Crane Fest

I mentioned in previous posts that the kids and I were planning on attending the Crane Fest. Will attend we did.
It was such a great, fun and inexpensive way to spend a Fall day. There were so many activities and things to see and do that we spent the large majority of the day there. Here is our day in pictures.

There were many different organizations that brought animals such as this owl.

A peregrine falcon

Here is how you can tell the difference between a hawk and a falcon in flight.

This tortoise was out walking ALL DAY. Whoever said tortoises were slow never met this guy. He literally walked MILES throughout the course of the day.

The local high school had decorated wooden cranes as an art project, we had fun picking out our favorites.

Pirate Crane

Super Crane

Checking out the different rocks at one of the booths.

Looking through one of many different binoculars and scopes to get a better look at the birds.

Little Miss as a butterfly

This is Captain Cattail. He led the kids on a hike and then stopped here to talk about water.

He strongly encouraged the kids to get out and explore. So here is my troupe exploring.

They found this cute little toad.

The hayride.

Shuckin' corn the old fashion way.

Below are the kids making rope. This was probably a highlight of the day.

They made teh ropes the perfect length for jump roping.

The color was fabulous and the sun was shining. Who could ask for anything more?

Around dinner time we settled into our chairs and watched as the cranes came in. It was really cool watching them fly in. There were hundreds by the time we left. They were landing in the water seen below.


Thanks for letting me share our day.

Gorgeous Day

Today is such a gorgeous Fall day!
Perfect for apple picking, raking the yard, football or the Crane Fest.

We will be going to the Crane Fest. See this post for more info.

Whatever you do enjoy the day!

Mark Your Calendars

Crane Fest XIV
Saturday and Sunday, October 11 &12, noon- 7pm
Free Admission
Parking only $3
Where: Kiwanis Youth Area and adjoining Michigan Audubon Baker Sanctuary.

What to do-
Crane Viewing- Best viewing after 4pm
Literally hundreds of birds come and gather together for mass migration south.
Art Show and Sale
Nature Discovery- Free interactive exhibit of 40+ live species of Michigan reptiles and amphibians.
Guided Nature Walks.- Free Explore nature trails with an expert.
Live Raptors- Free Birds of prey shown by Michigan Hawking Club
Birding for Beginners- Free. Learn the basics from Audubon experts.
Earthbound- Awareness organization will be providing educational materials.
Wild Ones- Michigan native wildflowers and plants for sale and natural landscaping advise.
Book Signing- On teh Wings of Cranes- Lowell Schakes' biography on Lawerence Walkinshaw.
Cranes as Art- Bellevue High School.
Bird Seed Sale
Old Time Farm Equipment- Free Hay rides. Rope making, corn shelling and more. Old fashion fun for the family.
Nature Book store and crafts.
Food concessions.

Something for everyone!

A Weekend of Choices

Never before have we had so many options to choose from for a single weekend.
Let's just say our weekend is going to be packed and it is all going to be FUN FUN FUN! Which is a good thing because our Konos theme of the week is...Fun!

So for those of you who may be interested in what opportunities are available to you this weekend, here you go:

The 29th annual Color Cruise and Island Festival will take place on Island Park in downtown Grand Ledge on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 9, 10, and 11 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Visitors will be able to see demonstrations of black kettle caramel corn, apple cider pressing, blacksmithing, weaving, spinning, wood carving and other old time activities. Visit a fur trader encampment, enjoy good food and live entertainment and take a covered wagon or boat ride. Children can visit the petting zoo, paint a pumpkin or dip a candle for a small fee.Click Here for the Color Cruise Brochure

The admission price is $3.00 for adults (seniors $2.00 Friday only) and $1.00 for children and is good for all three days.

Crane Fest- Saturday and Sunday from 12-7pm
Bellevue Michigan $3 parking no admission fee.

Watch hundreds of sand hill cranes come into the Baker sanctuary while enjoying an afternoon of good old fashion fun. Check out last years blog posts for more details. Highly recommended!

Michigan Archaeology Day Saturday October 10, 200911 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Michigan Historical Museum, Lansing FREE

Here is your chance to meet professional archaeologists, to learn of their research and adventures and to see one-day-only exhibits from their archaeological digs and underwater archaeological explorations. Add to this a cartload of fun family activities, and by the end of the day, everyone will "dig" history! And again it is FREE!

Wharton Center Open House- Sunday October 11th 12-4pm

Wharton Center will host an open house from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday to commemorate the completion of $18.5 million in renovations and expansions.

Self-guided tours of the Cobb Great Hall and Pasant Theatre are among the open house’s events, as well as viewings of the rehearsal studio and stars’ dressing rooms.

Refreshments will be served at the open house and participants will have the opportunity to enter for a chance to win tickets to Wharton Center events. The event is free to the public.

There you have it, interesting things to do. Let me know if you are planning on attending any or all of these events.

Perhaps we shall see you there. :)

Day Off

This weekend was jammed pack with field trips, fun and learning. We did go to the Color Tour, Archaeology Day and Crane Fest(twice). So today I declared that we would take the day off of school.
The only exception was that we would watch no TV nor play on the computer. If we got bored, then we would do school. Ha! Like that was going to happen.
We played Monolpoly. I won!
We made Puppy Chow. It was yummy.
The boy made beeswax candles.
We played Whoonu. Three times.
We played Sorry. The boy won.
Overall, we enjoyed each others company and did some stuff that normally gets overlooked.
Oh yeah and I cleaned. Yeah the house is still clean.

I think we need to do this kind of thing more often.

What's an Atlatl???

That's what I was thinking when we pulled into the parking lot of the historical museum. My nephew had wondered if an atlatl would be at Archaeology Day. As much as I love words I don't think I had ever heard of an atlatl, ever. Remarkably, there were atlatls at the event and the guys had a blast trying them out.
Oh and for the record an atlatl is a tool used to propel a dart(spear)


I admit I tried it out too. But my throws were terribly lacking.



When we went inside we visited the old times games room where we made Sawbuzzers. Take a button and a piece of string and soon you will have over an hour of simple fun.

While at Archaeolgy Day we saw many interesting things. Talked to interesting people.
My personal favorite was this guy.

He hand crafts ALL of his own hunting tools. Arrowheads, spears, baskets...all sorts of amazing things.
Like these arrowheads. Yep. He made them.

With said tools he has successfully hunted deer, squirrel, rabbit, coyote and carribou. Amazing!

Currently in our local theater the free kids movie of the week is Night at the Museum 2. Last night hubby took the boy to see it. Just in time to come across this...

Hey there Jedidiah.

After touring the museum, we headed back out to the atlatls. And my nephew scored this kill.

Needless to say, the atlatl was the biggest hit of Archaeology Day for the boys. They are trying to see if they can make their own. Thanks to wikihow..perhaps they will.
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Simple-Atlatl

There you have it our morning at Archaeology Day. Soon to come- Our evening at Crane Fest.