A few weeks ago the boys and daddy came home from a Sunday afternoon walk with a jam jar containing a little bit of frogspawn.
The sand pit was still waiting for some decent weather to let us give it it's annual spring clean, followed by some nice new sand for the summer, and so since it was sitting empty it was decided to fill it with water and turn it into a pond for the frogspawn, until they grow up anyway!
The boys kept an eager eye on the eggs and were very excited to see them hatch into tiny tadpoles after about 10 days.
The tiny tadpoles are now bigger tadpoles but still have no sign of the little legs growing on them.
Alasdair (3) decided to put that boat in the top left of the 'pond' in for the tadpoles because he thought they might like it. Turns out that they do actually quite like it as we often find them gathering underneath it!
It's funny to see how mesmerised they can all be just watching the tadpoles swim around. James (13) had a friend round today and they both sat with the other boys watching for a while!
Calum (10) has always been our biggest wildlife/animal fan. Today he decided to start keeping a journal of wildlife he sees throughout the summer.
He has divided his journal into three sections: what he sees in our garden; what he sees when we go back to Lewis in the summer; and what he sees anywhere else.
He made a start on the garden section today. As well as writing about the tadpoles, he has been keeping an eye on some Blue Tits. In the photo above, if you look at the shed at the back of the photo you can just make out a nesting box on the top left corner. About 6 weeks ago we were in the kitchen when we saw some Blue Tits flying in and out of it. We also noticed one of the birds sitting on top of a tennis ball on the grass. We realised that the tennis ball was burst (thanks to Auntie Anna's dog!) and that the bird was taking bits of the stuffing out and then taking it into the nesting box.
The birds are still flying in and out of the box, and although we can't see inside it, Calum has been researching in some of his bird spotting books where he learned that Blue Tits usually lay their eggs in April and May.
Will keep you posted about whether we see any baby birds!
As for the tadpoles, well Alasdair keeps telling people they are going to hop into our house when they turn into frogs!
I hope Alasdair is wrong - or maybe he'll be kind enough to help them ;)
ReplyDeleteYou have quite a good naturalist there! My 10 year old, Zachary, really likes Calum's drawing. (Zachary is our animal enthusiast! - Sarah will have to tell Calum about him this summer!)
ReplyDeleteHope you are feeling well, and enjoying these days...of that sweet baby growing!
I think one of the most precious sights to me is to see boys (and girls) enjoying tadpoles and nature. Even at age 52, I still think tadpoles are fascinating. I love Calum's journal. We had our kids keep nature journals when they were young... it is fun to see what they write and draw. Calum's drawing is very good, and enjoyed his writing very much. Alasdair's boat is a good idea, even tadpoles like a little hiding place don't they?
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