It's no secret... I'm not a natural really love nature kind of gal. Oh I've roughed it, done some outdoor camping, been on mission trips, etc. I can survive and even end up having fun; however, nature is not usually my very first choice. Playing outside great, a trip to the zoo fine... nature walks, collecting seeds, bugs, etc. not so much!
No problem that I'm merely an admirer or one who appreciates Creation. Even though I'm missing the Nature-Loving gene, I can usually find others who share my sentiments and/or we can find our opposites to fill in our gaps. One such place to do so is the Salato Wildlife Education Center, which locals refer to as the Game Farm. This is a frequent visit for my family. 1) It's free! 2) It's outdoors... the kids can see animals and love it. 3) It's a great place for a picnic.
After picnicking with good friends, we were off to see the animals. Indoors, Miss Rachel surprised us all by being the brave one to repeatedly pet the snake. It scares me how much she liked it. Caleb on the other hand was enamored with a skunk let loose to meander through the crowd. By the looks of how he had it cornered, I'm so VERY THANKFUL the critter was de-scented.
Outdoors, we posed for a group shot, took a nature walk, and visited the eagle, bear, bison, elk, wildcat, fish, deer, and turkeys. Currently, there is a baby bison (which we didn't see) and five fawns. Even, I admit, baby animals are cute :-)
Just before making our exit, one of the staff members caught our motley crew to inquire whether or not we'd be interested in collecting wild columbine seeds. Since neither I nor my dear hubby possess green thumbs, I admit, there was no great lure in this opportunity. However, the little ones were all about it, so obediently, we followed with itty, bitty, manila envelopes in hand. The staff member instructed us in how to properly collect the seeds. Then, a competition began to brew... which kiddo could extract the most seeds? Fear not, all children were sent home with ample seeds for us to plant (and me probably inadvertently kill).
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