Swan Nesting

This is such an exciting piece of nature study for us!

Seriously I have never seen anything quite like it. We are so blessed, not only have we been able to witness the nesting of a pair of Black Swans, we've also met a lovely new to homeschooling family to study them with! And even better still their children are nearly the same ages as our younger two, don't you love that :-)

Anyway, back to the swans. Here they in full public view having built their nest at the far side of a large pond situated at the back of a park and playground area. So it certainly isn't a quiet spot for them that's for sure!

Everyone was mesmerized for quite some time just watching the swan protecting those eggs like her life depended on it. We were all quite surprised as to how close we were allowed to get to the nest. And the size of the nest, did you see it, it's huge!

They appear to have ripped up several clumping grass/reeds, as you can see in the background of this image and used those to build up the nest. Adding pieces of newspaper and other odds and ends as they find them no doubt.

On this particular day we only caught a very brief glimpse of the eggs, but just the other day our friends saw them in all their glory and there are a total of six. Let's hope that all six hatch and thrive.

We will be checking on these gorgeous creatures regularly and are itching to see some babies, hopefully very soon.

Crazy Clown Day ~ A Just For Fun Wordless Wednesday

Community Gardens

I've been trying to make a conscious effort to get out and about and explore what our amazing community has to offer. Many of things available have been around for awhile, but we've just never made it along to them.

Our local Community Gardens is one such place. I have watched this area transform over the past few years and every time we drive past I make a mental note to stop by there and have a look.

It took meeting a new homeschooling mum that attends the garden activities regularly to give me that nudge I needed :-) 

The volunteers that participate here have been really putting in huge amounts of effort over the years. The gardens are flourishing and brimming with a wide variety of produce.

When we visited, the regular kids fun time was happening. This week, they helped to transplant seedlings to be sold at an upcoming community fair, they mulched a newly planted garden bed and helped to dig out another new garden bed.

They even got the opportunity to do a little harvesting and tasting. This Kohlrabi, new to all of us, was most definitely enjoyed though. For me it's a cross between an apple and a radish.

We are all looking forward to our next visit to the Community Gardens. If you are nearby, stop by and have a look!

Do you participate in your local community garden area? Let me know if you do, I'd love to hear more about it.