Watch Your Fingers

I took the kids to Oklahoma City for a week of field trips, and we started at the zoo on Monday. This was to avoid hearing, "Mom, when are we going to the zoo?" all week. We made a point to visit every special exhibit, which meant we walked, and walked, and walked...

We paid about as much for a quick snack for the giraffes as we did for our lunch. (Not quite, but close) It was worth it, though, to see this guy. Who knew the male's horns were so incredibly knobbly? I sure didn't. Both kids fed the giraffe, but Zaya got what he insists on calling his "sample of giraffe spit." It sounds like each kid was given a vial to take home, but he's referring to a particularly enthusiastic lick.

Mim particularly can't seem to resist all the bronze animals. I have pictures of her at all ages with these animals, so that in itself ought to make an interesting post someday when I get back to my own computer. There are many more pictures of her hugging, riding on or in some way participating with bronze animals, but here are a couple

This one looks like Mim has made friends with the lions, and Zaya has turned them into his evil minions. I don't know where the poses came from...

Not sure what she's holding....carrot? stick?

I guess the gorilla's snack looked tasty.

We went to "Stingray Bay" and  paid our little pound of flesh to pet stingrays. The kids really enjoyed it, right up to the moment when a stingray mistook Mim's cute little finger for a bit of shrimp. The very sweet lady next to her assured her that stingray's don't actually have teeth; it's just a bony plate. That didn't actually help much, but then she told her that they call them "kisses" instead of "bites", and that she herself (the zoo worker) had been "kissed" just a few minutes before by a stingray as well. Mim muttered a few things like, "Sure didn't feel like a kiss," but she otherwise recovered quickly.

We went to see the Lorikeets, but Mommy didn't pay for the little cup of "nectar" that must be made from the very best flowers that grow only in one tiny part of the Rift Valley if it's really worth what they're charging. (And anyway, we had just fed the giraffes the most expensive salad I've seen.) They each got a bird to sit on their finger for a while, and Mim got a little nip. She must be pretty tasty. It's a good thing the lion cage was farther back.

I think Zaya looks like he's just conjured this Lorikeet out of thin air. Presto ! Change-o!

This is the time of year when the Monarchs are passing through Oklahoma on their way down to the big family reunion in Mexico. We spent a while with official zoo-sanctioned nets in the butterfly garden, trying to help them catch and tag a few. We saw a lot of Golden Fritillaries and Skippers, but weren't able to bag a Monarch. Except these two. I got to take them back home with me.

Grandma T had joined us at the zoo by this time, and we enjoyed visiting with her for the last couple hours of our day. We figured we walked about five miles on the little roads and paths of the zoo. Now, on to the rest of the City!