Blue Heron Nature Walk

Great Blue Heron

 

A friend of mine who blogs posted pictures on Facebook recently of a nature trail right outside our town. It's part of the national Rails to Trails project, in which former railroad tracks are converted to walking trails. Kudos to whoever came up with this plan!

My daughter Beezy and I checked out the Wabash Cannonball Trail in NW Ohio on Monday. It was such a beautiful day, and I didn't feel like doing the usual lessons. When you crave a bit of nature, give in! My powers of intuition have been highly tuned lately, and our timing turned out perfectly. From a bridge on the trail that sits above the road we came in on, I looked down to see a very tall bird standing in a roadside stream. Another walker came along, and I motioned him over to take a look. He told us that the bird was a Blue Heron. What good fortune! It stayed where it was for a long time.

All of Beezy's practice using the camera over the summer paid off, because she was able to get much better still shots than I was, and she recorded a wonderful video of the heron taking off in flight. When we came back home, I felt refreshed, so after lunch we proceeded to have our lesson time, and I easily found online information and short documentaries on this grand bird. Tuesday it rained all day, so I was glad I had followed my instincts. Once I get the photos developed, they will go into Beezy's nature notebook.

This focus on relationships with God's creation lies at the heart of a Charlotte Mason education. Natural science studies should be largely a hands on prospect. Homeschoolers have the freedom to go exploring when the mood or the opportunity strikes. I cannot emphasize enough how well this gentle art of learning benefits our family and our relationships with one another. I can teach from a place of rest, and my child can learn in a likewise manner.

Praying Mantis

 

Kestrel Encounter

Earlier this week Beezy came running to tell me that our outdoor cat, Prince, had wounded a really beautiful bird. "We have to help it!" she exclaimed. The creature was on its back, staring up at us, so I got some thick gloves and turned it over. I was surprised when it turned its head back around to face me, like an owl. Is its neck broken, I wondered? Beezy's cousin was visiting. The girls fetched a basket, and as I tried to transfer the bird to it, he fluttered to a bush and out of sight.

A few minutes later, the girls had the bird in the basket and on the front porch. "I think this is a kestrel," I said, amazed. I only knew this because a friend of ours has been posting pictures on Facebook of kestrels from a tree in his yard. Beezy was gently caring for the bird by using a spray bottle to give it water. The cousins decided to try to feed him wild strawberries, but I realized with a sinking feeling that we wouldn't be able to feed this bird of prey unless we could catch some mice!

I called our vet, who told me to call the police station and get the number for the Department of Natural Resources. The operator got Officer Tom on the line, and before long, he was at our house to pick up the bird, a male kestrel, one of three true falcons. The others are the martin and the peregrine. I had to admire the cat for catching a falcon, but oh dear! Officer Tom was worried that the bird was pretty non-responsive. If he had brain damage, he would have to be put down. The girls had both touched his talons, which evidently was a dangerous thing to do, as these birds are also known as chickenhawks! The talons could have dug in and been extremely difficult to remove, designed as they are by God to grab an entire chicken.

Ironically, I had been worried about not spending enough time out in nature with my child and missing out on learning experiences. And here Nature came knocking right on our door. I heard the song of the kestrel from a video our friend took of the birds at his house and realized that we have more of them living in close proximity to our property. In fact, one just landed on my fence with something in its mouth!

Beezy took some videos yesterday of two of them at the top of our TV antenna, one with what appeared to be a frog. I had been thinking that the birds were especially loud this year, and now I know why! I think Charlotte Mason herself would have been duly impressed with our nature studies. The kestrel, who was named Sarah before we knew he was a boy, was alive as of the day before yesterday, but I did not get a call back after leaving a message with Officer Tom yesterday. So please keep Sarah in your prayers!

Everyday Minuets #2

Today was "Kids Day" at our county fair, which means that every school in the county was closed, leaving all the children free to converge upon the fairgrounds on the same day. I believe kids got in free, and they could ride all the rides they wanted for the price of one wristband. While I certainly understand the economic convenience, especially for large families, going to the fair on Kids Day, to me, qualifies as sheer madness. But it was so peaceful in town, so homeschooling on the porch was not compromised by neighborhood children, even though they had the day off. Maybe it's a result of having lived in a large city for 20 years, but purposely exposing myself to crowds of people, the smell of disgusting carny food, long lines, and what qualifies for traffic here simply no longer appeals to my senses.

Instead, I was dying to get out of town and connect with nature! So Beezy, my husband and I set out to a rural park with two ponds which connect under an old, wooden bridge (perhaps this actually qualifies as one pond, but it looks like two). Beezy was really wanting to look for turtles, and we happily spotted several, many of which were cute little babies. We have been reading the American Girl book, Kaya's Hero, and last week we read that a Nimiipu Indian baby had on a diaper made of cattail fluff. Beezy could not remember what cattails were at the time, so it was marvelous to find them at the pond today and be able to take a couple home. There is that segue style learning in action once again!

 George Bible Park, Ohio

We also found a tree frog, which Beezy had the patience to catch (it was a fast little thing!), and then while we were sitting on a fallen log still communing with the frog, I spotted two deer. My husband saw that there were three. Since they were perfectly still, I assume they spotted us first! A doe and two fawns. We also discovered two teepees that someone had made from sticks, which were really cool, and we collected leaves. My husband knows his trees, so we will be able to label them for our collection. Of course there were squirrels, dragonflies, butterflies, and waterbugs, and we also brought home a patch of bright green moss. Fresh air and exercise amongst the trees and God's woodland creatures--that has got to beat long lines, deafening noise, and hordes of people any day!

We'll still spend at least one day at the fair this week. Beezy loves the animals, and I look forward to the homemade doughnuts every year!!