Friday, October 10, 2008

The Zoo Story

What a difference a year makes! My last memories of visiting the Toronto Zoo include being insanely hot (the weather, not me) and rather pregnant (me, not the weather). The Boy didn't want to sit in the stroller, but refused to walk, so Mr Earth and I took turns carrying him. He enjoyed the zoo. Our arms, not so much.

This year, the Boy, the Little Guy and I went with my very good friend and her two children. I was a bit worried about how it would all go down, but I was pleasantly surprised. The weather was fantastic - warm, sunny, cool breeze. I couldn't stop talking about how glad I was to be out of doors on such a nice day. I felt a bit giddy with the freedom. (Or was that the vodka in my Klean Kanteen? Hm.)

The Little Guy, Mr-I-Hate-the-Stroller-Don't-You-Dare-Put-Me-In-That-Thing, sat contentedly the whole time. The. Whole. Time. Unheard of. Perhaps he was as tired as I am of looking at the same four walls of our house? Methinks we should get out more.


Oh sure, he gave me some funny looks. But he sat there. The. Whole. Time. Have I mentioned that this is unheard of? I was starting to think that he had drunk some of the contents of my Klean Kanteen. Hm.

The Boy and his friend explored the giant fallen tree. It was pretty cool. Man-made? Not sure.

I would have crawled through myself, but was afraid of getting stuck. Besides, someone had to take the pictures, right? The perfect excuse. How would I explain getting stuck in a gigantic fallen tree? Humiliating.

The boys stopped to examine a caterpillar crossing the road:


Oh sure, twenty bucks admission and eight bucks for parking, and the most fascinating animal at the Zoo? A caterpillar. He was pretty darn cute, though. (Was it a he? How does one tell these things? Are there even He-caterpillars? You can see I got me a good education..)

More shocking than the live bat we saw (Live bats. Shudder.), was the peahen who jumped out of her cage, and came to the snack bar for a little treat. Or was she window shopping? Hm.



If you look in the window, you will see the faint reflection of the Boy. I think that's a pretty neat effect for a sucky photographer like me.

One of my personal favourite parts of the Zoo (besides the weather, which really was phenomenal), was this poster:



I just think that says it all, don't you?




11 comments:

kittenpie said...

I live the zoo and haven't been for FAR too long. Must go again soon.

Adn this is one of the reasons why I LOVE seahorses. I've mentioned that fact MANY times to Misterpie...

crazymumma said...

The caterpillar is like the box that the toy came in.

Outings, successful ones used to make me feel wildly competent.

MARY G said...

Great pics! I haven't been to the zoo for almost forever. Must go! Must take Little Stuff. I can't get her past a caterpillar either.
I am not sure they have a sex -- not until they metamorpha um change into butterflies or moths.

Anonymous said...

... so, are they asexual until they metaphorpa-um? Seems I are about as goodly edumacated as you...

Oh, so jealous! When we lived in Toronto, we had a family membership and went about once a month (except in the dead of winter)-- and this when the subway stopped at, um, Warden? We all loved it. I think we could have found our way from the front gates to the elephant area blindfolded. (My eldest wanted to be an elephant keeper when she was 4 through 7 years old.)

I love Ottawa, but I sure do miss the zoo!

ewe are here said...

Sounds like a great day.

And I so want that seahorse poster.
;-)

Beck said...

I went to the Toronto Zoo on my honeymoon. I should probably take my kids, eh?

Tania said...

We hit the zoo yesterday. What a great week-end for it!

I feel your pleasure with regards to the little guy staying in his stroller all day. It sure makes things a LOT nicer.

bren j. said...

Hah! That poster IS brilliant! It looks like something that would be funny to have up in an OB office. :) Also, I think maybe we have to get past Canadian high school biology to know if caterpillars can be male or female. I think I'd automatically call it a 'he' unless I saw it with babies adn I've never seen a caterpillar with babies, but of course that leaves one in a quandary because they can't all be boys!

Mimi said...

so i'm looking at the dog, and he's looking at me ...

(albee gets me every time ... you should ask me about my turn as grandma in the american dream ...)

Woman in a Window said...

Zoos make me sad. I weep, big and slobbery for what we've done to our world and the animals. Ya, I'm a lot of fun to take to the zoo. Glad you had fun!

motherbumper said...

It would totally suck to get stuck in a big tree but just think of the blog post. I love our zoo (as much as they make me weepy - yah, I'm a freak). We took Gigi there on her first birthday and we must get back. Wanna date?