Happy Easter

We started Easter very early. The bunny was good to Ethan as usual! His basket started a scavenger hunt which ended with a new puzzle and a book about being a zoologist. Then we drove to NY to see Gramps, Grandma, Pa, and Uncle Tom. We colored eggs, looked at frog eggs, found a salamander, and ate a lot. After dinner, Tom and I headed out to the woods to find some ramps while everyone else played Life on the Farm. They were still playing when we got back, but they stopped for dessert. The rain didn't dampen our good time.

Sturbridge

Just like last year, most of Spring Break felt more like late winter. We went to Old Sturbridge Village and got up close with some baby animals. Ethan's hand nearly got swallowed by Silas the calf. We also watched the blacksmith for a while, and the tinsmith, the cooper, the potter, and the shoemaker. We rode the carryall around the village, and had lunch with our friend Liz who works there.

More Zoo!

We had just been to the zoo, but Ethan's cousins were going and they asked us to come with, so we decided why not? You can never have too much zoo! It was a mad house. I have NEVER seen a line like there was. It was a great day to be a member. It wasn't too terrible inside until afternoon though. We saw a few remarkable things- the SLOTH moved!! We saw it's face and everything. I think that was a first. We also saw the red panda eat. We've never seen the red panda do anything but sleep. The prairie dogs were fairly active, and Ethan was a good cousin and took Gavin and Max in the tunnel to get a close up view. Ethan narrated the sloth's actions based in large part upon a video he watched called True Facts About Sloths. AFTER I watched this with him, I realized that the "True Facts" videos are not necessarily meant for children, so if you are going to let yours watch take a gander at it alone first.

Tigers and Snakes

We had a fun time at the Beardsley Zoo celebrating James's birthday. We were sorry that the new amur leopard cubs weren't out yet, but we saw lots of fun things. The prairie dogs were eating lunch and very active, as was the river otter. We saw something that I imagine is a bit unusual in the tiger habitat. The two young tigers seemed to be stalking something. Turns out, a garter snake slithered in, and they didn't know what to make of it. Every time they got close, it hissed at them and they jumped back. Then it seemed like they coudn't tell the difference between the snake and some other sticks on the ground. We watched for quite a while. We even saw the snake start to leave the enclosure and then go back in. As Ethan observed, one wrong step and that tiny snake would have been toast.