Thursday, September 17, 2009

Who needs a zoo?








I realized today as I was sitting in the park with Megan and Noah, that this is the first time in our city-filled lives that we have seen a lot of wild animals. And we haven't had to go search them out, many of them are right out in the open. It's amazing what happens when you have wide-open spaces!

The first picture is of a wild rabbit that is one of MANY that occupy a local park that we have fallen in love with. There were so many of them the other day, hopping around and lounging on the green grass of the play field.

The second is of a chipmunk that also resides at said park. Today, Noah put down some crumbled tortilla chips, and watch as 10 or so of them came out to gather up the food. We saw chipmunks fighting, sharing, and eating. They are really rather cute.

The third is of a less adorable creature. We were at a park nearby a few weeks ago with friends, and the kids found this in the creek that runs through the park. They had been playing in it, and Megan jumped out and came running with "Mama!! There's a ALLIGATOR in the water! HELP!". When I walked over to see what she was talking about, I chuckled when I came across a crawdad. She had never seen one before, but I guess the pinchers and tail threw her for a loop. Hahaha.

The last picture is blurry ( my camera was acting up, and I was losing light ), but those are my raccoon friends that live right here in our neighborhood. Well, technically they live in the ravine behind our development, but are often seen throughout our neighborhood. When we go down to the pool at about sunset, it's easy to catch them coming out for the night. One rainy night, after coming home late, Jeramy and I stood on our driveway and watched them play on our street. Climbing up into a peach tree just 2 houses down, and run up and down the street. Their chatter is adorable. I've decided, despite being called crazy, that I would eventually love to own one. I've read about how much work they are, how mischievous they are, and how incredibly smart they are. Rarely when they are raised from itty bitty, are they mean and aggressive. Not much more than a cat being annoyed with someone, from what I have read.

All in all, just living here has been a totally different experience for us. We can see the clear blue sky without any smog, we can see a TON of stars at night without city lights getting in the way, and we see wildlife almost anywhere we go. The kids have really enjoyed seeing all of this, and being outdoors more.

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