Well.
On Tuesday, my dear preceptor-turned-pal-turned-neighbor Kim told me they sold their house (to the neighbors behind them…a deal which has since sort of fallen through because whoever was supposed to buy the neighbors’ house backed out…but that doesn’t really matter. Her husband Jamie is already working in Indy, and this thing is a go…), and I cried because that’s what I do. I can’t remember if I talked about this here before (and I’m too lazy to look back to see), but this has been brewing for a couple of weeks, and I was hoping it would just blow over. I had been told this was their “forever house” (and also to buck the fuck up about the neighborhood association crap that cyclically makes me want to blow this popsicle stand – because I needed to stay here and be their neighbor…), so I am not taking this particularly well. We don’t hang out all the time, but we hang out enough that this is totally harshing my mellow. Non-lame (I would go so far as to say “good”) friends are hard to find in a suburb, especially if you’re this kind of weirdo. I think I’m obligated to act excited for them, but I’m so so so bummed.
I made Brian take me to the Zoo just to get out of the house (I’m on vacation this week again), even though it was “Hot as Balls” outside.
On the way, we saw this cool Michigan license plate:
Anyway, so it was hot and we were just there, so we just hit some of the highlights. The baby polar bears are getting really big, but I didn’t take any pictures due to the crowds. The Africa! animals were all out looking majestic, but Brian won’t ride the train to get closer to them. The dingoes were not in their exhibit, which was upsetting. The Amur tigers looked like they were dying in the heat, though one was swimming and looked a little livelier. No pictures there due to crowds and/or netting.
We managed to get to the elephant area during “Elephant Enrichment”:
(We also managed to miss seeing that elephant step down off that stump…boo…)
We always love the rhino:
The last time we were at the Zoo, the new camel exhibit was still empty. This time: CAMELS!
After I took that picture of them, we got closer, and the two camels who had been standing laid down and spooned. It was amazing:
Some of the snooty little meerkats could even be bothered to be out while we were there:
This INFURIATES me:
I’m all about raising money for the Zoo and/or conservation efforts, but WTF. Every other statue in the Zoo is free to get near/climb on/photograph. Not cool, Zoo, not cool. I felt vindicated by ZERO people actually buying pictures while we were there…but also irritated that 2 or 3 Zoo employees are milling about in there in case somebody wants an expensive picture. SO STUPID.
On our way out, we went through the Wallaby Walkabout. The last time we were there, all of the wallabies looked terrified of people. They were all right against the fences looking for ways to get out and/or cowering. They seem to have adjusted well since then. They stay clear of the path for the most part, but they do hop across the path/exhibit and sometimes hang out in the middle.
Also, if you’re curious, this is what a wallaby penis looks like:
I just looked up “wallaby penis” so that I could provide you with some sort of fun fact, and I have found one. The scrotum is in front of the penis in marsupials. We could not see balls.