Lucia

Lucia Hi,Mrs Konik! If I were having lunch with Einstein, I would ask him why he was inspired to do what he did. I would also ask him if he ever dreamed about being famous someday.I wonder a lot about his childhood, about little things like if he lived near a body of water, or if he was a good student. If I could ask one more question, I would ask if he was proud of being who he was and if he was satisfied with his accomplishments. My mom has a book called Eintein's Dreams, and when I am old enough to read it I think it might answer some of my questions

Hi Lucia, These are wonderful questions! Choose several and begin doing some investigation. We look forward to reading what you learned. Happy sleuthing! Love, Mrs. Konik

Lucia: Okay, I'll try!!! :)

__Owl Pellets__ We __dissected__ owl pellets in class. I was exited about it, and was happy that we were able to do it independently, because I love the freedom that comes along with independence. If we do more studies like this, I hope they can be independent. When I heard we were going to __dissect__ owl pellets, I was exited, but also I didn't really know what to expect. After all, no one knows what will happen when they are about to __dissect__ something an owl has __regurgitated__,or thrown up. You might wonder how owl pellets are made, so I'll tell you. When an owl eats an __organism__, such as a __vole__, there are a few things the owl cannot __digest,__ like the hair and the bones. Those things are stored in a special stomache, so they are not poop. 6-8 hours later, the owl __regurgitates__ those things. As I began to dig in, after taking all the mesurments, I was searching for bones. I would dig and find little bones until I found a big bone, like a skull. Then I would excavate the bone, while extracting smaller bones that got in the way of the main find. This method proved to be very satisfactory, as I uncovered lots every day!I found a __vole__ in my pellet, like many others did. Finding so many __voles__ in the pellets told us the owl's main diet consisted of __meadow voles__. It also told us about an owl's job in our __ecosystem__. The owl is in charge of keeping the __population__ of rodents down. If owls weren't here, it would have a large impact on our __community__. It could change the whole __biospere__, and it would definately change the __habitat__ for many animals if mice ate all the grain! The owl has a very important job as the __apex__ __preditor__, so we should try to keep their numbers up. On the other hand, what if the rodent __population__ went downhill? The owls would have a very hard time adapting, because that's what their diet's made of. It would have been easier to recnstrut the pellets if we could have had one complete skeleton of one complete animal, but owls may eat a few things at once, and it all gaets mixed up in their special stomache. The owls live in a habitat that overlaps with their prey. __Voles__ live in wide open areas, so owls need to live near there to hunt. Now you know what to expect when you, if you ever do, __dissect__ owl pellets. Good luck with your finds!!! Lucia