Author: Nathaniel

Nathaniel is the main trumpet player for Longbow and handles much of the blog work. He is currently being homeschooled through high school.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Yesterday, Nicholas and Stephen took Veronica, Robert, Christopher, Anne, and I to the library.  We had reserved some books, but we like to look through the books anyway so we stayed there for a while.  We started to go home and everything seemed normal.  Then I noticed that we were nearing one of the movie theaters.  I thought maybe Stephen and Nicholas were going to check out the playing time for the Avengers, as we were planning to go see it on Sunday.  We went to the theater and then everyone realized: we were going to see the Avengers!  We had a great time and it was a very good movie.  The rest of the family will go on Sunday so we have to make sure we don’t give away any spoilers.  Sunday seems so far away.  People might explode from excitement and anticipation.

Pineapples

Not only am I the main blogger, but I am also kinda the family gardener.  I also try to see what I can grow like the fresh basil or some flowers, and like weeding the plants to make sure they grow.  When we where at the Botanical Gardens in Naples I saw this.Naples-20130510-01618  A couple of weeks ago we were eating pineapples and I figured I would save the tops and see if I could grow them.  I did some research and as it turns out they are really durable and, as long as you plant them, they will grow with very little care.  I planted mine about a month ago and look at them now!IMG_2849IMG_2852See these little leaves in the middle?  Those are fresh sprouts.  They may not look like much now but they are supposed to grow up to be a meter around.  Just wait and see.  I also stopped Christopher and Robert from moving down these!IMG_2856Pretty aren’t they?  I’m trying to get them to grow all along the fence.  We’ll see how that goes.

Lizards

When we lived back in Ohio there were plenty of (small) birds, snakes (the non-poisonous kind), toads, tree frogs, racoons, moles, and every now and then you could see a rabbit, or deer in your backyard.  When we came to Florida we noticed that there were not as many of these animals.  Sure there are frogs, snakes, and racoons, but I see them less often in Florida.  There are plenty of  birds, but there are birds everywhere.  Plus since we came down here have not seen a single mole hole or deer in in the backyard. I have, however, seen these!IMG_2815 lizardsIMG_2805IMG_2800IMG_2792 lizardsThese lizards are all over the place!  We see them everywhere, next to the pool, in all our plants, and sometimes in the house!  What’s really cool is that we can sometimes see them fighting.  It’s very interesting, and if I ever see them fighting and I have a camera on hand I will be sure to film it for you.

The Man Behind the Blog

So far I have kept the identity of the man writing this blog a secret, but at urgings from my father, (and just because it makes sense) I have decided to introduce myself.  My name is Nathaniel; I am fourteen, and aspiring to be a writer.  I started writing this blog because my father said it would improve my writing skills, and I think he was right.  Then again, it doesn’t matter what I think only what the people who read my blog think.  For the most part I will be writing the blog, but sometimes my brothers and sisters will help to write it and when they do I won’t tell so you have to guess.  That way, if someone complains about something on the blog I can blame it on them.  Not really, I will introduce their work like I do with the Sunday comic.  Normally I might put a real picture of me up, but I like this one better.Nathaniel Close2Stephen drew this picture of me.

Park Adventures

One day Jonathan, Nathaniel, Christopher, Robert, and Veronica were playing at the park when they saw a group of hawks circling the trees.  They wanted to get a better look so they ran up to the top of the of the playground.  Once there, they saw an osprey swoop down and snatch a squirrel out of a tree.  The osprey flew down below the trees, and pinned the squirrel beneath his powerful talons.  The squirrel fought back writhing and snarling but to no avail.  The osprey’s crushing talons and tearing beak quickly ended the squirrels short life.  Then the osprey raised his wings and screeched a screech of triumphant, and taking his deceased prey he flew away.Red-OspreyLongboat4

Jackie Robinson Spiking. Racially Motivated or Otherwise?

Today I will tell you Joe McDonald’s take on the Jackie Robinson story.

As you may remember, Mr. McDonald was batboy for the Cardinals when Enos Slaughter spiked Jackie Robinson at Ebbets Field.  Since Mr. McDonald sat in the opposition dugout he had a great view of the game.  Mr. McDonald saw everything and his opinion is that the spiking was unintentional.

According to Mr. McDonald, Jackie Robinson was not a trained first baseman.  When the Dodgers brought him up to the major leagues, they played him at first.  Mr. McDonald explained that there is a different way to hold your feet so you are less likely to get spiked (who knew?).  Most stories make it seem like the spiking was racially motivated, but Enos Slaughter denied it. He said it was just because of his rough playing style.  As Mr. McDonald said to Mom and Dad, “Was Enos a racist? Maybe, but the spiking was unintentional.”

So there you have the scoop on the spiking of Jackie Robinson. Here is one more of Mr. McDonald’s rings.images.duckduckgo.commIt has nothing to do with the story at hand, but I thought it was pretty cool.