February 19, 2009 - The First Tadpoles of the Year
We found these on February 14 -- the first tadpoles of the year.
Sprite was with her two best friends. The day was wonderfully warm, so they shed their shoes on the bank of the lake and waded in.
This was my first time seeing this lake, so I'm not sure what it looked like before. I was surprised to hear people calling it a lake at all. It was so small and shallow. But obviously it has shrunk over the years to its present condition. The construction equipment in the background makes me suspicious as well. I don't know what this area will be in the future. I fear that more of the natural beauty of this park will be destroyed.
Sprite also caught freshwater jellyfish with a net. They were fascinating, tiny, white jellyfish! This park is a long yan (longan) park or orchard, with hundreds of these gorgeous, evergreen trees.
The scientific name is Dimocarpus longans Lour; the Chinese name is 龍眼 long yan (longan in English). Can you see the double bike below this amazing tree? We had so much fun riding those along the paved trails.
I am so thrilled that I've found a spot for nature study in our city. It's a long bus ride and a dusty walk to the park, but it's worth it!
Comments
February 19, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by PumpkinsMomma
That looks like a neat place!
marie
February 20, 2009 - FYI
Posted by Susan
All meaness aside you might want to consider this as the owner of a growing successful site.
The copyright free images used in the units are for educational non profit use. The public domain ones are free and clear. In putting up the book links, profit, however small is being made from the units, indirectly but still possibly in violation of the copyright educational not for profit images, their terms of use. Clipart too on a site that is making profit might be considered in violation because of the profit.
The Lambert's as owners of Five in a Row may decide at some point as you grow that your mention of them and your free add ons to their materials is damaging to their business and could get an attorney to get you to take your free materials that relate to their copyrighted lessons, down at the least or perhaps sue back in time for damages.
The writers of the units as you suggested may get jealous about the little profit and or the fact that you didn't ask if you could gain profit from their work before you did.
I would rework my site, make sure that the Lambert's curriculum is not the focus of free materials, make sure writers agree to the book link profit and put the book link profits perhaps somewhere else on another page so as to not be on the same page as the free units and educational use images.
You might not want to use the term lapbook as it is copyrighted by Tobin Lab I believe that is why the Lambert's call theirs fold and learns and others go by the term project pac.
I'm not a patent attorney, just a paralegal, and these are my concerns from that perspective, I would advise you to seek a professional opinion on this.
As a writer of the units I was concerned about my association with the site under what I considered to be possible legal violations and just plain meaness as in the case of using the Five in Row materials as a jumping off point for making a profit however small and indirectly perhaps limiting their sales as people chose free materials over ones that have to be purchased.
I think it's mean to link to my pages on the way back machine and I think the way you handled taking my pages down was unnecessary. You obviously needed to feel like what you are doing is okay and you wanted confirmation and hugs and by quoting only a small part of my reasons gained sympathy and approval. I challenge you to post all my reasons as listed here and see if anyone else has reservations. I"m not attorney, perhaps it all okay. And the way back machine link thing is not necessary either, the units are not all that important or good. I did what I know in my heart to be right, you are going to have to live with your heart. Thanks for taking my things down.
Susan Marie Mallette
February 20, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Keri
Tadpoles...my kids love 'em!
February 20, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by amtell
That's beautiful! And tadpoles, wow! You must be a bit warmer than we are in Virginia. Yesterday we had a combination of snow, sleet, rain, and rainbows- all at 36 degrees!
February 20, 2009 - Hey back!
Posted by Shannon
Hey Jimmie, Thanks for visiting Hoppy Hollow Blog all the way from China. I want to see some freshwater jellyfish!!
I love the next post too with the "interpretations." I would love to visit China, but am afraid to stand out and not understand anything. It holds me back a lot.
February 21, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Awesome! I can't wait to find tadpoles - we were unsuccessful last year... hopefully we'll have better luck in '09!
Makita
4twinlingstars.blogspot.com
February 21, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Keeley
Awesome photos! How great you were able to find tadpoles and little jellyfishes. =) Sprite looks like she's having a marvelous time. =)
In other news, what's with Susan's freaky comments? Bizarre.
Hope you're doing ok. Thinking of you and hoping whatever that was all about hasn't upset you. =) *Great big hugs*
x0x0x0x
February 21, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by westward
Hi Jimmie,
Thanks for letting me know about my feed. It seems that self-hosted Wordpress blogs might be hard on feeds for some reason. Here's the feed address I found from my Bloglines account that might be different from the current address you are using. If it doesn't work any better, please let me know.
http://ourjourneywestward.com/?feed=rss2
Oh, and I can't wait to try to find tadpoles around here. Spring is still out of my reach right now, though!
Cindy
February 21, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Molytail
No tadpoles here yet - they'd be skating around on their pond if they tried. :-P
Cute park - and a very funky bike!
February 22, 2009 - Thank you
Posted by Susan
Jimmie,
In my indignation over everything I involved you by posting to your site , thank you for realizing my comment was in reference to an issue unrelated to you that took some research to figure out. Thank you too for offering up "the rest of my story" for anyone interested.
Susan Marie Mallette
March 4, 2009 - Untitled Comment
Posted by lindafay
I am so happy you found a place for nature study! When you don't have a place, you appreciate the finding of the place so much more, don't you? Have a wonderful day.
Warmly,
lindafay
