What a fun day today was! I had previously submitted a story Valley Writers Read, a local public radio show that airs on KVPR/KPRX FM. They had 79+ submissions and accepted 35, and much to my surprise, mine was chosen! It’s called Sunset, and I’ll post it soon. It’ll air in March, but today my husband and I went up to Fresno to the radio station so I could record it. In a post coming soon I’ll talk about the story and the subject – my parents, as well as a slight dilemma I’m facing as I really hope they don’t know it’s on the air or listen to it. Stay tuned for that discussion.
It went along rather quickly, so we headed home earlier than expected. We passed a sign for the Fresno Zoo and on the spur of the moment, decided to visit. That’s just about my favorite way to do anything – spur of the moment. What a surprise – the zoo was delightful and just the right size. Here’s some of the highlights: 
It’s hard to believe that such a creature as a giraffe could exist. I marvel at the pattern of its skin; seriously, you could look forever and just be mesmerized. 
There was a delightful little pool with sharks and rays, and my husband touched them. The idea was to lay over the edge and dangle your arms in the water until the rays swam by. Pretty cool. 
All of a sudden, we felt we were on a front lawn in Florida. Flamingos! These birds are just impossible from the way they walk, with the knee hinge bending backwards, to the way they eat, with their bill opening from the top. I’ll tell you one thing – they are smelly. The odor brought back a memory from long ago – flamingos at the Los Angeles Zoo and an unbearable smell. 
What a neck! Between the neck and the legs, these birds appear fragile and prone to injury, but their configuration seems to work for them! 
I can’t remember the name of these guys – but “thick knee” was in it. They had chicks – one week old. 
Isn’t this chick a wonder of nature? It resembles the rock so excellently – great disguise. It seems to have a pebbly texture but I’m sure it’s downy-soft.
Now this, for sure, is a face only a mother could love. We watched this camel chew its cud for quite a while and there was nothing that dignified the name of animal: it wasn’t cute; it wasn’t fierce; it wasn’t graceful; it wasn’t beautifully patterned; it wasn’t incredibly massive or impossibly small; and it wasn’t brightly colored. It was just a big, ungainly, unfriendly-looking beast.
And so ended our visit to the zoo, zoo, zoo. WE went to the zoo, zoo, zoo – how about you, you, you? (And of course that paraphrases the Peter, Paul and Mary song.) I’m planning to take the grandkids before summer ends – with any luck, I’ll be able to get all nine of them there.
