Return to Hansen Nature Center

Took the boys back to Tinker Park and Hansen Nature Center today. That gave Susan a little time off and was a treat for the boys. Sam in fact was itching to see the nature center again. He remembers well the last time we went there. It's filled with glass cases displaying local taxidermy, and also has some snakes, fish and turtles. Well, you'll see below.

Josh spent the entire morning in his jammies hanging out and  playing.

The nature center has a table of bones for kids to identify.

Sam with a blackbird foot.

Josh and a beaver. He called it a "lion." Most of the larger animals were dubbed "lions" by him.

This didn't fool him--definitely not a lion. Exciting, though1

Horned owl.

Oh no! Sam's hand is off, and the bone exposed! Or, wait--maybe he's just holding a bone.

Coyote. Go Yotes!

Josh admiring some turtles.

Recall this park has many boardwalks through the softer ground.

Josh pointing at some geese he's spotted. The geese fascinate him. We spotted  a family guarding small, fluffy yellow goslings.

Josh, miserable at having been denied his way. (I cannot recall what it was.)

Apparently he got his way shortly thereafter. :-)

Sam and Josh fed the fish some goldfish crackers. The stock bass (I suspect they are)  swarmed loudly making the surface of the water and the cracker on top of it dance, like stories of Teddy Rooseveldt's piranhas. Shortly thereafter  one of the fish would often grab the goldfish and swim off into the depths, invisible itself, so the yellow goldfish appeared to be fleeing the mob.

On the way back we stop at a country middle school which has, in back, a repository of school buses--a sort of yellow, metal version of the legendary elephant's graveyard from Burroughs' Tarzan novels. Happily, this time Josh didn't cry when we left, just said bye-bye to the buses.

One of the nice things about being a parent is all the things you find in your pockets. Today I found a red balloon. Gave the boys endless fun on the drive home.