Today was the last day of school at St. Matt's. So Ella and I decided to grab the last few moments we could together before we start sharing our mornings with Sissy again. As luck would have it, our friend Zachary officially turned two today. It was the perfect opportunity to squeeze in a zoo trip. Z was Ella's first friend and she loves him dearly. His sister, Avery, is one of Clare's favorite people, to boot. But she and Ella are cut from the same cloth, so they enjoy each other just as well.
We started our trip by feeding the animals at the petting zoo. There are so many goats that love to eat right from your hand...or bag...or purse...or wherever you may be hiding a snack. There are barns to walk through with birds in their nests and pigs to look at and llamas to feed as well. The animals are in pens rather than traditional zoo enclosures which makes them closer and more accessible to the kids. It also makes them a little more pushy and a little more like spoiled dogs than wild critters. So we have to be mindful when we interact with them that they were indeed, wild.
When we were all out of food, we happily washed up and went for a train ride. It's about fifteen minutes of slow, quiet fun in the hill country. I always forget how beautiful it is here until I get the chance to sit still and really look at it. I love the icy green, low grass and the short, scrubby trees. I often take them for granted as I spend half the year cursing their pollen.
We followed up our train ride by walking through the lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!). The tigers were swimming and playing with their toys in the water. It was amazing to see them leap and swat and play like [really giant and slightly scary] kitty cats. The lions were scratching to get inside their enclosures. They must have been hot or else waiting for food. They seemed a little feisty. I kept thinking we would get to hear them roar. The zookeeper told us that you can hear them roar from five miles away and assured us we could move on to lunch and just not miss it if they did. One pair of lions was rescued by the zoo from the circus. The other pair were once pets and now live at the zoo permanently. It's always nice to hear how they came to be at the zoo. It isn't a traditional zoo in that all the animals have been rescued and are there for sanctuary. The monkeys and birds finished up our animal fun, but we waved and passed quickly because we were starving and anxious to spring Sissy for the summer. Maybe next time we go, we'll start the loop backwards so we have more patience for those last parts and don't feel compelled towards fascination with the goats. ;)
