field trip

On October 2nd Miah and I attended AHG's field trip to Chico Basin Ranch, a working cattle ranch about an hour out of town. I wasn't sure what to expect. When the day began with what seemed like a dozen delays, I was not sure I wanted to go at all. But finally Miah and I were in the car with a full tank and full bellies and driving toward Hanover. 

As we tromped across the field toward our unit, we stopped to take a picture of the Monarch. This was Miah's first close-up experience with a butterfly. I was thrilled that it happened to be a monarch because that was the first type of butterfly I learned about as a little girl too. 

The morning was spent at different stations where we learned about ranch life, examined skulls from the ranch (like below), and finally made our way to the bird banding station. The biologists captured small song birds all morning and banded them in front of the girls. Miah had a few close ups with them before the birds were released. She seemed to finally understand that the babies were all grown up and had flown the coop. She still can't stop talking about baby birds... I think I found her the Christmas ornament to remember this year by.

Although Miah was super--a couple moms complimented her--the event was not exactly suited for her age or energy. Periodically we'd wander off toward the fields to run and play around the trees. She adores the outdoors.