On Monday GB and I went down to the pond to look for tadpoles. We very precariously leaned off the edge of the pier and scooped what we thought were some schools of tadpoles. But it turned out that they were really teeny, tiny fish. So that wouldn’t do. Last year we had a great time watching the transformation of tadpoles into little tiny toads. And we wanted to duplicate that experience this year. We gently threw the fish back into the pond and searched for some tadpoles. We did find a little frog and a wee tiny crawfish, but no tadpoles so we went home.
Now here’s the funny part. We have neighbors all around us who are excessively fastidious about their lawns. So they water them all the time. Since we live on a corner lot, our ditch is almost always filled with water. Wouldn’t you know, we found frog/toad eggs floating in a jelly-like substance on the top of the water. So we scooped them gently into a clean spaghetti jar.
This was Monday. I wish I had taken a picture of the eggs.
Because, on Tuesday those little eggs had tails. I hope you can see them in the picture.
And this morning (Wednesday) they were already swimming around in the jar. Isn’t that amazing! I was quite shocked at how quickly they have changed.
Yesterday we made some navigational equipment that sailors used during the late 1500’s, and 1600’s.
On a compass “magnetic north,” which although close to the north pole, is in a slightly different location than what we usually consider the North Pole. The magnetic poles are on a separate axis, which is determined by the the strength and direction of the magnetic field. It is determined by natural conditions and doesn’t always remain in the same place. Although north-seeking magnets were used for centuries, the fact that the magnetic pole could move was not yet known. That meant that compass readings were not consistent from year to year.
We made a simple compass by taking an ash tray and filling it with water. Then we found a piece of syrofoam and pierced it all the way through with a needle. Then we magnetized the needle using a strong magnet and lightly scratching from the center to the outside edge of the magnet with the needle (touching the foam and not the needle). Then we carefully lay the foam with the needle in the water and it immediately pointed in a Northern direction.
Then we made a quadrant. A quadrant was a fairly reliable source of navigational measurement. It was shaped as a quarter circle, and could measure up to 90° angles, appropriately giving it its Latin-based name, quad meaning “four.” It still possessed the flaw that in order to read the measurement during the day, one still had to look into the sun!
Then we copied some constellations onto printer paper and covered the dots with glow-in-the-dark puff paint. We put all our constellations and navigational equipment information on our Explorers Wall. I’ll post a picture when that is further along.
