Zoo. Two.

I only had an hour in the zoo, so I had to run around like a maniac. And I was cradling this massive lens, which was giving me a serious bicep work-out, even though I did have my Hot To Trot monopod attached to it. But I ran, and I think I had some great experiences before I had to race home.

The mandrills weren't being very cooperative, so I just got a pretty clear photo of the male's butt. I will spare you the vision of that.

The Patas Monkeys were sneaking around in the bushes, and didn't think I could see them.

Well, I wouldn't have been able to if I hadn't had the 500mm zoom.

But the penguins were the star of the morning. Their 'ocean' had been drained (someone had thrown something metal into the water the day before, so the keepers were in there, cleaning it out before the penguins could be harmed). And the penguins were being very lively, and fun, and it was also time for their feeding. I loved it!

(that's a baby, trying to beg by poking around in her shirt.)

Nom, nom, nom...

This poor keeper couldn't hardly move, what with the Three Stooges crowding around him, and poking in his pockets looking for fish.

After I pulled myself away from the Penguin Circus, it was off to the Big Cats.

Hello, Snow Leopard.

Hello, sleepy lion...

And then there were rhinos!

Hey! Peahen! You're in my shot! Shoo! Shoo!

This guy was hilarious. He rubs his horn down to a nub, so it looks like it's been clipped. I took some photos of him eating, and when I get around to it, I am going to make One Sweet Gif. Yeah. Don't hold your breath, though.

More Zebra action:

And then the gorillas. They were all out, and it was snack time.

But the thing that struck me the most was the patriarch. He was sitting at the edge of the family group, and just looked so pensive and sad.

He was probably just frustrated with All Those Loud Children! Good grief, it was like every chaperone in the WHOLE zoo was on vacation, and the kids were running around shrieking like howler monkeys. I was standing beside this GIANT sign that said "SILENCE!" and the kids were laughing like loons, and jumping up and down shrieking "Monkeys! Look at me! Look at me!"

I'd probably look sad if that's what I had to look forward to during my day, too.

Leaping lemurs!

Just before taking this photo, I nearly had to grab a (completely out of control) child who was on the verge of jumping over the fence, and falling the 20 feet down into the lemur enclosure. Sheesh. WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS????

And then it was time for the flamingos:

And then I couldn't stand the Child Chaos any longer, and I escaped from the zoo, getting back to school in plenty of time to pick Nate up for lunch. (Wednesdays are Early Dismissal Days).

Since then, I've taken about a thousand photos.

I'm out of control. My computer is out of memory.

And I'm loving every minute of it. Even if I did get quite badly spanked last night because I looked like a professional photographer that was 'scooping the locals, and stealing fundraising money from the school' when I showed up to photograph Kelly's dress rehearsal.

But that is a story for another day.