ZOO DAY

A few weekends ago, we joined my friend Michelle and her husband Scott and their kids, Nathaniel and Lucille, at Scovill Zoo - - thought I would post a picture Michelle sent me of Maggie, Nathaniel and me on the carousel.

ROCK CLIMBING

It was a beautiful sunny day in Central Illinois, so we took the kids to the zoo this afternoon. We had covered about two-thirds of the zoo when we came to the herpaquarium where most of the reptiles and amphibians are housed. The kids always stop right outside this building and touch the shells of the tortoises that stay in a low fenced area to the left of the herpaquarium door. As we came up the hill to the building today, I noticed that one tortoise had its mouth wide open and appeared to be attempting to climb up a large rock. Not wanting the kids to get bit, I told them, "don't touch the tortoise with its mouth open."

However, as we got a little closer, I realized that the large rock he was climbing was actually another tortoise. The kids both stopped and stared at the male tortoise as he made steady grunting, bark-like noises. Maggie commented, "I'm not touching that one! He's mad about something." Chris and I just gave each other "the look" and ushered the kids inside the herpaquarium. After looking at the snakes and frogs and iguanas and turtles, I said to Chris, "how fast do you think we can get them out the door?"

Apparently, not fast enough. The male turtle was still rhythmically barking away as we exited the building and Maggie again stopped to comment. "He is sure upset about something! He's really angry, isn't he, Mommy? Maybe it's because that other tortoise won't get out of his way."

"Hmm...could be," I responded - while trying not to laugh at the look Chris was giving me. As we went on to the next exhibit, Maggie again asked, "Mommy - why was the tortoise doing that?" I began to figure she understood that there was a deeper explanation that what I had been offering, so I finally told the truth. I explained that they were trying to make tortoise babies. I explained that is what they had to do for the tortoise to get pregnant and lay eggs with baby tortoises in them.

She digested this truth for a moment and then said, "to make babies, he has to climb on her back and make weird noises?" Not wanting to continue the discussion any further, I just replied, "Yep - that's about right." She then said, "Are you just kidding me?" I laughed and assured her I was telling her the truth....but I am not sure she believed me.

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL ZOO - - A GREAT PLACE FOR KIDS TO LEARN FIRSTHAND ABOUT THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

Let's belly up to the bar. . . at the zoo!

My husband and I took our kids last week to Chicago. While there, we spent a day at the Brookfield Zoo. It truly is a fantastic zoo - - very clean, incredible array of animals, and a wide variety of exhibits. While there, we saw an impressive dolphin show, took a tram around the zoo, and rode the carousel. There were other things to do as well, such as visit the petting zoo and walk through a butterfly display, all of which, of course, involved tacking a lot more money onto your tab. We decided to stick with the basics for this visit. My kids always beg to visit the petting zoo at our local zoo, but then complain the entire time about the amount of goat poop they are stepping in, and end up spending most of their time there trying to avoid it. We thought it wise to just skip it altogether and forego their lilting manure avoidance dance.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention one thing that I just could not get over while at the zoo - - the amount of beer stands. It seemed that every time we turned a corner, there was another beer stand. OK - perhaps that is being a bit over the top, but I was quite surprised simply by their presence there in the first place. The zoo isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind when you think, "you know, I could really use a cold one."

The Brookfield Zoo has two really nice play areas with playground equipment for the kids to play on. It offered a nice break for us to sit for a bit while the kids had a chance to run around and "blow some stink off." (thanks for the addition of that phrase to my vocabulary, Mom.) Close to the play area are of course, the obligatory food stands that are strategically placed so that the kids can beg you for an ice cream cone or a pretzel the moment they stop to take a breather from the play equipment. And located, for your convenience, right between the ice cream stand and the nacho stand? Not one, but TWO beer stands. Parents! Had enough of looking at the elephants and the rhinos? Well grab an incredibly overpriced semi-cold beer in a plastic cup and recharge those old batteries!

Having previously taught elementary school, I had visions of school groups descending on the zoo en masse during the spring for those age-old teacher-torture tests, better known as "field trips." I could just envision a teacher, weary from a long day with thirty little kids who act as though they have never been in public before, eyeing that beer stand with just a slight bit of envy.