A Day at the Zoo

The day started as not necessarily the best of days.  The weather was cloudy and somewhat gray - there was a promise of showers in the air.  Sleep for me had been good on Saturday night but I lay in bed sleeping fitfully from 6AM onward.  I fell into a deep sleep around 7:30AM and then awoke with a start shortly after 8:20AM as I went through the throes of a painful dream.

Once the dream had faded from my consciousness, pain and stress combined in my brain to form the normal rush of morning anxiety.  Instead of letting it have it's way with me, I was to have my way with it for a change.  For the longest time I had thought about going to the Denver Zoo as it had been years since Zack and I had been there.  Originally the plan was to be shared with others, but it became my goal for today.

The morning moved into overdrive as we showered and quickly readied ourselves to get out of the house.  Fuel was needed for the day, so a short stop at Einstein's Bagels was used to fill up on carbs and be ready to have some fun.

Arriving at the Zoo shortly after 10:00AM there was already a considerable crowd of people there.  Despite the looks, things weren't that bad as the threat of rain seemed to have scared off some people.  For many years we had a membership to the Zoo but given our lack of attendance the membership had lapsed many years in the past.  After a brief discussion with Zack, I made the decision to renew our membership.  If not for Zack and me, then just for myself.  I could see myself coming to the zoo many later afternoons in the fall and winter to take pictures of the animals.

I won't go into a blow-by-blow experience of every animal that we saw.  We just had a fantastic time being together and looking at all the animals.  Both Zack and I are lovers of all animals - large and small.  In each animal we looked upon we saw something interesting - something to talk about and share.  It was a tremendous day for the both of us as we shared the experience with each other.  It is times like this that I know whatever the future brings, whoever Zack grows up to be - we will always be connected and have our bonds of family between us.

We spent the entire morning and a good part of the afternoon there.  It is remarkable how much construction is taking place there and how much the lives of the animals that live there will be improved by the new environments that are being constructed.  Next year when these new environments open, there will be a profound change in the zoo.  It will truly be a remarkable place.

The following are some of the better examples of photos that I took there today.  I used my digital SLR and tripod to get these shots.

 (This last one is a shot of the wildest beast of them all - the feared Prince Finnegan!  Just teasing...  had to throw in a shot of our sweet little pup just for laughs.)

I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Thanks and peace to all! ~J.

FYSRD