Tuesday, June 08, 2010

how to catch a tadpole 101


First you need some experienced tadpole hunters:

meet lucy....she seems sweet doesn't she...when it comes to tadpole hunting she leaves no survivors.

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trey boy...his skills with his dollar store net are unmatched.

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my sister-in-law stephanie...she brings in the biggest baddest tadpoles around.

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me...i wait quietly in the background waiting for one of my children to get distracted and set down their net...then i swoop down grab the net, and no tadpole is safe.

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find yourself a murky muddy pond.

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reach out as far as you can out into the pond and drag your net a long the bottom.

they like to hide out there.

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pull your net mostly out of the water leaving the very bottom of the net immersed.

if you have a tadpole, you will see the little bugger splashing around in the bottom of the net.

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scoop him out with your hand and drop him into a container filled with water scooped from the pond.

make sure when you are scooping up your water to get lots of good stuff from the bottom of the pond for the tadpole to live off.

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lucy let her guard and was showing a little fear while we were hunting...she quickly gained her composure...

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and got back to work.

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we almost had to find a new team member in our hunting crew.

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do not, and i repeat, do not hold your child by the back of the shirt and pants telling him that by doing this he will be able to "reach farther into the water and catch the biggest tadpole ever seen."

it could result in your child almost falling into the water and never trusting you again.

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and now you know how to catch a tadpole!
we will wait and watch while these tadpole grow and turn back into frogs, and then release them back to this very pond.

remember as soon as your tadpoles start to get legs they will no longer be able to be under water at all times. we built a slope of gravel in our container so the tadpoles would have a place to rest as they grow.

HAPPY HUNTING!

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thank you aunt stephanie for coming tadpole hunting with us today!

please come and visit us again soon!

15 comments:

Cap Creations said...

How cute! And what a fun idea! Keep us posted on the tadpole progress.

Ruthie said...

Looks like you had a blast! Lucy looks so funny in her "scared" pic - what an actress. And poor Trey - mind you, my boy would never have trusted me to hold him like that in the first place!

Rx

Jax @ AlyandAsh said...

How fun! I remember doing this as a kid! We'd keep them till they were nearly hopping out of the container and then set them free....the ones that made it into frogs anyway...tadpoles make great turtle food! ;)

Unknown said...

love it. what's funny is that we just ordered tadpoles online...they should be coming tomorrow. they'll probably ship them from your pond.

SkinnyMeg said...

That is hilarous, you have got to be the best mom ever for taking them 'hunting!'

erin said...

Ooo - that sounds fun!! We have a pond and I think we will have to put this on our list of things to do right now!! Our pond is stinky though. I imagine it will be extra stinky if I start digging around down there. So - if i get muck from the bottom - then I don't have to feed them anything? Or do you feed them? Do you change the water? Do they live in your house? How long till they are frogs? I am just full of tadpole questions. :)

jlthomas said...

I love your stories! What a fun adventure!

Jenn @ West Sac Honey said...

Um I LOVEEEE catching tadpoles and I might even have to do this because I'm fully obsessed with frogs always have been. I even did the same "hold by the shirt to reach further" routine and dropped my cousin in the pond when we were little. But we still continued on. Show us pictures when they get legs!

Abby said...

Oh my gosh! What a great idea. I love it! And I totally want to see pictures of the tadpoles growing. What if the frogs are HUGE?! Do you know what kind they are?

Stooph said...

lucy and i take great pictures. miss you guys!! :)

Kelly said...

can you tell me if it is possible to make the bandanna dress big enough for an eight year old? thanks.

suburban hippie mama said...

I am so going tad pole hunting with my kids this weekend! Great idea!

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clar said...

Nice catch and looks you are having fun :)
What do animals eat?

clar said...

Cool adventure. This is a nice story. Thanks for sharing.
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