the backyard

 

Another fun day, we went up to the santa barbara museum of natural history

what a great little treasure

we could really spend all day there

we only did two things the butterflies and the backyard and we were there for three and a half hours.

Dakota so desperately wanted a butterfly to land on her 

we have been there several times and I am not sure if one ever has 

but today she was a popular girl

as was leela

they were both thrilled.

it is always so nice to me to go there and to watch how mesmerized dakota is, how she can sit and enjoy and 

observe.

then it was off to the museum's backyard

it has a small stream

with little wooden boats that can travel down the stream

it has a mud pie making station with pie tins and a  faucet

kids are encouraged to take their shoes off and get dirty.

also back there is a little room with a volunteer or employee i am not sure which

and there are bugs, pollywags, a ringnecked snake, frogs, slugs, rolly pollies

and she was there showing the girls all of it.

and then i never knew this, but there is a bird aviary back there too

a paragon falcon that was shot in the wing. they also had two american kestrels, a great horned owl and another type of owl.

with rescued birds and we happened to be there when they were bringing them out.

a western screech owl that was blind you can see the mud pie station and the little house in the background

it was a very cool day.