The other day while we were playing, this is how our conversation unfolded:
H: Mom, come see this. What is that thing hammering in our tree?
M: I don't see what you are talking about.
H: Pay attention. You aren't looking. Right there. (He was right).
M: Oh, I see it. That is a woodpecker.
H: Why is that woodpecker doing that?
M: Just cause (obviously I'm distracted and to tell you the truth, I don't know why they do that).
H: Why, "just cause?" (Clearly this answer isn't cutting it anymore).
M: Well, I guess he just wants to make a hole.
H: Why does that woodpecker have red hair stuck up like that?
M: H, I have no idea.
H: I need to catch him. Where is our broom?
M: I'm not sure you can catch him with a broom.
H: Yes I can. I need my helmet too.
M: Okay, good luck and don't get too close. I don't want him to hammer on your face.
H: That's silly mom. I be careful.
And so, for the next 30 minutes, Harrison chased the woodpecker around the yard...in the appropriate garb saying "Here woodpecker. Here woodpecker. I want to see you."
3 comments:
So now start telling him, I dunno we need to google it! Then you can look it up with him and teach him :-)
That's what I have to tell the children most days, so many questions I don't know the answer to!
I agree with Amy. Harrison needs to learn how to Google. And it's important to help him find the answers while he's asking the questions. :) Just sayin'.
I googled it:
The woodpecker pecks, or beats its strong bill, into tree trunks or limbs for several reasons. First, this rapid drumming is used as a mating call. Second, the pecking creates a hole for a nest, with the wood chips it leaves forming a cushion for the woodpecker’s eggs.
But most of the woodpecker’s pecking is done in search of food. Once the hole is made, the woodpecker’s long tongue shoots into the hole and spears insects on a barb at the tip of its tongue. A sticky saliva on the tongue also helps trap the food.
The woodpecker’s toes flair out, enabling it to climb the trunks of trees and stop and feed at any point. A stiff spine in its tail helps support the woodpecker on the tree trunk. Although it eats mainly insects, berries, nuts, and fruit are also part of the woodpecker’s diet.
The woodpecker’s rapid drumming can be heard for half a mile!
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