Blabbing about my day

AJ went to Denver again this morning and before he left he explained to Lucas that he would be gone for a while and that he wouldn't be able to read to him before bedtime at night until he got back. He explained that Mommy would read to him and Daddy would call and talk to him on the phone every night. Well Lucas started to cry and get upset because he didn't want Daddy to go on a trip. So as I was watching AJ's and Lucas's hearts break I opened my mouth (trying to make it better for everyone) and declared that we were going to the zoo today - after Daddy went to work. And it worked. Everyone was happy.

We had a great time. We got there early, like 20 minutes after they opened, and saw all the animals eating their breakfasts. In some enclosures the keepers were still cleaning and prepping so we got to talk to them and asked them lots of questions. I go there so frequently that they are going to get sick of me interrupting their work. But we learned that the gorilla female that looks preggers in not. She is just fat. Very very fat. I guess the silverback there at the zoo likes his women large and won't mate with them unless they are fat. So the fat one is the alpha female, because she is the favored girl. I didn't take pictures because the gorillas seemed to be upset that I was there at all - disturbing their serene morning by walking by. And they are so human-like that I tried to respect what little privacy they are allowed. Same with the chimps.

While I was talking to the Chimp keeper the males kept running up to the glass and hitting it really hard. Right in front of us. The keeper didn't even flinch. I asked her what the deal was and she explained that the two "boys" hitting the glass were in puberty and were just being bullies. They think they are big men now and are charging everything in sight. I guess the female chimps get sick of the "boys" and run over to the alpha male to assist them in keeping the boys in line. They grab the alpha male by the wrist and drag him out to deal with the "boys". He apparently prefers to stay out of the day-to-day squabbles of the group and is a reluctant participant. He only gets involved when things are getting out of hand. Funny.

The zebra keeper said that zebras are nothing like horses temperamentally. Something I suspected but I had to ask for confirmation. He said they are super flighty and keepers can't get too close to them or they freak out. Which makes sense when you consider the habitat/conditions/predators they are adapted to living with. I guess that they can't put them in squeeze shoots but instead they have to dart them to do any work on their feet or any veterinary care.

The tigers were fighting with each other when we went by. Both males had their ears laid back and the scruffs of their necks puffed up. One male started sharpening his claws as we watched him. He stretched out and when he did I realized just how HUGE these animals are. He was so big and so long. It is amazing.

The rinos were fighting as well. The two girls (who were really healthy, robust gals) were pissed that the male rino was trying to shove them away from their food. So both girls went to another pile of feed. When the boy tried to approach the girls turned toward him in unison and ran after him - they shoved him out of the way with the length of their horns. He was all pissed off and started shoving back but was no match for the enormous women. So he gave up and went back to his pile of feed. They were all snorting at each other and making noises. It was pretty cool.

And the Sea Lions were really active. One came and floated right up against our window - all the other families at the other windows were jealous and tried to come shove us out of the way - but we hung onto our window. Screw their kids . . . I want my kid to see the sea lion first! And the sea lion just sat there floating around right next to where my hand was on the window making scratching motions - as if he were a cat. And it worked. He stuck his head right down by my hand as if he wanted to be scratched . . . I mean who wouldn't want a scratch? I would. This lasted for like 3 or 4 minutes. This sea lion just kept rolling around and pushing his "little" body against our window saying hello. They seem like really sweet animals.

I had two separate moms (with husbands in tow), both with kids around the same age as my kids, stop me and comment on how it was remarkable that I was brave enough to take BOTH of my kids to the zoo ALL ALONE!!! Hmmm. I think I would go insane if I couldn't take the kids anywhere alone.

Here are pictures