We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo. How 'bout you?

This past Saturday we went the the zoo. It's not the first time we've gone in the dead of winter, but the wind and cold often beckons us elsewhere. Like someplace indoors. Saturday promised sunny skies and minimal wind so we packed up the kids and enjoyed the afternoon with the animals. The zoo is a completely different place in the winter. There might have been about 10 other people there. Animals that sleep the summer away in response to the heat are ready to rock and roll when it's cold outside.

Take the snow leopard, for instance (affectionately called "Tai Lung" by me and the girls). Tim played a few rousing games of hide and seek with him. He(meaning Tim) hid behind the poles and then jumped out to surprise the little fellow, who came bounding down from his own hiding place in the bushes and crashed into the glass with his paws, growling and clawing all the while. The kids loved the show. But I started to feel like he was getting a bit agitated and put a stop to the whole thing, as entertaining as it was. Fortunately, the zookeepers assured us that it truly was a game for him and that his teeth-baring, menacing behavior was still within the playful range. Still, I was grateful for glass that day. Wish the camera batteries hadn't died so I could have gotten some footage. I'm not sure who was more entertaining - Tai Lung or Tim acting like a five-year-old. Still I got a few pictures of the girls.