We are in Hong Kong renewing our visas and taking care of some other business. We’re trying hard to make the most of our time here when in reality we would rather be home in China.
Nature walks are always something I have to be very deliberate about. Being away from home in an urban area makes it even harder! But it is true that nature is all around you. We found an oasis of animal life in an unlikely place — a pool of turtles in an apartment courtyard!
In Chinese culture, turtles are a symbol of long life (since they do, in fact, live long lives) and are commonly used in feng shui along with goldfish. But we don’t go in for superstitious ideas. We simply like to enjoy God’s creation.
I packed my Handbook of Nature Study, and back at home we read the part about turtles. Although we couldn’t precisely identify our kind of turtle from the handbook, we did learn some interesting facts! Sprite drew the turtle from a photograph I’d taken. For the nature journal, I gave her a list of key words from what we’d read in the Handbook of Nature Study. She had to include those words in her journal entry.
So, be encouraged. Nature is all around you! Keep looking for it.
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