Safari!

We are visiting my sister in Austin this week, and we got to go on a safari drive today.  It was really cool to see the animals up close and feed them from our hand.  We casually ignored their warnings not to hand feed them, as did most other cars.  I was bit by a zebra once, but I figure that's the risk I was taking, and it was worth it.

I love my sister, and I also occasionally like to laugh at her.  She was being very brave by trying to get the zebra to put his head inside the vehicle.  She would freak out each time his head followed her hand, though, and I don't think the zebra was ever rewarded by actually getting to taste any of the food in her hand.  I won't mention her fear of ostriches and how quickly she and one of her daughters raised their windows when an ostrich was nearby.  We did make strides in overcoming that fear today, luckily, by helping them realize that all ostriches are not evil.

Hand feeding an ostrich is quite an experience!  I would have a hand full of food, and the ostrich would dive in, much like Cookie Monster would.  Food would go flying everywhere, and maybe a chunk or two would make it into her mouth.

The goats in the petting zoo were entertaining, too.  They had no interest in eating the food that the park provides for you.  Here are some of the things they preferred:  the paper bag the food was in, Robin's jeans, my skirt. the coconut oil on my legs.  and my sandal.  They also head-butted Brishen for not sharing his paper bag, and Alyssa has tales of being knocked over by a baby one.  Robin was left with several dirty goat hoofprints on her jeans by goats big and small.  Even with the silliness of the goats, Basia and Alyssa would have stayed in the pen all day (or forever) if we had let them.