Rattlesnake Festival

Yesterday I went and got a new hairdo--which I absolutely love! It is virtually maintenance free and exactly my style! Hooray for Scott's sister! She is the one who did my hair and Scott's and Katie's yesterday morning. It was like a family hair reunion. After the hair experience we all went to the Rattlesnake festival. It was pretty boring this year compared to last year. Although I can't complain about the boiled peanuts or the funnel cake (which are the prime reasons for visiting any type of festival or fair). Katie went into the FFA petting zoo, climbed a rock wall, rode a pony, and jumped in a bouncy tent. She also watched a reptile show that I was too cheap to pay $5 to get into myself, so I just paid for her $2 ticket and waited outside the tent for her! Today I am headed to Lowry Park Zoo again to scope out the baby white tigers! It is supposed to rain today, so I will just have to enjoy them in the rain...good thing I'm not wearing a white t-shirt!

Glass and Feathers

Yesterday we went to the zoo again and brought Jarhett and Emi with us. It was really cool. This time the Tiger was out and he was roaring and yawning and attacking the glass at the window. There was one guy there who kept putting his hand to the glass and the tiger would either try to lick his hand through the glass or he would jump at him and snarl and slap the glass with his ENORMOUS claws. I got some pretty cool (and blurry) shots of this. I have never been more thankful for the invention of glass in my life. It was the most interactive experience I've had with the tigers there. The guy told us he goes there all the time and the tiger always reacts to him like that, so he thinks he must remind him of a zookeeper or a trainer. He also told us that the tiger we saw is the daddy to cubs who come out in the morning at the zoo, so we are going to the zoo in the morning to see if we can see the babies! I can't wait!!! We also saw Meerkat babies this trip. We dropped a feather into their enclosure and all the meerkats ran out of the holes and attacked the feather and bit it and then scratched it into the dirt. It was weird and awesome all at the same time. We petted the stingrays again and got some pretty interesting photos with the manatees too. We also got to see the kangaroos which were closed last time we went. I think I may be becoming addicted to the zoo...there are so many photo opportunites there. This last trip also let the kids feed the lorikeets which was cool, until one of the birds bit Jarhett. Anyhow, to make a long story short, I am stoked about the zoo!

Hickory Horned Devil

A few weeks ago at school, someone told me there were two huge worms in the ESE butterfly garden that were as big as a large hot dog. The cynic in me was like, "Yeah right." I had to go and satisfy my curiosity, so I went and investigated. These things WERE HUGE. They were so exotic looking. It was like something you might see in the Amazon Rainforest, not on our school campus. I had my camera phone with me, but the photos I was able to snap did not do it justice. I have finally made time to do a little research on the thing and found internet pictures and information. The "worm" is actually a caterpillar of a regal moth and is called a hickory horned devil. The younger version of the caterpillar is just as astonishing as the adult caterpillar. I am posting pictures I found on various websites about this really cool "bug."

The top picture is a picture of the young caterpillar (which is not the age I saw at the school). Then there are several shots of an older caterpillar that is not quite as large as the ones in our garden. Someone measured one of them and it was nearly 6 inches long. The last few photos are of the moth it becomes. It figures the day that something really awesome showed up at our school, I did not have my camera with me. Lesson learned...

Crossing Off My List

I guess Scott finally took the clue that I was lonely and bored. Sunday he took me to Lowry Park Zoo on a date. I got to pet a penguin from Africa and take our picture with it! I can cross Penguin Encounter off my do before I die list! YAY! It was so nice to get out of the damn house and do something not work related. Katie came with us. Scott had never touched a sting ray before and now he has. He was afraid of the penguin and the sting ray! I couldn't believe it. How can you be afraid of something so CUTE? The penguin's name is Tyke and he is 15 months old. It was really a great experience. I can't wait to go back and feed the rhinos, so I renewed my annual pass. Now I can go for a year for free! They said I could even come and volunteer there and get a more behind the scenes look at more animals. I am seriously considering doing that this summer. I could cross off half of my list! Animals are so awesome to me. My job has really been sucking lately. My co-workers really chap my ass. It is like working with Pre-K, except they are adults (in theory). I can't wait to be able to spend my free time at the zoo now and get away from my mundane life in a positive way that allows Katie to tag along! It is almost Halloween and I think that I want to take Katie to Zoo Boo. I am thinking about going to the Hillsboro River State Park Halloween festival if Scott can go. I am too chicken to go immerse myself in a mob of strangers in costume in the woods in the dark alone. Being less of a chicken would certainly make my life more exciting. I am trying to get in any activities I can before my back surgery because I have such a bad feeling about it. I'm sure that it is just my paranoia talking, but just in case I want to have lots of fun before I end up laying around recovering for a month. I know how depressing that can get. I think I will just look at it as an opportunity to catch up on my reading list! My friend is going to loan me her John Irving Books and I am going to have a reading party for one everyday in between my sleeping parties!