Yesterday, Husband was handling some paperwork here, and came to a question regarding our membership at the zoo. He called to talk to someone about it, who answered his question and then told him about all the cool things at the zoo this summer. By the time he got off the phone, he had decided we all should go to the zoo for the day!
Spontaneity rules the day!
We had a great time.
This is Mighty Mike, the zoo's huge new alligator. He was a nuisance alligator in Florida. The man who caught him (I'd love to hear that story!) was so impressed with him that instead of putting him down, he worked and worked until he found a place that would take him. Our zoo was wishing for an alligator, so it was a perfect fit!
Mighty Mike is said to weigh at least 500 pounds, and is somewhere around 15 feet long. They keep him separated from the other alligators, because given the chance he would eat them.
Husband was pretty impressed with the size of that alligator!
We all enjoyed the zoo. I enjoyed watching my children.
The flamingos were pretty cool.
(Ok, these are not flamingos, are they... but I don't know their names. Are they storks? Pelicans? I think they might be pelicans.)
Spontaneity rules the day!
We had a great time.
This is Mighty Mike, the zoo's huge new alligator. He was a nuisance alligator in Florida. The man who caught him (I'd love to hear that story!) was so impressed with him that instead of putting him down, he worked and worked until he found a place that would take him. Our zoo was wishing for an alligator, so it was a perfect fit!
Mighty Mike is said to weigh at least 500 pounds, and is somewhere around 15 feet long. They keep him separated from the other alligators, because given the chance he would eat them.
Husband was pretty impressed with the size of that alligator!
We all enjoyed the zoo. I enjoyed watching my children.
The flamingos were pretty cool.(Ok, these are not flamingos, are they... but I don't know their names. Are they storks? Pelicans? I think they might be pelicans.)
They were looking at the Bald Eagles when they noticed a lost pacifier in the enclosure.
We laughed about that, imagining the scene when it happened.
One of the zoo's special attractions this summer is a Monarch exhibit.
They will release these butterflies in the fall so they can migrate.... so pretty!
I liked the turtles.
I think turtles are cool anyway.
These are my kids.
And this is my husband, who is pretty handsome, I think.But I am not related to this guy...
He was just chillin' on this hot day.
Yeah, it was a good day.
I'm so glad Husband thought of it!
Kathy, thanks so much for these pictures. I'm glad you enjoyed the zoo. This is my third year volunteering there. Today, though, is my first day handling one of our 1-2 year old alligators (!!!) so I was looking up more information online and stumbled onto your blog. I think putting my hand in the water and grabbing around the mouth of one of our wee gators makes me more nervous than jumping out of an airplane.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice to see pictures of people enjoying John Ball Zoo. I hope you renewed your membership!
Nice to meet you! the day we were there, someone was holding a little alligator and showed him to my kids near the entrance (while I bought a pair of earrings). I would have to agree that reaching into the water to grab an alligator's mouth would make me pretty nervous too! thank you to you and the other volunteers who help to make our zoo such a friendly place to visit.
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