~Nature Study in the City~

My children and I love to be outside.  It is not unusual for our family to plan a vacation to a location where we spend our time outdoors.  Since we love being in nature, we try to take our school outside as much as possible.

~Seed pods from our Golden Rain Tree~

There is so much to learn from nature…so many things to discover.  I can see order, balance, and so many discoveries awaiting to be found.  But in addition to those things, I can see the hand of God.  He is found in the sunset.  He is found in the butterfly fluttering amongst the flowers.  He is found in the small seed that springs forth and yields a bounty of green beans.  He is there in nature and it is there that I am drawn closer to Him and stand in awe of His greatness and creativity. 

 Even those of us in the city can see nature though we may be limited on the number of trees and critters as opposed to those in the country.  Our family recently witnessed a wonderful event.  Today I want to share that with you.

A few weeks back, I noticed a busy little bird flying by my window as I was typing away on the computer.  She kept going back and forth so I looked out to see what was all the fuss.  I saw her fly into my fern that was hanging on the front porch.  Each time she would fly to the fern, she had a small twig or straw that she would deposit into the fern.  She spent all day working and I was sure that she was building a nest.

I told the children about what I had seen and warned them that we would not water that fern or disturb that fern in anyway.  We discussed how if we waited patiently, we would possibly see a miracle of God happen right outside our front door.

For a few days, I did not see the momma bird anymore and I worried that the noise of a home with five children had possibly frightened her away.  So we checked the fern to see what she had left.  That was when we saw a nest containing one small speckled egg.  We promptly hung the fern back up and did not touch it again.  

~The little left behind egg~

For the last few weeks, I have listened to momma bird sing.  My children had even gotten to know her song.  We would hear her song, and my children would say, “Momma bird is singing again.” Then we saw her bringing bugs and worms to the fern and we knew that just inches away, there were baby birds. 

Last Saturday, I set out to work on my front flower beds which are a few feet away from the fern and I heard a commotion going on above my head.  I looked up to see a baby bird clinging to the screen of our window and momma bird close by “encouraging” him to fly.  I saw his brothers and sisters sitting in the cedar tree nearby awaiting his flight as they soared away from their safe little home.  I called my children over and we watched in awe as the little birds flitted & fussed and tried out their new found freedom.  They soon were on their ways into the bright blue sky as we sat there taking in the miracle that we were able to behold.

We left the fern there for a few more days just to make sure though we all really wanted to see what was left behind.  Finally, after we saw that the birds were definitely gone, we explored the nest and find one lone little egg left.  My children were saddened by that and have not played with it at all.  Actually, it still sits there with hopes that it might possibly go on to be a little bird.

  ~Raccoon tracks in the mud in our backyard~

 Even though we are city dwellers, we can still experience nature.  It’s very easy to observe the birds.  We feed them regularly and they entertain us.  Certain flowers will attract butterflies.  Bees love sunflowers.  So we plant those things so we can observe nature at work.  We don’t even have to try and the squirrels & raccoons show up.  Sometimes, we are even graced with a snake or two.  <shiver> 

~Snake skin in the garden bed~

 I am thankful for the little glimpses of God that I see in nature.  I am thankful too that my children love it as much as I do.