Playing Opossum

Playing Opossum

This is Polly the Opossum.

The Gulf State Park Nature Center found a mother opossum that got hit by a car.

They rescued her babies and Polly is one of them.  Her siblings were released but they kept her.

Polly has a pouch for her young which means she is a marsupial.

She can have up to 13 babies.  When they are born they are the size of a honey bee.  

The babies go into her pouch and stay there for 70-125 days.  Then they go up to the mother`s back and hang on her for another 1-2 months to learn what to eat.  

They are omnivorous which means they eat meat and plants. 

She loves to hold on to you with her sharp nails and super strong tail as shown here with Mariah.

Opossums only live to be about 18 months in the wild.
In captivity they can live to be almost 4 years old.

Never approach a wild opossum and attempt to hold or pet it!
Polly is a Sweetheart because she was raised at the Nature Center.  

Rose Haired Tarantula

 Rose Haired Tarantula

Rebecca and Mariah holding a tarantula!

Anna, Rebecca and Mariah courageously let it crawl over their hands.  

They dared me to hold it but I was only brave enough to touch it! 

Anna`s turn to hold it! 

This tarantula is NOT native to Alabama.

The Gulf State Park Nature Center has one on display. 

The naturalist bought it at a pet store so visitors can enjoy learning about them.

Check out this neat video which tells more about this amazing creature.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjoexDVIGG0

2 Wrecks in Fort Morgan

On Friday we drove west from Gulf Shores along the peninsula to Fort Morgan.  We set off to find a shipwreck but found a fatal wreck on the road along our way.

Halfway there we saw 15+ police plus a fire truck and an ambulance just arriving when we got there. 

We later found out that a snowbird couple was bicycling on the side of the road and got hit.

A helicopter was sent to take them to a hospital in Pensacola, FL.

The lady did not live and the man is still hospitalized.

Okay, enough of the sad part:-(

One reason we went out there was to film a "count down" for our church in Alabama.

Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k9YD2Jo6HY&feature=youtu.be

The main reason we went was to go treasure hunting for a mysterious shipwreck.

The wind and waves have revealed a "new" shipwreck over 150 years old.  

Most likely the sand will soon cover it again.

This recent article identifies the shipwreck as a Civil War Confederate Schooner from 1861.

http://www.gulfcoastnewstoday.com/the_islander/local_news/article_2e6ed02a-73ce-11e3-82e5-001a4bcf887a.html 

Sea Turtles

Sea Turtles!

Today we went to a presentation on Sea Turtles.

The Loggerhead Sea Turtle makes the most nests here on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

In May through October the mother Sea Turtle lays her eggs. She goes up on the beach and digs a hole 18 to 21 inches deep with a hollow space at the bottom the size of a volleyball.

The temperature determines if the turtle will be a male or female. The turtles at the bottom of the hole will be males and the top will be females.

The fox is a predator to the Sea Turtles (on land) so someone thought of a great idea! They put a screen with 4 by 4 holes over the nest so the predators can`t get them while the turtles can get out.

In May of 2010 the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill greatly effected the turtles and all life in the ocean.

That year the volunteers who help make sure that the turtles get into the ocean did not want the turtles going into an oil infested ocean. So they dug up all the turtle's egg and transported them to a warehouse on the east coast and hatched and released them back into the ocean.

If you want to read more about the sea turtles go to www.alabamaseaturtles.com

Creation Museum

Creation Museum

http://creationmuseum.org/

We spent two days at the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, Ohio.

At the beginning of your self guided tour you take a trip through a Canyon!

Next stop is the dinosaur digging site! 

 Isaiah, Moses, and David bring us God's Word.

Martin Luther nails the 95 theses to the church door.

Guttenberg Bible Press Replica

                                   

Today`s culture rejects biblical truth

Today Man Decides truth whatever

Planetarium was amazing it showed how awesome God is!

A room filled with pictures and videos of God`s wonderful creation!!

realistic animal figure in the Garden of Eden.

Becca and Lily walk through the Garden of Eden.

Adam names the animals.

God created the Dinosaur on the 6th day.

Adam and Eve 

                                                

Notice the serpent watching Adam and Eve from above.

Corruption - Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God said NOT to. Then sin entered the world.

Look closely at the door.

Sacrifice 

After the fall Adam and Eve needed to work.

Muthuselah - the oldest person ever to live! 969 years!

Noah`s sons building the ark.

Noah`s ark replica

another view of the ark

Animals coming 2 by 2 

ark after the flood

ark during the flood

Can you find the chameleon? 

We enjoyed the new bug exhibit.

Rhinoceros beetles

butterflies and moths

leaf insects

stick insects

more butterflies

various insects

Dredging and shells!

For the last 4 months they have been dredging the ocean.

They are doing this because when hurricanes come they push sand in and draw it back out to the ocean.  They need to do this every five years or after three major hurricanes.

Dredging is when a HUGE boat goes out and picks up sand, shells and sea life and spits it out in a tube running from the boat to shore.

After this the shells are all around and there is really good shelling.

Nutmeg shells! They range in size and are one of my favorites.

Augers.  Are very sharp and thin.

Olives. Walking on the beach just for a few minutes you will find many!

I saved my favorite shells for last..... the Lighting Whelk!