C.S.I.

 Last Thursday I took the girls over to Rowe Sanctuary for C.S.I.  No, it was not a lesson on crime scene investigation!  It was a home schooling field trip called Crane Scene Investigation.  We met up with around 30 other homeschoolers ranging in age from pre-K through high school for a beautiful time of learning.  

We spent some time inside to learn some eco-friendly tips and some crane basics.  Anlynn enjoyed learning that what looks like the crane's knee is actually its ankle.  :)  Amana was blown away to discover that birds' bones are hollow.  And who knew cranes applied "makeup"?!  We all learned that morning, for sure!

 After some inside learning, we took to the trail and headed for one of the crane viewing blinds.  On our trek there, we learned how to tell the age of a cottonwood tree branch.  We also learned that if you snap a cottonwood branch at one of its growth rings, there is a perfect five-point star inside.  We were AMAZED by this.  We had fun talking about how creative and incredible our God is, simply based on the little secret He hid in those tree branches.

 Cranes are not especially active on the river in the late-morning, so the view from our blind windows didn't include many cranes.  We were able to see many different kinds of birds, though, including teals, geese, and even two bald eagles. 

 And whatever this was.  :)

 I love experiencing nature with my kids.  I loved this sign that was posted in the blind.   However, if this were my sign, I would have included "I praise," because it's hard to see such wonderful things in creation and not thank the One who created it all.