Zoo

Finally! Blogger worked!

We have zoo pictures!

Cheers me up since I am in a funk this morning because the *good* coffee is gone, I had to resort to the *it'll do* coffee. Doesn't even smell right brewing!

But anyway.....I digress.....

This is what happens when you give a 13 year old the camera.

*chuckle*

K is obsessed with elephants right now. Has been for about a year now. She must have taken 20 pictures of three elephants. Anyway - I love the zoo. After a brief * I can't stand that they are all caged* hiatus after college. I got over it. I did have to have that talk with K sunday though, as she expressed dismay about the cages. I reminded her that zoo's were meant for conservation, and education, and without those things a lot of these animals would be extinct etc. So she felt a bit better about it.

So for Mother's Day I requested a trip to the zoo. The last time we were there was right after my mom died ten years ago. C was 18 months old! Certianly a different experience this time around. I was never so grateful to be at this point in our life as I watched strollers, and mom's trying to breast feed sitting on a bench outside the monkey house, and heard screaming and crying, and some very loud parent's who really needed to remember they were in public.

I was also very grateful that there is a Starbucks (mini one) in the zoo!

So much about the zoo has changed, and yet so much hasn't. It is almost surreal to enter and see the same impala fountain and elephant statue. It just takes me back years, and warms my soul.

The new moneky enclosure is way cooler than the old one, as well as the new cat exhibit. Much nicer than cages.

This guy was sleeping up there like that. Totally relaxed arms and legs hanging over. I so wish I could get that comfy in my own bed. Monkeys are always fun to watch. The reaction of the crowd when the gorillas move around always fascinates me. We watched a pair of spider monkeys display *the facts of life* which thankfully did not last long, and my 13 year immediately deemed *disgusting* and ran the other way. It was funny though to watch the male, keep chasing the female when they got , um interupted....you could just hear the converstation going on between the two of them, as he poked at her, and she evaded him....J and I kept the dialogue to ourselves, and it was quite entertaining. Love monkeys. I could not get a good shot of what I deemed the *Beatles* monkeys. They were orange, small, but had long straight hair that hung down on the sides like the Beatles hair dos of so long ago! Of course, the under 15 set had no idea what I was refering to.

One of my favorite pictures from the day. The cats have always been my favorite. Spent lots of time in the old cat house sitting watching the tigers pace. No more indoor cages. No pictures of the tigers though. They were all sleeping in corners. K also likes the cheetahs and pumas etc. C interestingly enough, didn't really have a favorite. He did get to see the crocs eat rats, that was *cool mom* - we plan to go again soon and get there earlier to see more feeding times. (since we are now members, and joining was only like $20 more than what it would have cost us to get in once!)

This was J's favorite. I think it is called a Scottish Highland Cattle, and is very rare....he took tons of pictures of them. Cute in their own way. Reminds me of the sheep dog that out foxes the wolf on the bugs bunny cartoons.

Hey buddy got any more?

We got into the lorakeet house just under the closing wire. These guys are gorgeous. We got to hand feed them in Myrtle Beach a few years ago. There is nectar in those littles cups and pretty much as soon as they see you enter with it, they are on it. They sit on your arm and drink the nectar. They are bright and beautiful. This is one sitting on J's arm while he tried to lean back and get a picture. For some reason, he also had three more on his other arm,a nd shoulder. Each of us only had one.

There are more that I will share in tomorrow's post. Too may to fit in one post. Nothing else going on around here, so might as well milk this! No major ponderings either.

Just counting they days, and I mean me, not the kids - til the end of school. Although this summer may be interesting to say the least.