Creatures featured at school

Carol Nageotte from the Douglas County Public Library brought Julie Allen of Creepy Crawly Creatures of Sacramento for Family Literacy Night at Pinon Hills Elementary School last week. Julie was here to support the Catch the Reading Bug and Nature's Critters reading programs and to tell the importance of bugs' jobs.

Julie showed the kids a giant millipede from the rain forest of central Africa. She said millipedes are decomposers because they eat dead leaves and their excrement produces soil. They are dark in color, nocturnal and they have more than 200 legs. She explained symbiosis (like they have mites that live on them to survive) but by this point I was kind of itchy and didn't really want to hear more about the millipede. Elijah Smith and Ali Sciffoni actually held these bugs " ick.

First-grader Megan Smith got up close and personal with beetle babies. Creepy Crawly is a good name for Julie's business. Andrew Brown and Nancy Rodriguez held Rosy, the rosy-haired tarantula that Julie guaranteed doesn't bite. Ian Camillo held an albino hedgehog that has more than 3,000 quills.

Isabelle Gavin and John Ketron let the Texas red rat snake crawl all over their arms, shoulders and even into their shirts. They were really brave.

Julie Allen said this rat snake eats mice and mice can have around 20 babies and three months later have 20 more. In two years that could account for one million baby mice. So rat snakes are good for us. This rat snake had two mice in her that night. In her lifetime of about 10 years, she will have eaten about 1,000 mice. Yep, it's a rough job, but someone has to do it.

Thank you so much to Douglas County Public Library for sponsoring such an informative night of celebration of literacy at Pinon Hills Elementary.

Upcoming events at Pinon Hills

The spring music concert is 5:30 p.m. May 13 for kindergarten, first and second grades and at 7 p.m. for third and fourth grades.

The school's ice cream social is 6 p.m. May 16. Don't forget to buy your tickets ahead so you don't have to wait in the long line.

You can call the school for more information at 267-3622.

n Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.