Thoughts on the zoo

Hello? Hello? Anyone still out there?

I have some existential issues with this blog, but that's a topic for another time, maybe. For now, let's talk about the zoo.

I bought a zoo pass because the zoo is about 2 miles from my house and it's something to do during the long lonely days of a medical resident's wife.

However, it's hot outside, and most of the interesting animals are doing exactly what I would be doing if I were caged up on a 90-degree-plus afternoon: hiding in the shade.

No worries, Maren isn't really interested in the animals anyway. She would rather do some combination of the following:

- jump in puddles
- stand on the bridge and look at the creek running below
- watch a Bobcat (the machine, not the animal) move gravel around in the construction zone
- look at the non-zoo birds nesting in some rafters
- push the stroller herself with reckless abandon
- wander around on foot giving high-fives to other (bewildered) kids in strollers

Which gives a mother cause to wonder why she spent all that money on a zoo pass. However, the zoo is savvy enough to put dinosaurs on display! This is excellent, and most children under the age of 6 were more interested in the dinosaurs than in any actual living animal (Maren included). Actually, if the zoo were really smart, they would just replace ALL the animals with mechanical replicas. The replicas would require much less care and would always be doing something interesting, like roaring and looking like they are about to devour you whole.

Maren was one of the few children not traumatized by the T-Rex, though its occasional roaring did startle her. I was slightly unsettled by its eerily-lifelike shifty eyes.

On the other hand, I did get to see a bald eagle eating a rat the other day, so I guess the pass was worth it.