We seem to be feast or famine when it comes to nature study, and I’ve come to accept that. When the opportunity to explore nature arises, we take it wholeheartedly. (Likewise, when the chances aren’t there, I refuse to feel guilt about it. ) So the weekly nature study hasn’t been our norm even though I love the concept. If we lived in a rural area, I think it would happen, but urban life honestly makes nature study more challenging.
During our overnight stay in the countryside, our friend took us to the river to find crabs. We didn’t find any crabs, but on our two hour walk each way, we had plenty of other nature finds!
We mostly walked through farmer’s fields like these.
But of course, we walked on the paths that keep you out of the paddies. We still ended up quite muddy, though. But that’s part of the charm of a nature walk.
Everywhere were ducks! And later we understood why.
We had seen these red balls at the riverbank near our home, but we couldn’t figure out what they were. Our friend told us they were snail eggs.
Once we started looking, we saw snails everywhere — small ones and huge ones.
After doing some research online, I realized why the ducks were in all the rice fields. They eat the snails! Too many snails can ruin the rice crop, but the ducks keep them at bay. (And people eat the large snails.)
A puppy followed us until we had to wade through water. Then he went back home.
We picked tangerines on the way for snacks. (Our friend told us which trees were his friends’ trees.)
We passed country homes and barns.
Finally we went down to the river bank and crossed over a grassy area with some pools of water. (It was basically a river’s equivalent of tide pools.) We ended up just taking off our socks and shoes and wading through the cold water. It was quite exhilarating.
This water buffalo chased us until it reached the end of its tether. Thank goodness we all got away! It was pretty scary, but of course made for lots of joking and brave stories later.
Wildlife was abundant — goats out to graze, a crayfish,
a strange insect among the river rocks, and birds flying in perfect formation.
We stood watching this dredging operation for quite a long time. The machines were picking up river stones from the riverbed and sorting them by size.
We caught a tiny catfish and even managed to get him all the way home. After keeping him for two days, we set it free in the little pond area in our own apartment complex. The Handbook of Nature Study calls this fish a bullhead fish.
Here is the nature journal page about the snails and their eggs.
Looks exciting.
.-= Martha´s last blog ..What a Spider of a Day =-.
That is a once in a lifetime type of experience. At least for us here in the states it would be. What a privilege to be able to see all of that.
Blessings
Diane
.-= Diane´s last blog ..Preparation =-.
Hi Jimmie,
Lovely post! It reminded me of the countryside in Southern India, although one would see buffaloes and cows roaming the streets in the Chennai streets:)
What a wonderful experience to live through as a family! Thanks for sharing this.
Oh, I had to laugh at the custom of having to sleep separate from the opposite sex…I have seen this to be the case while growing up in Chennai, India; especially during festivities or when many have to share a house or room and space would be limited. Usually women sleep together inside the rooms, with children and daughters, and men and sons, in the halls (living rooms)…..
-Subadra
http://bookslinksandmore.blogspot.com/
.-= Subadra´s last blog ..SYMPHONY OF SCIENCE =-.
What a wonderful post! I enjoyed all of the photos and Sprite’s nature journal pages are wonderfully done.
.-= Rhonda@LivingWater´s last blog ..Have You Visited the Heart of the Matter Forums? =-.
Fascinating!
.-= Sherry´s last blog ..Our New Lake Spot =-.
Wonderful! Wonderful! I love following along on your adventures. What wonderful life experiences your children are getting.
Blessings,
Dawn
.-= Dawn´s last blog ..Parents New Closet and Construction Continues… =-.
I guess I never thought about snails and whether they even came from eggs before! ha! It’s amazing what you can see and learn just by looking up close.
.-= Marsha´s last blog ..In a strait between here and there =-.
What a wonderful adventure! I love the photos… and learning so many new things. Thanks for sharing about your nature study!
.-= Dana´s last blog ..Stop Motion Animation =-.
What a fabulous time! I love that Sprite caught a duck. The water buffalo reminded me of when we lived in Guam. They had quite a few there. Sometimes you’d see them tied along side the road. And of course there was the one you could pay to ride in Chammaro Village.
.-= Stefanie´s last blog ..Tot School =-.
My children enjoyed this virtual nature walk in China–thanks so much for the tour! They know water buffaloes from Veggie Tales, lol. We all liked the giant snail best.
.-= *Kris*´s last blog ..Bedrock Samples =-.
What an awesome experience you have living (and homeschooling) in China! What amazing people and places you get to see! I left you an award on my blog. I love seeing updates here.
.-= Tara´s last blog ..I won an award! =-.
OMW, this looks like a dream! This field trip is AMAZING!
I have so loved following your blog. We have 2 daughters from China (Kunming and Jiaozuo via Philip Hayden Foundation in Tianjin) and it is a dream of ours to live in China for a while. All we need are a job for my husband and to sell our house (not asking too much am I? LOL). We have talked about it alot in the past couple weeks. I must admit, I am intimidated about homeschooling there–I’m sort of a book addict… I know I would need to pare down our collection QUITE a bit! How in the world did you pack to go there? I guess it would streamline my curriculum wouldn’t it?
Thanks for sharing!
.-= Charlene´s last blog ..Is your home cozy and warm? Are your children? =-.