Oh, Baby!

Baby animals, that is.

Wednesday at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo, called "The Little Zoo That Could" by The Discovery Channel. Has a series on it by that name, about their recovery from hurricanes.

They are planning to move to a larger tract of land, a bit further inland and protected, the land having been donated to them.

What we love about it is that it is small enough to feel close to the animals and to see everything in a very short time. Also, they have animal encounters.

Little Girl, Teresa, Bryn, and #2 Son opted for the encounter with lemurs. The fuzzy critters climbed all over them, and one was fascinated with #2 Son's Bob Marley hat -- it kept grooming the dredlocks! Must have seen a challenge there. Another one messed while they were in there, right next to Little Girl. The others cringed, but she, like the trooper with animals that she is, just shrugged it off and asked for a paper towel.

Dre, Sweetie, Bigger Girl, and i went in for the kangaroo encounter. The joey, named Tillie just like Sweetie's 3rd grade teacher, snuggled in a canvas pouch and we held and petted her. There is nothing so soft as the fur around the pouch of a female baby kangaroo. Her expressions of ecstasy as she was scratched behind the ears was priceless. Other small roos were hopping around and eating and resting and allowed us to pet them, also.

There were also baby tigers, but that is by advanced reservation only. If you are in the area when it's time to take them back indoors, you are allowed to pet their backs. These were white tiger cubs, and next year i'm going to call ahead by a month or so and see what they have going. No more missing out because we didn't know in advance.

The remainder of Wednesday was spent fishing, falling in the pool, shaking sand from our shorts, lounging, and just drinking in the fact that there's nothing we have to do.

#2 Son spent most of that time with the friends he made. They play hide and seek, and he's the only one crazy enough to dive through the bushes to get away during a game. The fact that he has to dig splinters out of his hands after doesn't deter him! Ah, just like back home.




Today is


Abused Women and Children Awareness Day


Canadian Rivers Day


Crowded Nest Awareness Day -- if your grown kids have moved back home, you are already aware of it!


Dia dos Namorados -- Brazil (Boyfriends/Girlfriends Day)


Festival of Mut -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar


Ghost in the Machine Day -- That explains everything!


Helsinki Day -- Helsinki, Finland


Hvítasunnudagur -- Iceland (Whitsun celebration, don't sleep in on this day, it's bad for your health; go sneak up on the monsters that sleep in today instead!)


Independence Day -- Philippines


Loving Day -- the day interracial marriages were declared legal in the US by the Supreme Court


National Peanut Butter Cookie Day


Peace of Chaco Day / Chaco Armistice Day -- Paraguay and Bolivia (commemorates the end of a war between the two)


Pentecost / Whitsunday -- Christian


Russia Day -- Russia


Scirophoria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)


St. Anthony's Eve -- Portugal


St. Leo's Day


St. Onuphrius' Day


World Day Against Child Labour -- International




Birthdays Today:


Marv Albert, 1941
Chick Corea, 1941
Jim Nabors, 1932
Anne Frank, 1929
Vic Damone, 1928
George Bush, 1924
Alexandre Tansman, 1897




Today in History:


Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk in the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, 1429
The French begin their colonization of Algeria with the landing of 34,000 troops, 1830
The world's first Fingerprint Bureau opens in Calcutta, India, after the Council of the Governor General approves a committee report that fingerprints should be used for classification of criminal records, 1897
Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures' Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor, 1939
Anne Frank gets her diary as a birthday present, 1942
The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional, 1967
At the Brandenburg Gate U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall, 1987
Russia Day – the parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty, 1990
Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London, 1997