The zoo and some knitting

We had a lovely trip to the Zoo today, the Hug-a-Bugs, my dad and myself.

We have two zoos in the metro area.

One is small, free and a little depressing.

To be fair, this zoo is attached to the Conservatory which is one of my favorite places in Saint Paul.

That said, the animal enclosures are pretty wee and the animals all look kinda sad.

The other zoo is Huge and Shiny and Glossy and has an admission price.

We went to the Shiny and Glossy zoo today.

At the Shiny Zoo, they have a farm set-up that is chock full of cute-ness.

We saw baby chicks and lambs and kids and baby bunnies.

The Hug-a-Bugs got some great opportunities to ride on animal statues.

We also saw some free-range wildlife.

It was a lot of fun.

Our MN Zoo is really beautiful. It is in the middle of a heavily wooded area and there are a couple of pond/lakes.

The animals enclosures are not as big as their natural habitats, to be sure, but they have some breathing room.

There is also a fantastic variety of animals.

A tapir, a python, flying foxes (which the Hug-a-Bugs call the Stellalunas), a pair of gibbons, sharks, dolphins, wolverines, musk oxen, just as a sampling.

We spent 3 hours there and even as we were leaving there were still tons of things to see.

We didn't even visit the majority of the outdoor animals.

Also, the kids got to spend some together time with Grandpa Geoff and that doesn't get to happen all that often.

All in all, a really nice day.

I went ahead and got the year membership. I can see us going quite often.

Now, on to the really important info:

I finished the christmas stocking I was working on and began the second.

I tried the short row toe for the second stocking and I love the result.

There was no discomfort of being on too many needles, too close together.

I think I have made a major, personal shift in the construction of christmas stockings forevermore.

Have a fantastic weekend,

Jess.

If I don't post tomorrow, Happy Birthday Donna!!!!!! Yay for birthdays!