We made the summer a regular pet-fest here, with plenty of mates for Russell the lizard. First there was “Climber” an interestingly colored beetle found on our patio that stayed alive for a remarkably long time in Luke’s bug house.
Then we happened upon an enormous puddle in a parking lot, brimming with tadpoles. We scooped up a cupful to take home and Nika and Papi helped the kids transfer them to the water table. A perfect home for the wiggly crew.
Here Luke is watching them happily swim as he eats breakfast the next morning.
We didn’t know what rate to expect for their transformation, but the fascinating process proceeded somewhat slowly giving us plenty of time to admire and photograph the pollywogs in various stages. First their legs appeared,
Then arms grew out and tails got shorter,
Finally they lost their tails entirely and started jumping out of the water. Funny little froggies – wait, I think they might be toads?
Our third little pet is still in transformation. The kids received a butterfly kit from my parents and sent away for the caterpillars a few weeks ago. We watched them hang from the top of their jar, harden into cocoons, and transferred them into a larger habitat. Now we’re just waiting for the butterflies to emerge!
I think this will be the last for a while in my series of posts on our southwest-y critters. Are you breathing a sigh of relief? Next up are some pics from our recent home projects and of course more kids on bikes. Now there’s a little time left in Eleanor’s nap, so I think I’ll pull out my autumn-y decorations to put up with the kids this afternoon! 
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