meriones

First day back to the zoo farm and the official start of my tenth summer at the zoo! Where'd the time go?

Pretty uneventful day save for one thing. In the goat yard the inside barn area is roped off to guests and has a "goat refuge area" sign attached to the rope with a couple S hooks. Goats like to rub their heads on this sign. One goat was doing just that when her ear tag got hooked up into that S. Screaming goat, panicked goat herd, and freaking out children ensued. She was trying to run away from the rope and kept throwing her entire body backwards each time the rope got taught. I pretty much had to sit on her to get her to calm down long enough to let me futz with her ear and get the thing loose. Now I have a better understanding of what might of happened to that goat kid with the ear completely split down the middle. Yikes!

I think every single goat in that herd of about 30 got the poop scared out of them. Literally.

Random shot of the two Jersey cows at the farm. I enjoy the color varation, especially considering the one on the left is mother to the one on the right. I don't think I've ever seen a Jersey as dark as Mary, in fact. You can't really tell in the photo but she's really spotted on her sides as well.

Bit of a slow day until the sun came out a little after 2 o'clock. It was interesting walking out to the farm, because while it wasn't raining, it pretty much sounded like rain with the sounds of water dripping off all the tree branches and leaves. It felt like walking out in the rain without actually getting wet. "Outside the rain's fallin' down. There's not a drop that hits me." Yeah I totally started humming Sleepwalker on the way.


And a random video of one of the Mexican Wolves because she amused me. The first time she took off running I thought maybe she didn't realize I was standing there and spooked. But when she kept doing it over and over and over again I decided maybe this was some fun game to her?

For as much as I ignore this exhibit during the summer months, it's become my favorite in the winter. This guy just loves the attention! I always feel guilty when I finally have to leave.

I definitely took the time to appreciate the quiet of today sense next time I'm in it's Tropical Beach Party and that day in CRAZY busy. The only busier time of the year is during Spring Babies, but with that most guests spread out to the outdoor exhibits and don't just compact themselves into the Tropics building and no place else.

And I wonder where the giant indoor sandbox and calypso band are supposed to go. The old area is a construction zone now.

Got to see Dave and Weston do the birdshow raptor encounter thing. They are my two favorite birdshow presenters so that was awesome. Dave kept insisting everyone clap for Weston after every bird and Weston did overly dramatic bows.

I also witnessed "The Donnie Show" in the Minnesota Lodge. His demo with the skunk is HILARIOUS! He had this whole story going about running into a wild skunk and all the warning signs they give before actually resorting to spraying. Got the kids involved hissing and stomping. And he kept suddenly rushing at the kids with the skunk in his arms just to freak them out a little. Very fun to watch and the kids loved it.

And I heard Waziyata howl for the first time today! Got the coyotes going as well. I've heard her mate Orion howl, as well as the Mexican Gray Wolves, but never heard her. It actually took me a second to realize it was coming from her because of the wolf howl button the kids always push. Speaking of Wazi, they're artificially inseminating her tomorrow so fingers crossed for wolf pups in a few months!

Oh, and the two month old DeBrazza's Monkey is a riot to watch on exhibit now. It's at the point where it's starting to explore away from mom. At one point it ran down the tree to the ground when mom wasn't looking and the mama monkey went into a mild panic looking every which way for her baby. And of course the second she grabbed it and ran back up into the tree it was out and gone again, playing with the older sibling next to what appeared to be a pile of red river hog poop.