it's all happening at the zoo

Moomin at the zoo; delightful. He'll sit and stare at elephants or hippos for half an hour without wanting to rush around. That way we get to see animals actually doing things. Hippos yawning mightily for the zookeeper to throw apples into their mouths! Tigers licking themselves all over! Penguins who suddenly spring into action en masse and indulge in leaping chase-battles through the water, coming up to honk at us, looking for fish or perhaps just used to our presence as we sat like Sam B3aver quietly observing. We watched zebras standing around grazing scratching their backs against trees and nosing each other -- we made up imaginary conversations between the giraffes and the zebras. (They are bored by each others' conversational topics, but try to act polite.) I wished Rook was there with us to see all the cool stuff and enjoy the relaxing sun and funny comments from Moomin... but he had to work.

It was sunny, so the animals were unusually frisky for winter.

Afterwards we met Chula and her friend JQ and JQ's kid Lehi. We walked to a park... an old fashioned metal merry-go-round, not the big kind with lots of bars but one more like an overgrown sit-n-spin. Moomin was disappointed that the other kid was not a Big Kid. We'll see... I have called every Big Kid Who Is A Boy (as requested) in the nursery school phone book -- everyone is on vacation or their parents work -- one BKWIAB did call back today. Maybe they will have a play date later in the week.

Lehi's playroom was incredibly great: a spiral staircase up to a warm huge attic that was set up very M0ntessori with windowbenches, toys everywhere, big open space. JQ was super nice, fun, smart, friendly, everything good.

After that we parted (due to the truck being too small for 3) and met up again at that really good hippie-ish bakery on 9th and Irv1ng. Hung in the cafe, talked, ate, C. explained the imaginary dynamics of coffee roasting in a very silly energetic way... we cruised a comic book store which i enjoyed a lot until we were leaving and I realized the store owner loathed me for having a kid, not buying anything, being generally annoying etc. I just wanted Moomin to look around and get the idea that there were lots of cool books about superheroes. He was wildly excited! Toy stores are fun for him but he never freaks out with joy and greed in his heart in them the way he does in bookstores! He wanted to know about every superhero! I approve and Chula is an excellent native guide to the realm. I am so lame I thought Sp1derman was part of the Just1ce League.

I also often mix up a lambeosaurus, a hadrosaur, and a parasaurolophus. They all have things on their heads. Like moose.

If anyone has some old superhero or donald duck comic books they will give me or sell for cheap, Moomin would like them very much! A wholesomely nerdy thing for him to get into...

Comments

[Druid Squirrel]

Two obscure Paul Simon references in a row -- I like it!