As if the morning spent learning about the birds in their hands was not enough, Corvin and Sonora got to visit a very special horse in the afternoon!  Thumbelina is in the Guinness World Records as the smallest horse in the world!  She is not quite a foot and a half tall.

The kids also enjoyed meeting some of Thumbelina's miniature horse friends:

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On Monday mornings in the late spring and through the summer, I help a group of researchers form the World Bird Sanctuary capture birds in special nets at the ecology center where I work.  On one of these mornings, I was fortunate to be able to bring Corvin and Sonora with me.  They watched while we carefully removed the birds from the nets, measured their wings and tails, weighed them, and put small metal bands on their legs so we can identify them if they are captured again later.

After being shown the proper way to handle and release the birds, the kids were able to hold the birds for a moment and let them fly away. You can see Corvin taking a goldfinch from my friend, Colleen, and then releasing it.  In the second photo, you can see the blur of the flying bird if you follow Corvin's eyes (about waist height a few feet away from him).

Sonora Did a great job showing how to properly hold the bird.

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On a hot, sunny August Tuesday in St. Louis, nothing beats taking the kids out somewhere to play in the water.  Fortunately, downtown St. Louis has a wonderful attraction called Citygarden that combines art, botany, and water.  The wonderful people who designed and installed this downtown oasis had the forethought to not only allow, but to encourage people (kids especially) to play in the water!  

Corvin and Sonora enjoyed running around in the water and hiding inside the metal head (a work called 'Eros Bendato' by Igor Mitoraj).

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