let’s call it science...

but in reality we call it life. Part of living is learning. Learning by discovery, by exploring, by observing, by touching, by seeing, by smelling even by tasting (but not in this case). One of my son’s morning chores is to put fresh water in the three birdbaths in the backyard. We have a birdfeeding station there also and enjoy watching the birds daily. From our dining table and family room, we are able to watch the birds come and go. The kids and I are pretty good at identifying the birds by their physical appearance but also by their behaviors and songs. We’ve been watching them for years. We have a running list of birds we see in our backyard and also a list of birds we have seen away from our home. This spring, we have the pleasure of watching several bird families raising their young. We have families of tufted tit mice, house finches, mockingbirds, Carolina wrens, Carolina chickadees and red-bellied woodpeckers.

Yesterday, Zach came in to tell me there were black dots in the pool. Much like these (this picture was taken today):



Upon further research we decided they were frog eggs. There were patches of them all over the pool. We have a frog living near our pool, and we had heard her the day before. The next time I see her (I’m assuming she's a she, and she's the one who laid the eggs), I need to identify her. So we put some in a jar with a little water, just to keep watch. Then I went and scooped the rest out – who wants to swim with frog eggs? Not me!



Last night, we checked on the eggs, and they had unfurled. I thought maybe they had died. But this morning you could see little tails and they were wiggling occasionally.



Also this morning, I went to check on the pool, and found more frog eggs, which were then scooped out. And while I was scooping I found this little dead baby bird.


(he has frog eggs on him)

This little one was too little to fly, and I have not seen a nest near enough for him to fall into the pool. I think maybe a predator had taken him and accidentally dropped him in the pool. So the kids watched while I turned him over and we observed his feathers, eyes, feet and opened his mouth. I asked Zach what kind of bird did he think it was. I was thinking Mockingbird, but I didn’t say anything. He said mockingbird, and after I asked why he pointed out his reasoning. Pretty good!

Now, if I had a dissecting kit (on my list of things to get), and I thought the kids could handle it, we would have opened up him.

I love sharing these moments with my kids. I love to see them learning by just living.