits are designed to catch ants  and other unsuspecting insects that fall into them. Once the insect victim falls into the  trap, the antlion seizes it with its long mandibles. After a brief struggle the antlion pulls  the victim under the soil to suck out all its body fluids. The empty carcass is then flicked  out of the pit.   The antlion’s life cycle...

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Dandelion Wishes

By Michelle Higdon “Mommy, Mommy, look! A dandelion! Can I make a wish, Mommy, please? Daddy says if you blow the seeds from the tip-top of the dandelion and you wish real hard, it comes true. Please, Mommy, can I make a wish?” Bobby jumped up and down as he grinned at his mom. “Sure, go ahead. Make a wish.” His mom nodded and watched Bobby run to the dandelion. Bobby knelt down and picked up the dandelion. Closing his eyes, he made a wish and blew with all his strength, sending the dandelion seeds floating away in the wind. He laughed and twirled in a circle, throwing his arms out, and hoping his wish would come true. The dandelion is often called a “wishing-flower” because so many children and adults alike make a wish before blowing the seeds away....

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Moose Sighting

“Wow, Daddy, did you see that?” Maria pointed out the window of the car at an animal that was running through the trees. “I think it was a reindeer! Like Santa has!” “No, honey, that wasn’t a reindeer.” Maria’s dad smiled at her in the mirror. “But it had big antlers and it was brown. And big,” Maria insisted. Her dad laughed and replied, “That wasn’t a reindeer. It was a moose. They are big and they have antlers, but they’re not reindeer, I promise.” Just like Maria, a lot of kids don’t know what a moose is. A moose is a big mammal that usually lives in the forest and eats grass. To help you know more about moose, here are some fun facts about the moose. Moose like to swim. Did you know that a moose can dive up to 20 feet under...

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