How We Do Nature Study in the City

Nature Study can be challenging when you live in the middle of town or the city. I know...I live there:-) Sure there are state and county parks, small parks and such, but sometimes funds are limited and gas is too pricey and time is of the essence and, well...the countryside is often too far to go. So what do you do? Well, we explore our own "backyard". Okay...we don't have a backyard. We live in a small apartment with a courtyard/carport that is shared between two 4-plexes. But, it does have some flowers, trees, grass and birds..lots of birds. So on Wednesday, we decided to do a little Nature Study:-)


Here the girls have found some ants to observe. Thankfully the ants are outside...not in my apartment! A little while later Fiona decided to try the theory out if an ant can swim...it can!

This is a lovely burst of pretty in our rather concrete and drab grounds. She is a burst of color and fire in an otherwise bare spot. Look closely and you can see the fire within. Isn't she beautiful?

Aaaaah, Brenna...the snail whisperer. When most little girls would be getting creeped out by the sliminess of our snail friend here, Brenna is wooing it:-) She loves snails and looks for them every time she comes outside to play. She gladly showed her friend to me(I have some lovely pics of it, but blogger wouldn't let me upload as many as I would have liked...perhaps another day). I was informed by my hubby yesterday, that while I was out with my Mom for Mother' Day, Brenna placed a snail on her face...hmmm, a touch icky, but I'm glad she is not fearful.

Here is a picture of one of our many birds. We have two nests in this carport. They've been here every year since we began living here and I love watching them. This is Papa House Sparrow watching bravely over his little ones(the nest is in the upper right corner). I can hear them, but not see them...rats! He is a good Papa...he swoops if we get too close.

And lastly, Liam just couldn't be left out of the fun! He was walking back and forth between the patches of flowers and bird area. He would go see what his big sisters were checking out, then go back and look at some flowers, pointing and babbling. When he saw the Papa go flying out from his nest, well, he got quite excited:-) Aaaah, homeschooling...it can never start too young!

I hope you've enjoyed our little Nature Study tour. I certainly had fun sharing:-) Next week, we will be heading up to Yosemite for a very brief stay. It will be mine and the kids first time. I plan on making it a big Nature Study adventure. I will take lots of pics and share when we get back.

Have a blessed weekend!

Sommer