I distinctly remember one story, where the older girl went catching tadpoles in a stream, and the younger (naughty) one followed in her shoes and socks.
I was fascinated with the idea of catching tadpole... that is using an old jam jar to collect tadpoles from ponds and streams. It was something that used to be quite popular in the UK and even when I was little.
Watching a TV show set in 1920's/1930's England (Poirot for those who care) I saw the same scene... kids with an old jam jar, collecting tadpoles.
I wondered to myself if it were a peculiarly English tradition... because I never see it even referred to over here... although people do seem to like catching tadpoles, they dont seem to use the good ole jam jars (jelly jars for those of you not aware of English differences) :D
We call it 'Pond Dipping' in the UK... and it forms a large part of our science lesso
ns... especially the Nature Studies aspect of it.I did it both in High School and College! Although we didn't do it specifically to get the tadpoles... we were studying the wildlife in the water.
In fact, it is quite fascinating to put a drop of pond water under a microscope and see what is wiggling in it... and you'll realise why most people are wearing their wellies when they do it! (Wellies= short for Wellington Boots, the English term for rubber/gum boots).
A quick tour of the internet, brings up a British fascination for pond dipping... perhaps because it is a British term, I dont know...
Anyway, perhaps the BEST possible way to get frogs and tadpoles... is to make your own tadpole haven... or pond! You can go here and see how!
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