Runge Nature Center on Friday was home to post-Thanksgiving feasting and gift-searching, as elsewhere, but in probably more of a wild way than anywhere else in town.
Pracilla Hedgepeth, 8, and Libelle "Bella" Hedgepeth, 3, both of Columbia, were making Christmas ornaments with turkey and duck feathers, acorns, evergreen leaves and some ribbons.
"I make things all the time," like painting pine cones, Pracilla said, "but I've never worked with giant feathers before."
The sisters were with their grandma, Linda Houston, of Millersburg, at the Runge Center for "Gifts of Nature," an alternative to Black Friday shopping that continues 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today.
"Nature has so many naturally beautiful gifts that we can use to create unique crafts," a flyer for the event describes. "Unwind while making holiday crafts with family."
As of about 1:15 p.m. Friday, about 190 people had dropped by the Runge Center, volunteer Jim Smith said.
An added draw to Friday's event was the feeding of animals that started at 1 p.m. While many people probably enjoyed some leftover turkey or ham with mashed potatoes or stuffing on Friday, the pond and lake fish in the tank at the Runge Center chased after some live minnows.
The snapping turtles and snakes, meanwhile, paced themselves on devouring some already dead mice.
The circle of life makes for environmentally beneficial crafting, too.
Volunteer Judith Deel, of Jefferson City, explained the sticks being used at one craft station came from Japanese honeysuckle plants - an invasive species. The non-native species that can crowd out other plants has to be kept in check.
Likewise, the native Eastern red cedar evergreen the Hedgepeths were crafting with can damage prairie plants' ability to survive, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
That wasn't really the focus of Pracilla's work, though.
"Mine needs a little more red-coloring to it," she said, adding "My sister found an acorn cap that I think she's going to use, maybe."
The Runge Nature Center is located at 330 Commerce Drive in Jefferson City. No registration is required to participate in the Gifts from Nature event.