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5/3/2022

Haikus

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Joke of the Week: Why do cowboys write poetry?
-Answer is below.

Some of the students at Roving Learners started writing poetry a couple of weeks ago. Today, they took off with haikus. They quickly caught on and whipped up some lovely poetry. Below are some of their haikus, listed in alphabetical order by author's name.

The waves come and go
On the shore revealing shells
In the baking sun.
- Cade

A puppy in rain,
I help it out of the rain,
It splashed in the rain.
-James

From day to the night,
Fireflies take flight to the night,
From night to day.
-Jeremy

As I walk outside
I am hit with the hot air
So I walk back in.
-Phoenix

Humid summer day
Heat messes up horizon
Cactus blooms flowers.
-Sean

The sun is shining,
School is out finally June,
Summer is now here.
-Talia

My tenth birthday was. . .
It was a hit, I got a
Pool and an iPad.
-Vivian

Answer to the joke: Because they're inspired by the moos!

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1/31/2020

Roving Through L'Oca d'Doro

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Joke of the week: What do you call a fake noodle?
*Answer is below

By Charlie Boyle, Brayden Brown, Pepper Toft and Silas Weber

On Wednesday, January 29th, the Roving learners went to an Italian farm to table restaurant. We got to try some of the food. The restaurant’s name is L’Oca d’Oro. Sundays they are open at 4pm to 9pm, Mondays through Wednesdays they are open at 5pm to 9pm, Thursdays through Fridays are open at 5pm to 10pm and Saturdays are open 4pm to 10pm.

When we got there, we took a tour with the owner, Adam Orman. Adam said when you walk in you are greeted by a host or hostess and they ask how may I help you and how many people are in your group. You then tell them how many. Then they put the information in a tablet and then they say please follow me to the table that you will sit at.

After you sit down, your waitress or waiter comes up and says hi, then introduces themselves. They also say what would you like to drink. Then you tell them what you want to drink. They write it down so they don’t forget, they take it to the kitchen and then the bartender makes it. The waiter (waitress) then brings out your drink. Then they ask what would you like to eat. You tell them what you want, for example Straciatella (which is a type of cheese). They go in the kitchen and tell someone standing on a clear rubber mat of to the side your order. They put the order on a tablet to print on a check. They yell fire and then the order. The cooks make the order. The cooks have a grill with a loud exhaust fan that pulls the smoke out of the building.

They have walk-in refrigerator. They keep food in there like, cheese, ice cream and even a pig's head. The pigs ears were frozen in an upright position. There is another room that the cooks use to make ingredients that they can’t make in the kitchen because of the lack of space.
When your done eating you ask for the check and you pay how much money it is plus tax and tip. If you don’t tip, you are being a jerk. You are being a jerk because your not giving any money to the waiter or waitress.

We also got to smell some of the spices. We got to eat some Straciatella, two types of chocolate and four types of nuts. One of the chocolates was dark chocolate and the other was milk chocolate. The four types of nuts we ate was hazel nut, cashews, peanuts and pistachios.
My favorite thing about the restaurant was that it was a farm to table restaurant. A farm to table restaurant is a restaurant that gets their produce from local farms. You can go there with your family for dinner, drinks and dessert. It is a very nice place to go. When your eating your food, the owner sometimes works there and you might see him. I love L’Oca d’Oro.

Answer to the joke of the week: An impasta!

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8/30/2019

Texas Animals that Chow on Rodents

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Joke of the Week: Did you hear about the cat that swallowed the ball of wool?
*Answer is below the pictures.

By Brayden Brown

There are three animals that are important to decreasing the rodent population. The coyote, bobcat, and the feral cat. Coyotes that live in the southern United States are ninety one percent coyote, four percent wolf and five percent domestic dog. The bobcat has an excellent sense of smell, hearing, and eyesight. Cats will hunt rodents in houses and barns.

When coyotes form packs it's never for very long. Female coyotes will line the den with grass. The mother gives birth to a litter of five to six pups. The coyote live mostly in grassland with other animals like the bison, elk, and pronghorn. The coyotes moved from the grassland to forests. The coyotes range has grown because they also live in the city. When coyotes are scavengers.

Bobcats are most active during dawn or dusk. They hunt during that time to. When bobcats hunt they usually bite the shoulders or neck. Bobcats eat bigger animals more frequently in winter because smaller food is scarce. Bobcats eat many types of animals like foxes, and rodents. When they hunt a certain animal they change their hunting style accordingly. The bobcat likes the woods but also lives in the desert of Texas. Were they live, also depends on whether or not there is shelter and if there is enough food. The sight of bobcats in suburban areas has increased because it has gotten easier to get food, water, and shelter.

There is a myth that feral cats have rabies, but this is not true. The main cause are bats, raccoons, and foxes. Another myth is that the humans solution is to shoot feral cats. Again not true. Millions of people around the world give food and drink to these cats. Feral cats will hunt and eat birds, rodents, and rabbits. They will also eat game birds up to two pounds as well as chicken. Feral cats take shelter in abandoned buildings. Feral cats rely on their own hunting ability. They hunt alone, but sometimes form groups that have many adult females.
The coyote, bobcat, and feral cat are important to decreasing the rodent population. The coyote hunts rodents to feed to their young. Bobcats are most active and hunt during dawn and dusk. Feral cats will hunt rodents in barns. These animals help get rid of the population.

Bobcat at the Austin Nature and Science Center

Roving Learners exploring the Austin Nature and Science Center

Answer to the Joke of the Week: It had mittens!

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5/9/2019

Dinosaur Tracks at the San Gabriel River

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Joke of the Week: Why did the dinosaur cross the road?

On April 29th the Roving Learners were deciding if they should go to the San Gabriel River in Leander, Texas while we were at Home Base. John said it was going to take 45 minutes and it did take a long time to get to our destination. When we got there, we ate lunch right next to a road. John gave me the job of walking Eudog during the hike.

Once we were done with lunch we started to walk up the river. We went under a highway and under the ruins of a little bridge. While we were walking, we saw a man that was fly fishing. We had to walk around him or we would scare away the fish that he was fishing for.

On the hike, Brayden and I switched jobs. Brayden got Eudog and I got Hunter. After some more walking, we got to a body of water where we were going to play. While we were playing, Brayden helped me with Hunter a lot. Hunter wanted to be on a big rock that everyone was on. While she was on the rock, John dunked me into the water. We played for a long time, but then we had to go.

We continued hiking. Up ahead there was a deeper pool of water, where we were going to play. A little while later, we spotted real dinosaur tracks. We saw them on some rocks and they had lots of talons. It was super cool that we got to see Dinosaur tracks

Then we got to an area to play, there was a deep place to swim and there was a shallow place to swim. The Olders played in the deep end with their Littles. Phoenix and I opened our eyes underwater. The water was very clear and didn't hurt at all. Hunter, Brayden and I stayed in the river for a while, while everybody else got out. Hunter wanted to go into the deep end. We did some cool tricks with her. After a while of playing, John gave us some snacks, liked the dried banana and a fig that John gave me. It was very fun, sadly we had to go. We drove to back Homebase and it was a very fun trip.

I thought that the dinosaur tracks were the coolest thing. My favorite part of getting in the water, was getting dunked by John Thoms and playing. It was fun playing with Hunter and opening my eyes underwater. It was so fun. I hope to go back there again.

Bridge Ruins

Mid-River Rest Stop

Dinosaur Track . . .Theropod?

Answer to the Joke of the Week:
Because chickens hadn't evolved yet!

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4/25/2019

Fun at St. Edward's Park

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Joke of the Week: What do you get when you cross a four leaf clover with poison ivy?
*Answer is below the pictures.

by Brayden Brown

On Monday, April fifteenth, the Roving Learners went to St. Edward’s Park. We waded, swam, played on a log and got dunked by John. We also made fish food out of algae. The algae was kind of mucky and slimy. But we had lots of fun doing it.

When we got there we ate lunch. After lunch we started hiking. While we were walking,I saw some poison ivy. Before this, at Home Base, we took a poison ivy quiz. We took the quiz because we are going to be around the stuff a lot over the summer, so we need to know how to identify it. We continued hiking until we got to the creek. When we got to the water we started walking.

We waded through the creek full of rocks. We did that until we got to land. We got to a small rocky bank, put our stuff down and played in the water. At the swimming hole there is deep water and shallow water. There is also a log that some of the Olders played on. I had to stay in the shallow water because my Little does not know how to swim. After a while John walked over and then… he pushed me into the water. I broke the surface laughing. John stomped over to me, I stumbled backward tripped and fell. John started laughing. I thought it was funny too.

John said it was time to continue so we did. We hiked up a little splash pad like creek. Then we came across another small bank. We sat our stuff down and, you guessed it, we played. We found a blocked off section of the creek and started playing in it. The blocked off section has lots of big rocks that we could sit on and talk. Also a little farther back is some land that we could have played on, But we did not.

While we were there we played PTP. PTP stands for Pepper, Theo, Phoenix. It is a game where we collect algae, dry it and then put it on sticks and then we went fishing. We collected algae and dried it. We did that for a while and then my Little and I got called to Pepper’s rock. She said that our “fish food" was phenomenal and that she wanted us to work at PTP full time. I consulted with my Little and we agreed that we would work there full time. We told her yes, so we were hired. Almost everybody was playing PTP that day except for Sal and Terran. Then John said it was time to leave, so we gathered our stuff and trekked back.

That day was one of our best excursions yet, or so John says. I think it was great because of all the fun everyone had. I had fun with my Little and working at PTP. I also had fun during the car ride there as well as the car ride back. If you want to follow in the Roving Learners foot steps, here is a link to the Saint Edward’s Park website and their address so you can rove, just like us.
https://austinparks.org/stedwards-park/
7301 spicewood springs Rd, Austin, Texas 78759

Hiking the Creek

Falling Off the Log

Collecting Algae

Resting Pups

Answer to the Joke of the Week:
A rash of good luck!

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4/11/2019

Return to Williamson Creek

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Joke of the Week: What is the insect's favorite game?
* Answer is below the pictures.

By Pepper Toft

On April 5th, we went back to Williamson Creek. When we got to the creek we found fossils, trash and animals. While we were in the water we also found fossils like ammonite and more. While we in the water it was getting deeper and deeper the further we walked.

When we got to John's house we ate lunch. After lunch we played with our Littles. I was buddied up Ciel. Ciel was playing with Uma and Sal. They were picking up crickets and forcing them to eat Theo’s half eaten apple. While we were playing, John was washing the van and he decided to drench me with hose water. After we played for a while we went down to the creek.

At the bank of the creek we found 11 huge brown trout. I started to walk in the water to see how close I could get to them. After that John decided we were going on the water route instead of going on the land route. We waded through the water.

While we were in the water John found a 2 foot long snake in the water. When we got to land I found a leech in a small ditch filled with water. We were back in the water it was so deep the littles had to swim. Before we knew it we were back to land and we found fossils, CD’s and other trash; like, candy bar wrappers, rubber bands and more. We tried to skip the classical music CD’s across the water.

I had a good time at the creek. After lunch we played with our Littles. My little was Ceil. She was playing with Uma and Sal. They were picking up crickets and forcing them to eat Theo’s half eaten apple. We found some CD’s and tried to skip them across the water. My favorite thing about this excursion was the deep water part.

Answer to the Joke of the Week: Cricket!

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4/4/2019

Turkey Creek

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Joke of the Week: Why did the turkey cross the road?
*Answer below the pictures.

by Silas Weber

When we were at home base on March 25th, we were planning where we were going to go. We looked at John’s book, named, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles 3rd Edition. We will be using this book for lots of other hikes. We looked at a few and we settled on Turkey Creek, so that's where we went. We decided which Littles we would buddy up with. Mine was Ciel.
It took us a while to get to Turkey Creek and our ears were popping because we were at over so many tall hills and deep valleys. As soon as we got there, the thing that you notice first is all the beautiful trees and plants. We looked for the trail but we couldn't see it.
We saw a map of the trail soon after. We looked for a while. We could figure it out. But it was hard because there was a lot of symbols that represented things, like it had a blue marker when we were crossing the creek. We figured it out because we could see the parking lot and there was a trail on the corner so we went there and sure enough there was a trail. While we were walking, all the plants made shade for us and it was a very hot day so we were very cool. Over all, the shade made the trip better.
Once we were walking for a very long time we found a dead tarantula. The back of it was crushed and there were guts on it. It was cool because it was our first animal we saw. It was small and and John said that it was rare around Austin. It looked like a baby. I thought that the plants and wildlife was the coolest things of the trip; like the tarantula, bugs and beetles. I saw a butterfly, and most of all the plants and trees. Except there were plants that we had to watch out for, like Poison Ivy and Poison Oak. We didn’t go off the trail because John said to not touch the greenery. Sadly, we just went where we were supposed to go. I think that it was sad because there was so many cool places to explore that we couldn't go to.
In the middle of the hike we stopped near a creek and John made us sit. I sat up on a hill. We had to close our eyes and stay completely still. Once we were done we had to tell John what we heard the most. I heard the wind and the creek and a tree that sounded like it was going to fall over. We had to go back because we were out of time. We had to cross the creek. It was fun to cross the creek because we had to jump across stones.
I thought that the plants and trees were the coolest thing. I also thought that the tarantula was very cool. I also liked the other wildlife; like the bugs and beetles, the dead tarantula and a butterfly. I thought that the creek was cool.

Overflowing Dam

Pups Drinking Turkey Creek Water

Climbing Around the Creek Bank

Answer to the Joke of the Week:
To prove he wasn't a chicken!

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3/28/2019

My Spring Break in Lima, Peru

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Joke of the week: What do you get if you stand between two llamas? *Answer is below the pictures.

By Phoenix Johnson

On the 11th of March, I went to Lima, Peru. I got to have an extra long spring break. My dad, sister and I took two planes to get to Lima. We had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta, Georgia. From start to finish, it took around fourteen hours to get to Lima, Peru. We landed in the nighttime and I noticed many buildings and lights.

There were many things to do in Lima. We spent around three hours at the beach. The waves were really big there. We went shopping at different markets and stores. I got a lot of stuff. We went to many different statues, a cool one was made by Victor Delfin. I also went swimming at the hotel pool.

We ate tons of tasty food. We went to a famous ceviche restaurant that Anthony Bourdain rated on his show, Parts Unknown. It was really tasty. We also went to the restaurant at the hotel. It was really good. They had a lot of fresh fish. The night we walked into the hotel, the lady gave us free tickets for milk and cookies. One night we ordered the cookies and milk. They tasted Yummy. They were Peruvian style cookies.

They have a lot of traditions in Peru. I'm going to name some of them. They like to make colorful llama stuffed animal toys that are sometimes fluffy. Then they sell them at stores. Another tradition is to have a nice festival to celebrate saints with people wearing bright colors and dancing. One other tradition is to offer payments to the earth.

Lima, Peru has a lot of architecture that is really cool. There are a lot of cool statues that are really big. There are a lot of pretty and big buildings in Peru. But there are also a lot of small broken down buildings and houses. Some of the buildings are weird shapes. While we were there, we went to see this really beautiful church. It was huge.

While I was in Lima, I spent three hours at the beach. I went to a famous ceviche restaurant. A tradition in Lima, Peru, is to offer payments to the Earth. I bought a lot of cool stuff while I was there. Lima, Peru has very cool architecture, some of the buildings are strange shapes. Some of the buildings are shaped like cylinders and cubes. All of my trip was very fun.

My Llama

El Beso, by Victor Delfin

Answer to the Joke of the Week: llamanated!

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3/14/2019

Fossils at Williamson Creek

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Joke of the Week: Why are there old dinosaur bones in the museum? *Answer is below the picture.

By Charlie Boyle

My school went to Williamson Creek to find fossils. We went there on the 8th of March, 2019. We hiked to a rocky bank where there are fossils. My friend, Silas, found pyrite, also, known, as fool's gold. Then Silas asked John to cut it open. The pieces of pyrite flew everywhere. We couldn't find the other pieces. I found two pieces of pyrite and gave it to John to look at.

We started hiking across the field into the woods and to the creek. Then we walked beside the creek. We walked on stepping stones across the shallow water. While we waited for Brayden, John and Oscar to get across the creek, we threw rocks into the water. Brayden, John and Oscar crossed the creek. We hiked up a steep slope and walked through the tall grass onto sand. Then we walked on some rocks and onto a bridge made out of sticks.

The fossils we find are made out of rock. They are preserved remains of sea creatures. Most fossils look like seashells. I like fossils because they use to be sea creatures, but now they are in rock. Fossils can be lots of different sizes. Some fossils are small, some fossils are big. Fossils can be heavy and fossils can be light depending on if there hollow or solid. Some fossils are shaped like a spiral. Fossils can be shaped like a snail shells.

We started hiking back. It felt like a long time hiking back. All the Olders were carrying fossils that were heavy. We put all the fossils that we found on the right side of John’s door step. Then we loaded up and left. We played a game called the license plate game on are way back to school. The license plate game is a game where you find different license plates of different states. We found three license plates that day.

Some of the fossils we found at Williamson Creek

Answer to the Joke of the Week: Because they can't afford new ones!

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3/7/2019

Texas State Aquarium at the Capitol

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Joke of the Week: What do you call a fish without an eye? *Answer below the pictures

By Brayden Brown

On Wednesday, February 13th, the Roving Learners went to a small event hosted by Texas State Aquarium. The event was at the Texas State Capitol. We met a baby alligator, a tortoise, a starfish and some seahorses.

When we got there, we hung out around the Capitol. John wanted me and Phoenix to ask where the animals were. We went over and asked someone associated with the aquarium. The guy said that the animals were coming. We went back to tell John that. He told us to go back and ask when the animals would be arriving. We went back over to figure it out. The dude said that the animals would be arriving in thirty to forty minutes.

John said that he would buy us lunch because we were very good for Lulu the day before. Lulu is the Littles literacy teacher. John had ordered us lunch at the Capitol. He ordered it from Mi Madres.

When we were done eating lunch, we went over to the event. When we got to the event we scattered. The first thing I saw was the starfish and seahorses. Next I went to see a tortoise. The tortoise is pretty big with a faint pattern on its carapace shell. When I was done with the tortoise I went and saw Sarah the baby alligator. I think her name is Sarah because she looks like a Sarah. She has, I think, four other siblings at the aquarium; so, it's hard to tell. I went back to the starfish and seahorse. While I was there I saw that one of the seahorses was pregnant.

   What I like about seahorses is what makes them extraordinary from other animals. It is that the males give birth instead of the females. I think that is cool because no other animal in the world does that. That is why it’s so extraordinary. I also like them because they can change color to camouflage. That is cool because not many animals do that.

I think tortoises are cool because they have a cool carapace shell with a pattern on it. I also think tortoises are cool because unlike the turtle they don’t live in water. But like a turtle the tortoise is a reptile. I think the patterns on their shell are like zebra stripes, every shell pattern is different. I think that's how they can tell each other apart.

When I was at the seahorses a second time a news reporter came up to me and asked me my name age and school. I pointed to John with his Roving Learners shirt on and told him that is are teacher then he went away. John asked me if I had told him the schools name. I said no but that I had pointed to him.

The Roving Learners left. We walked across some streets, passed some buses and finally got to the van. We loaded up and left.

The Roving Learners went to the Capitol to see the event hosted by Texas State Aquarium. We got lunch at Mi Madres, and learned about tortoises and american alligators. All in all the day went pretty well. I was really happy about how the day went and I’m sure John was too.