It's all Happening at the Zoo

When my kids were little, I loved

to take them to our local children's zoo

where they got to pet the animals...

Ride the  ponies...

And, hop on this neat train that

snaked through the zoo.

(More about snakes later...)

I haven't been to the zoo in years,

so imagine my excitement when my daughter

Lindsay told me she was going to the zoo

with her friend Molly.

Our zoo has been spiffed up in recent years

and I had seen zoo photos where skilled

photographers made it look like the animals

were shot while on safari in Africa.

I wanted to try my own skills,

so the girls let me tag along.

The first animal I saw was a prairie dog.

Hmmm...I wonder if Denver is

missing this guy.  They have prairie dog overload.

I was certain the elephants and giraffes

were just around the corner.

Next, I saw this kangaroo,

who instantly hopped over by this wire fence

so he would look caged rather

than wild in the Outback.

This poor fellow looked very sad jailed behind bars.

I was not getting the wildness I wanted.

I WAS excited to photograph a real live bald eagle.

Does the fence in the background look

like a tree in the forest??

"Where are the tigers and zebras?" I asked my daughter.

"Mom! This is a children's zoo. Our town can't

afford to feed rhinos or hippos."

"Okay, I'll just take another photo of this eagle," I sigh.

Then I spotted it...

a real monarch butterfly NOT in captivity!!!

I followed it around until it

landed and gleefully photographed it.

This is real nature, people!

No bars or fences.

Then I saw a dragonfly..something I have

never photographed.

Looks like the monkey took a chomp

out of its wing.

I skipped the donkey exhibit

to photograph this unusual flower.

"Good grief, Mom! We're at the zoo, not the botanical gardens."

Lindsay said.

I HAD to shoot something interesting...

'cuz, this zoo really is perfect for children.

Itching to take more pics, I urged the

girls to let me photograph them in our

friend's meadow.

He is lacking colorful flowers,

so I asked if I could plant some

perennials there for future photo shoots

and he was thrilled.

Here's pretty Molly:

As I was taking this photo

a SNAKE slithered across my

sandaled foot!!!

AHHHHH!!!!! 

I screamed like a banshee.

(What's a banshee??)

Molly is such a lovely young lady.

Not sure about the perennial planting though.

I don't want to be photo snapping among snakes!

See ya, later....

                                                                               Alligator...