Well, we've pet everything else...

...so why not giraffes?  This summer Calvin has ridden both a quarter horse and a dromedary camel, fed goats, llamas, sheep, and a bison, and pet an  armadillo and a fennec fox (in addition to the aforementioned species, that is), so to elongate that list we took a morning trip to Binder Park Zoo to feed the giraffes.  This isn't actually a new activity for us–Calvin's first giraffe encounter took place when he was only a few months old, and he fed them for the first time last year–and we couldn't let a year go by without partaking in this joy, so we took advantage of the additional week of summer we've been granted and headed to the zoo yesterday morning.  Mid week during the school year can make a zoo feel down right deserted, but in a very good way, and we soaked up all the one-on-one attention the apparently lonely  docents could lavish on us.  The giraffes, too, seemed almost hungry for attention, or maybe it was just the biscuits we were holding.  Either way we enjoyed some great one-on-one time with the giraffe species as well.  There are, of course, other animals at Binder Park Zoo, such as the baby snow leapoard (who was being fed), the colobus monkeys (who were bouncing around), and the gibbons (who were whooping quietly), and the frog on the Pepsi machine, but they make for less impressive story telling and picture taking, so we'll leave those encounters up to your imagination.  What a great day to be at the zoo.

Pictures, pictures everywhere - in the September 2008, Too album.

Back in time

Today, thanks to the thoughtfulness of a good friend, Calvin and I enjoyed a wonderful day surrounded by the trappings of the past.  In the many, many years that it has been since I last visited Greenfield Village (during daytime hours, that is) I had forgotten what a fascinating and educational place it is.  We spent hours meandering through tree lined streets dodging only Model Ts and their close cousins (funny looking cars, trucks, and busses, according to Calvin), and horse drawn wagons;  at Susquehanna Plantation we watched them quilting at a rough-hewn kitchen table; at the Dagget Farmhouse we watched them spin yarn and prepare their supper over an open fire before  giving us a tour of their large garden and kitchen preserving techniques (drying and pickeling);  at the Victorian era Firestone Farm we watched the farm wife do the wash in a pot of boiling water over an open fire, and the farmer and son drive a team of Percherons and plough the land to sow the winter wheat.  It's this, that sudden feeling of having been dropped into another time and place, that for me is the best part of the Village.  Calvin did seem  fascinated by the costumes, although he most assuredly didn't have a grasp on their temporal significance or that of the rest of our surroundings, but the best part of the village for him was probably the authentic steam locomotive that continuously circled the park (just ask him about engine number three some time).  And if the locomotive wasn't it then the favorite must have been Firestone farm where he got to pet the Percheron horses before they went to out to work, and then watch the pigs fighting over their slops.  Next in line would have to be the glass shop where we saw men working with white hot glass (there's something amazing about watching glass drip and ooze...).  Regardless of our favored moments, though, the whole Village was a real hit and we owe a big thank you to Leah for taking us with her.

As always I took a number of pictures; you'll find them in the September, too album.

Bear hugs

Having a play-room picnic with his bears.  It's the small moments caught on camera, just like this one, that fill out the gaps in the stories of our lives.  Years from now we will look back at these pictures and we won't remember the moment, or even the day, but hopefully we will remember his tenderness, and that's what I hope to preserve even just a smidgen of.

Our Thinker...

So serious for such a little boy.  This curiosity and concentration never cease to amaze me.

The most fuel efficient car in our garage

Now if only it had enough room for our groceries...