Theme: Wild Animals

Well, this week didn't work out quite so well. We were a bit busier and didn't do any of our themed activities until Thursday. As I sit here blogging on Sunday afternoon there is still one craft we haven't got to, although if Toby's feeling creative when he wakes up I may give it a go. Also, I ordered one of those bug viewing boxes for Toby, with the magnifying glass in the top. It was returned to the sorting office on Monday because I wasn't in to take delivery. Graham finally picked it up for me on Friday, we excitedly unpacked it, and... the viewer was hopelessly blurry. So much for that bright idea.

Anyway, enough of the stuff we didn't do. On Thursday we made birdfeed cakes. This was one of the reasons I needed those 16 yoghurt pots! I punched a small hole in the bottom, poked a piece of string through and tied a nice chunky knot.

Then Toby helped me measure out 2 pots of breadcrumbs and 4 pots of birdseed. I melted a 250g block of lard (although I believe suet is recommended), poured it in and we stirred it all up. I guess the breadcrumbs compressed, because it actually only filled 5 yoghurt pots in the end.

They've been in the fridge for the past few days and I just got one out to check that it would actually come out of the pot! A few snips in the base and a shove, and it came out quite easily - and almost all in one piece.

The RSPB do a nice children's bird book with a "guess who?" format. Toby has enjoyed reading it even though it's a little advanced for him, so hopefully once we get some visitors to our birdseed we can use it to find out who they are.

Our outing was a trip to Attenborough Nature Centre, over towards Nottingham. It's a network of lakes formed from old gravel workings, bordered by the River Trent. Graham wasn't working that day so was able to join us, and we had a pleasant walk round. We investigated a variety of insects, even without the bug box.

Damselfly?

Looking at a snail

Scarlet lily beetle

One of those flies that wants to be a wasp

There were lots of water birds with their babies, from the ubiquitous mallards to swans, Canada geese, coots, and something I've tentatively identified as an Egyptian Goose.

Coot with babies

Egyptian goose

Look! Ducklings!

Teenage mallards

Finally, there was a kids' section inside with beautiful pokerwork wooden blocks and puzzles, lift-the-flap questions, and colouring sheets.

The last craft is set up and ready to go, so I'll update you with how that goes!

Comments

Mr White Watson of Bakewell

Once upon a time, back in 1795 or so, lived a man who was always asking questions. The kind of questions like, "Why is glass transparent?" or "Why do fruit trees grow better in that place than in this place?" or "What does the earth look like underneath the surface?" This last question was one that he was particularly interested in, and he went so far as to work out what the rock layers looked like where he lived, and draw little pictures of them. Now he was a marble sculptor by trade (as well as fossil hunter, mineral seller, and a few other things) so he thought it would be even better to make his little pictures in stone. That way he could represent the layers using the actual rocks they were composed of. Over the course of his lifetime he made almost 100 of these tablets, as he called them. Then he died. And no one else was quite as interested in all those rocks and minerals as he was. His collection was sold off, bit by bit, and the table...

Erewash Valley Trail: Strelley and Broxtowe

I'd had another four-week gap between walks (who invented half terms and inset days?), and was itching to get out on my explorations. The weather forecast optimistically predicted sunny spells. Unfortunately the weather hadn't got the memo; it was overcast for my entire walk, and then the sky cleared as I was driving home. Oh well. I arrived at the Nottingham Canal to find bulldozers buzzing up and down the towpath. The car park I'd intended to park in was closed for renovation, but there was a layby a little further up the road towards Cossall, so that was fine. The first part of the road had nice wide verges - easy walking - but after the canal bridge it was called Dead Lane, which felt descriptive. It was tightly hemmed in by hedges and I had to flatten myself against the hawthorn when cars passed. Cossall Road Dead Lane The bridleway to Strelley was mostly paved road, but blessedly traffic-free apart from a couple of bikes and a bin lorry performing manoeuvres. Tim Brin...

The Churnet Way: a wonderful walk

The loop from Oakamoor to Froghall and back was one of the most enjoyable walks I've done in a long time. It had a bit of everything: woods, ponds, rivers and railways; steep climbs and sweeping views; an unusual church, an ex-industrial wharf, and, as a final bonus, car parks with toilets. Of course, the sunny weather helped too. I parked in Oakamoor and set off along a quiet lane called Stoney Dale. This is the route of the Churnet Way, which deviates away from the river for a couple of miles. After a while I turned right and climbed up through the woods on a gravelly path, then dropped down to the B5417. a spring in Oakamoor Crossing the road, I entered Hawksmoor Nature Reserve. It has some fine gateposts commemorating John Richard Beech Masefield, "a great naturalist". I found a photo of the opening of the gateway in 1933; unsurprisingly, the trees have grown a lot since then! A track took me down through the woods to East Wall Farm. Lovely view! Nice duck pond as ...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog