I am so sorry about my post title. As a general rule, I don't like to apologize for things on here, like lack of posting, or boring posts, or bad pictures, because then it only calls attention to the error and you can't help but notice them once it is mentioned, however, I am sorry about this title. Coming up with blog titles is often my least favorite part about having a blog. I heard other people say this before, and I never believed them. I mean, how hard can it be? Just give your blog post a title and move on! But, obviously, my disdain for others' plights has come back to haunt me, and here I am, complaining about thinking up a post title. If you want to know my usual trusty little secret, I take a couple key words in the first paragraph, occasionally end the final paragraph with a couple similar key words, and then pick my post title out of those key words, or synonyms of them. That often works well for me, but not today. I'm stumped. So, "A Trip to the Zoo" it is, and if this scintillating title is enough to make you want to read on, then please do.
What a lovely morning at the Osherrod Zoo/Animal Preserve and Rescue. This is a very small zoo minutes from our house, in an unlikely location, considering what a small town we are in. Not the place where you would expect to find a zoo. It is a very small, quaint, zoo. That's how I'd describe it. I imagine that because of it's small size and relatively small number of visitors (if our morning was any indication), we were able to have a much more exciting zoo experience than other visits we have had in the past to other zoos, say, the Denver Zoo.
This had a much more laid back and relaxed feel, with an occasional zookeeper showing up, unlocking a cage door to feed monkeys by hand; peacocks and pygmy goats wandering around free; certain monkeys able to leave the confines of their cage and climb to neighboring trees, to snag a berry or two; simple chainlink fence to allow visitors to get close as they feel comfortable to some animals. I was warned that the monkey might pee on me if I stood too close, so the children and I backed a safe distance away. The animals seemed thrilled with visitors and appeared to show off for us as we visited each cage. The gibbons howled for us. The yaks stayed right at the fence so we could visit with them. The pelican flew from branch to branch (that is a mighty intimidating bird, I tell you. Seeing it swoop through the air is enough to give me nightmares) and finally sat and drank from the pond for several minutes. We got to see the unusual way it drinks, dipping its head underwater, filling its beak with water, which expands, then tilting its head back completely and from side to side to swallow the water. My friend, who actually does have nightmares about birds, after a few minutes said with a shudder, "I can't stop watching it. I want to turn away, but I can't look away." Maybe look up a youtube video of pelicans drinking water and you'll see what I mean.
Jude and Truman wondered why they didn't see an elephant or giraffes or a baby hippopotamus, or a rhinoceros, but I was impressed with how many animals the local zoo actually had. And without a doubt, this was the most interactive zoo experience we have ever had. I've never seen my kids so excited about a zoo trip. Usually it's something the older people in our house kind of dread. First of all, it's always hot. The zoo goes on for miles. It's hot, and the animals seem to feel as miserable about it as we do, and lie in a comatose state while we strain through crowds of people and try to attempt to spot the back half of a cheetah hidden from view by bushes and rocks.
"I see it!" one of us finally says in relief, because spotting it gives us permission to move on to the next exhibit. Great, only 500 more animals to go before we are finished with this wretched place.
No, I don't actually feel that negative about it, but hopefully you know what I mean about some trips to the zoo. This visit was not that. I've never seen my children study the animals so closely, and I think it helped that we were close enough to the animals to be able to see them without the aid of binoculars.
Way to go, Osherrod Zoo, for an unexpectedly delightful visit today.
Hopefully I will have a knitting post for you tomorrow, for those of you tired of reading about zoos. I think you maybe just had to have been there today.
