Posts Tagged ‘Nature’

 

Singapore may be small.  However, I love the easy access to the beaches and also the large number of parks.

Nature never fails to give me the serenity that I need and keep my young ones “well and healthily” occupied too.

[instead of following mommy uninterestingly in a shopping complex.]

 

There are a number of beaches cum parks here eg. East Coast Park, Pasir Ris Park and Labrador Park. 

 

 

Labrador Park, besides its beach, diversity of flora and fauna, is an educational site too - rich with historcial relics (click to read our previous post on Labrador Nature Reserve).

 

In the photos above, the boys were standing before a symbolic replica of the Dragon’s Teeth Gate (Long Ya Men).

The Dragon’s Teeth Gate used to be located at the gateway to Keppel Harbour in Singapore, to provide navigational aids. It was useful as navigational aids to Ming Dynasty’s Admiral Zheng He during his maritime voyages to the west.  Read more about its history HERE.  

 

More photos of historical relics here.

 

Children being children. What interests them most are still …..

 

The BEACH…..

where people are fishing, enjoying that cool breeze and where Brendan gazed at the sea “wordless” (obviously in deep thoughts).

 

 

 

The PARK……

where they can stroll, jog, run, cycle and basically “HAVE FUN”.

 

 

A park will not be complete without its flora and fauna.

I am a plant lover and colourful blooms are always an attraction.

 [Photo courtesy by Papa Ed as I got too distracted by the pair of lover butterflies to capture any shots....haha.]

 

 

Bring your kids to the park and open their world to the habitat of the flora and fauna.

If we are paying enough attention, we might have a close encounter with the insects and fauna.

Darren, sometimes enjoys spotting them. Other times, he will flee off after his brother with their chasing games *Smile*.

And….

My boys always finds extra fun, playing with the puppies of other park lovers.

 

 

 

 

THE PLAYGROUND….

Kids love playground. Seriously, adults play at the playground here too….. One of them is ME…haha.

This is the place where I mentioned in a recent post about the MAZE and hide-and-seek where I had fun with my boys.

 

 

So, do expose your kids to more Greenery and Healthy Lifestyle while they still care to tag along with the parents.

There is a whole Green Environment out there!

It is certainly more comfortable to stay in air-conditioned complex with the kids.

But

the sweats and the walk at the Green Outdoor is definitely more WORTH IT!

 

Imagine living in a house that is filled with better air quality and beautified by the GREEN…it feels healthy and soothing *grin*.

All this while, we have been keeping a number of plants at home.  Some have grown quite big and tall and they have taken up space.

 

A visit to Hort Park, Singapore, gives us ideas on ways to maintain a varieties of indoor plants at home and YET saving space and keeping the space neat and attractive.

 

Take a look at some of these miniature plants and other plants landscaped as wall features -  displayed at the Hort Park.

If you are thinking of keeping plants but constrained by space, these ideas might suit your needs. And yes, they serve as good gifts too if the receipient is a plant lover:)

 

A frame of different plant types mounted on the wall …..

 

A centre piece of wall mounted plants…

 

A wall-mounted tank of fish and water plants…

 

 

This is a frame filled with a special design of red, green and yellow beans….

 

A dining table landscaped with plants…

 

Different plants within a vase…

 

 

I used to attempt different plant arrangements in a pot or tray, especially with cactus. So this miniature display is not new to us…

 

These plants add life and colours to the otherwise boring mirror cum cane partition….

 

These leaves have been stained, laminated and made into bookmarks….

 

An otherwise dull coasters, now with leaves…

 

If you have children at home, teach them to start by keeping small plants and get them to be responsible in taking care of them.

Let them be creative and they can possibly design interesting plant arrangement.

While keeping pots of plants, do not forget to clear stagnant water to prevent mosquito breeding.

 

We love the greenery and beautiful flowers at the HortPark - the knowledge hub for plants and gardening in Singapore.

 

The large pond near the entrance of the park, with its abundance of fishes, is certainly welcoming:)

 

Needless to say, the Park is surrounded by greenery.

 

The varieties of brightly coloured flowers and plants attracted me.

 

 

I love to keep plants at home.  If these plants and flowers were kept at our home, they would definitely bring much colours and fresh air into our lives.

 

Ooeee….Orchids at HortPark. I used to keep different varieties of them at home. Each time they bloom, I am excited.

Aren’t they elegant and beautiful?

 

 

These small plants do not take up much space and make good display.

 

Well, this is not the end.

We will share more about what we learnt at HortPark in future post.

Ever been to Labrador Nature Reserve in Singapore? What do you like best there? Its luscious green? Its rich biodiversity? Historical leftovers? The sea?

 

Well, if you haven’t been to a rocky sea-cliff before, here’s your chance to experience one back in the homeland of Singapore - yes, at Labrador Nature Reserve. I haven’t set foot to the rocky-cliff but am eager to be there. If you have experienced it at Labrador Nature Reserve, do share your experience:)

 

If you are also a nature lover, the rich flora and fauna here will excite you!  Just patiently keep a lookout for the birds, butterflies, and insects. I will be keeping my eyes wide-opened the next time I visit the nature reserve, spotting the flora and fauna, and also enjoy the tranquility.

 

If you are looking for a therapeutic place, the Comchest Green (an extension at the Nature Reserve), will offer that right effect.

 

 

And…..If you want to discover the wartime history of Singapore, war relics of World War II and the Secret Tunnels, this nature reserve is the educational place.

 

Want to know more details about the nature reserve?  Then visit the website at Labrador Nature Reserve.  Wow! A nature reserve that serves its different purpose.

 

 

The kids and I have yet to venture far into the other parts of the nature reserve. It was already near evening when we finished our tour at the Secret Tunnels a few weeks ago.  Well, the Secret Tunnels were useful for the British Army during the World War II.  Hidden in the wondrous green, it was no wonder that the Tunnels were discovered only in year 2001 and touched up by NParks as an educational venue for visitors.

 

 

 

Although Brendan had visited the Secret Tunnels during his school excursion, this time he managed to ask more questions about the war relics found there (yah…hopefully to squeeze more answers out of Papa and Mommy…oops!we tried our best to answer but luckily we had the expert sharing by a tour guide there).

 

So how do we rate our experience at the Secret Tunnels? VERY GOOD although the tunnels can be eerie when the crowd is small. Thanks to the well-lit place that makes our boys feeling assured:) By the way, do you know that Sentosa was called Pulau Blakan Mati in the past? I learned it only in the tunnels.

 

Do browse through some of these photos that we took at the Tunnels. So have you visited the Nature Reserve before? How do you rate it?  If no, are you heading for the Labrador Nature Reserve as your next trip, just like us?

 

I certainly find this place ideal for anyone….kids and elderly too:)  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continuing on my earlier post on the Southern Ridges in Singapore, we started our 1 hour to-and-fro slow journey on the “Forest Walk”, starting from the Telok Blangah Hil Park. We were surrounded by the secondary forest (the Adinandra Belukar). We managed to catch sight of butterflies, attractive flowers but not much luck with birds.

 

The Forest Walk…….

 

 

 

 

 

Our journey………….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next time……….

 

We enjoy each of our family outdoor trip. Will you or did you enjoy your outdoor trip too, especially with young children?

Thumbs up to National Park Singapore! It has introduced many greenery spots in Singapore which enable Singaporeans to be closer to nature and fresh air. As my frequent readers will know, yes, my family loves embracing nature and certainly the kids enjoy more than hanging out with me in shopping centres *oops*. There are not many natural reserves in Singapore and being able to come close to one is such a valuable experience for us.

Several times, the Alexandra Arch at Alexandra Road (with its tilted arch) has caught our attention. To satisfy our curiosity, we finally went onto Alexandra Arch. The discovery was good as it leads us on our little adventure route to the other parts of the Southern Ridges (click to read more) over the weekends. The Southern Ridges are made up of a 9-kilometre chain of green spaces covering the hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, Kent Ridge Park, with the end at West Coast Park.

Besides being a good form of exercise to stroll along the connecting bridges and walks, we enjoy the great panoramic view of parts of Singapore and the kids got to also learn more about the flowers and plants along the way. I guess practice makes perfect as the kids are now more able to overcome longer distance of walking and ability to take time to appreciate the flora around them:)

So here we are on Alexandra Arch, trying to capture the best photo moments while the kids run wild, with healthy morning suns on their faces.  Will share our adventure on other parts of the Southern Ridges in another post:)

We love nature! So that day we were out on our adventure to Dairy Farm Nature Park, located just next to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Bearing in mind that it was a scorching day, we brought along our caps and sunglasses (should have brought umbrella too). We picked the option of starting from the entrance at Carpark A to head towards the Singapore Quarry, instead of Carpark B towards Wallace Education Centre. On another day, we will definitely drop by the other side of the Nature Park:)

 

So we started our journey on the flat road which fortunately is suitable for young kids and adults….no uneven ground:)  Brendan was extremely excited though Darren was never keen to walk long distance.

 

 At the beginning of the journey, still energetic, the children started to set off at a faster pace. Thank to Papa Ed who was busy tailing behind to take our candid shots:)

 

Enjoying the greenery and exquisite flowers at the side of the path. Nice to smell fresh air and it would have been better if we had gone earlier in the morning.

 

More greenery and then “Aha!”, we caught sight of the first monkey:)

 

Poor Darren was feeling tired and needed mommy’s encouragement to move on. The destination “Singapore Quarry” was still nowhere in sight.  [Tips for parents: Advisable to bring along ample water, umbrella (sunny and no shelter along the way in case of rain) and hankerchief.] My packet of tissue paper was definitely not enough for our whole family especially with all the perspirations on such a sunny late morning.]

 

Finally, our eyes brightened at the sight of the purplish flowers and most excitedly the quarry ….yes, we have reached!

 

 

Singapore has little natural resources and it was the first time we saw a quarry. So even a tired and sweaty Darren did not fail to ask for photo moments.

 

Next was the same journey back to the entrance…..another 15-20 minutes walk.  The boys suddenly turned extra energetic. A good opportunity for them to run after each other. Probably, they were too delighted to get back to the air-conditioned car *wink*

 

“The trees are so tall!” The boys had not forgotten to slow down to observe their environment. Brendan was even snapping photos with his handphone:)

 

 

Though hot and sweaty, I must say that the boys had shown perseverance in reaching their destination on such a hot day (with mid-day sun almost directly above our heads), with little complaints *thumbs up for Brendan and Darren*. At least Darren never asked to be carried except that the poor boy already finished all his water even before we reached the quarry. It has been a fruitful trip …a great opportunity to learn, persevere and exercise:) 

How do you usually spend a windy and peaceful evening? We spent a quiet evening at the Sengkang Riverside Park. This place is full of serenity and it is breezy and a good spot for jogging, cycling, fishing, kite flying, strolling and simply enjoying the beautiful sunrise and sunset. An ideal spot for picnic too.

The boys enjoyed themselves running around wildly and enjoying the evening breeze:) We decided to take a slow jog.

Hmmm….the serenity of the park certainly relaxed my mind after a day of hard work. We will definitely be back to the park again

A recent day out at the Singapore Zoo with the boys and Papa Ed. Heehee…some of the pictures were taken by the boys. It was free-and-easy photo shots for them.

Thanks to Joseph Nicephore Niepce who made the first photographic image in 1827. Today this has evolved into the modern photography that enables us to capture memorable moments of our lives and share beautiful pictures with others.

Enjoy our beautiful collections of these beautiful animals. Click on pictures to view larger images.

A “wild duck chase” by my two boys at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. It is a funny sight that my two boys, with combined forces, could not catch up with a small two-legged animal.

Obviously, the boys had a different mission each to accomplish in the chase…..Hahaha….One with a one-quarter filled coke bottle while the other trying his best to snap a shot with his camera. Then, you can also imagine both parents chasing behind…one obviously having fun taking video of the whole process.

After a very close chase, the duck eventually dashed into a bush, ending my boys’ duck chasing adventure of the day.  Enjoy the video.