A parade of animals was a sculpture in State Capital State Park. The ground was wet, and the sky overcast, because this shot was taken between downpours.

A bronze sign, set in concrete, identified the sculpture and its origin. It read in part:

"A Parade Of Animals"
By Peter Helzer
A Public Sculpture Honoring The Children Of Oregon

That information was followed by a list of benefactors, friends, supporters, and special thanks.

The leader of the parade was a figure formed by two frogs on stilts wearing shoes.

Only one frog worked the silts. The other frog sat on the head of the first and played the concertina.

One frog played the concertina while the other walked the parade using stilts.

A close shot of the shoe on the bottom of one of the stilts.

Two alligators marched next in the parade. One played the drums and blew a horn. On the head of the larger alligator rode a raven.

The raven, riding on top of the tall alligator, played a tiny violin.

A close shot of the raven and its tiny violin. Note that the violin lacks strings.

The larger of the two alligators played a clarinet using only his mouth and beat a large drum carried by straps around his neck.

As the two alligators marched off we could see their tails dragging on the ground behind them.

The small alligator walked beside the larger one. Fortunately that alligator was short enough to avoid being hit in the head as the drum was beat.

Three rodents followed last in the parade and carried a French horn wearing glasses to appear as a face.

Glasses on a French horn created the appearance of a face. Below were rodents disguised with a blanket or tarp.

The lead rodent peered out from under the covering cloth.

In the center was a second, and smaller, rodent who also peered out from under the covering cloth.

A trailing rodent peered out from under the cloth covering. Notice a dip in the covering that gathered rain water and fall leaves.