Abilene Zoo

written: April 13th

Mom and I woke up early and ventured over to the Abilene Zoo.  Turned out to be an absolutely amazing day to go.  So many of their various animals were active and easily seen.

I finally got one of my Holy Grail photos -- a picture of a Gaboon Viper flicking out its tongue -- a difficult shot to capture most of the time.  And yet, I managed to get THREE such shots!  I've been photographing animals for ages now, and this is a shot I've wanted for years, so I'm beyond thrilled.

The giant and ancient alligator snapping turtle seemed very interested in my Mom.  She'd made the comment that she wished the turtle would face her so she could see its eyes.  And shortly after that, it oh-so-slowly turned and studied each of us in turn.  And Mom then commented that his eyes looked like stars and how every cool they looked.  I made it a point to silently thank him for answering my Mom's request and told him he did indeed have very cool looking eyes.

And the crowning glory of the whole trip?  Apparently, the Abilene Zoo has FOUR Maned Wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) -- and three were up and very active.  One of the females had a small procedure done and was just waking up when we got there.  Her mate was very concerned about her being in a separate enclosure, monitored by a vet and some zoo staff while they waited for her to fully wake up.  While it's never good to have to put an animal under anesthesia, it certainly kept the other three engaged and curious.  And that made for some very nice photos of a notoriously shy, elusive, and mostly nocturnal species.  And that's a huge win my book.

After that, we headed over to the small town that my dentist is located in.  Mom said there was a nice splash of bluebonnets right across the road from my Grandmother's facility.  She said it might be a sign from some deity that the only good patch of bluebonnets is located there.  I will not lie.  I have avoided visiting my Grandmother as she slipped deeper and deeper into Alzheimer's and her delusions because it scares me -- terrifies me to be honest.  But I believe Mom was right -- it was a sign that I needed to swallow my fears and go visit my Grandmother.  She was so THRILLED to see me and I'm really glad I went.  Mom even brought her out to watch me take photos of the bluebonnets.  I even took a few photos of her with the bluebonnets in the background.

After that, it was off to the dentist.  A good visit -- or at least as good as a dentist visit can be!

And then, it was the three and a half hours back to the Metroplex.  More quiet, reflective time racing along a storm front.  I managed to remind just outside of the storm, which was nice -- because Texans are NOT known for their amazing skills for driving in the rain.