Swan Soirée

The Trumpeter Swan Society hosted a "swan soirée" at Walnut Woods State Park in West Des Moines today.  They promised hands-on activities, crafts, hot dogs, and presentations from the county. It sounded promising, so we had to go check it out!

The first thing I noticed was how beautiful the woods are. We've been in Des Moines for almost two years now, and I never knew there was such a great state park this close to us. I made a mental note to check it out for camping later this year. Here's a link to more information on the park and campground.

When we arrived at the lodge, the parking lot was full. We continued on and found a spot in a tiny lot about a block down. We happened to park next to a man who was taking a trumpeter swan out of a crate. We got to meet and pet the swan! Notice its black beak.

We hiked the short distance to the lodge, which looked modern from the exterior. I was surprised (pleasantly so) on how "natural" and rustic it really was. There was an outdoor shelter attached with a fire burning in the outdoor fireplace (free firewood). Considering we were having an unseasonably warm day, about 50 degrees, it felt good to stand out there by the fire. Inside was packed! There were a few families there with kids, and the rest of the audience was older. We migrated to the craft table, where the kids got to create their own swans out of pipe cleaners, pine cones, and feathers.

                                                  

I got to hear a little of the presentation on the trumpeter swans. The director of the Trumpeter Swan Society explained how our grandparents and great-grandparents never got to see a trumpeter swan because they were so close to extinction. 

In the United States, there were fewer than 70 left earlier in the 20th century. Thanks to an Alaskan population of trumpeter swans, there has been a huge effort to re-introduce the animals to more of their native habitat. Iowa is currently the only state that has had trumpeter swan sightings in all parts of the state. Here's a map from Wikipedia that shows their current range: 

                   

After the kids finished their craft, we decided to take them outside to eat their hot dogs. I didn't expect them to sit through the presentations very well. They enjoyed the fire and the food, and then we hiked over to the nearby playground. My friend just so happened to be at the event, too, so we got to hang out while the kids ran around and played in the good weather.

The day's events didn't end there. A bald eagle flew overhead! Sorry for being a poor photographer, but I was actually so quick with my camera! This isn't the first time I got to see one in the area. When Jo and I were driving through Raccoon River Park one day, we saw bald eagles soaring over the water there.

In just a couple weeks, Des Moines Parks & Rec will be hosting "Bald Eagle Day." Attendees will have a chance to view bald eagles, and there will be activities for kids there as well. As long as the weather isn't bitterly cold, we plan on checking that event out, too. The details for that can be found on their Facebook event page here.

Birdhouses for 54 Cents!

Last week, I found some little, wooden birdhouses at Joann Fabrics. They were $1.09, but they had 50% off coupons online and on their flyer in the store. So, I snagged a birdhouse for 54 cents! We were so busy last week, but we finally found time on Thursday to paint. Oliver usually isn't very interested in art, but he really got into painting the birdhouse.

Oliver was really proud of his birdhouse and kept asking to "show Dad!" We let it dry overnight, and then I filled it with some birdseed that I had leftover from the birdseed biscuits we'd made.

Oliver hung it up outside, but I had to rehang it a little higher off the ground. Then, we went back inside to watch for the birds! They never came...

I'm still waiting to do a toddler rainy day project with Jo! We've had some snow, but no rain yet. I was really hoping to get it done in April, which I know is when everyone else seems to have rain in the US. Poor Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois; they're really getting more than their share! Brookfield Zoo closed for the 3rd time in its history because they were completely flooded. Anyway, if you don't see a rainy day project from us until July, then you know why!

Birdseed Biscuits

Spring has sprung in Denver, and we need some activities to get us out of the house!

At the grocery store today, I passed by a display of bird seed. Years ago, when I was pregnant with Oliver, I flipped through a Parenting magazine at my OB-GYN's office. I saw an article on how to make a cute, little, heart-shaped birdseed biscuit. I tore it out and saved it in my recipe box. When I started on Pinterest over a year ago, I went through a bunch of things I'd saved, pinned them, and then tossed out the random articles and how-to's that I'd saved. Let Pinterest save them for me! So, anyway, I found the birdseed biscuit online and pinned it here. When I saw the birdseed at the grocery store, it reminded me of the project. I decided Oliver is finally old enough! I picked up a 7-pound, reclosable bag of wild bird feed for $6. Warning to parents of kids with severe allergies: the bag of bird feed I picked up said it contains peanuts.

When we got home, I asked Oliver if he wanted to help me make some food for the birds. You guys, he got so excited!

Here's what you need to make your own bird seed biscuits:

*Bird seed (approximately 1 cup)
*Flour (approximately 2 Tablespoons)
*Water (as needed, but approximately 2-4 Tablespoons)
*Cookie Cutter (Or use a cup to cut out circles)
*A straw
*Ribbon or string

Here's how we made our biscuits:

I handed Oliver a 1/4 cup measuring cup and asked him to pour 5 scoops of the bird feed into a bowl. Not all of his scoops were full scoops, so we probably ended up with about a cup of bird seed in the mixing bowl. I asked him to add one small scoop of flour. He filled up the same measuring cup about halfway with flour and dumped it in, so we had about 2 Tablespoons of flour to our mix. This isn't an exact science, so go with it! I filled a small pitcher with just a splash of water. Oliver poured it in and mixed everything together. It looked a little dry, so I got a bit more water. The water and flour basically make a paste to hold the birdseed together.

While he mixed, I preheated the oven to 170 degrees F. I sprayed my cookie cutter with Pam. I lined a baking sheet with a silicone liner I have, but you can just put foil or parchment paper on your baking sheet. When Oliver was done mixing, I pressed the mixture into the cookie cutter. I poked a hole with a straw-like instrument I had on hand. Make sure the hole goes all the way through to the bottom of the biscuit, so you can string a ribbon through when they're done baking. The directions I read said to leave the straw in while it bakes, but I actually pulled mine out. It wasn't a problem for us. I gently lifted the cookie cutter away from the biscuit and then got to work on the rest. We got 6 small biscuits out of our mixture. I popped the biscuits in the oven for an hour for them to dry and set.

As they were baking, I put Jo to bed for nap time. As I tucked Oliver in for his quiet time, he looked up at me and said, "OK, so after quiet time, we can go outside and give the birds the food." He is so excited! That made me really happy. The biscuits finished up as they rested, so I finished the project by threading ribbon through the hole in each biscuit, and I tied it with a bow.

As soon as Jo was up, Oliver announced, "OK! We get to go outside and give the birds their food!" He hung each biscuit from the tree. Then, we sat on the porch and blew bubbles, watching for the birds to come.

 

The birds didn't come. When we ran out of bubbles, I told Oliver we were probably scaring the birds away. So, we went inside, and he watched from the back door.

Finally, a little critter came and ate two of the biscuits. No, it wasn't a bird. It was a squirrel! I captured this photo of the guilty party: