Groundhog Day and the Brass Armadillo.

We started our day at Panera Bread where we discussed -- over juice, muesli and a mini omelette -- our bleak and hopeless future, i.e. how can we escape our working lives and live how we want to. This is a conversation everyone has and which, of course, achieves very little. It did, however, remind me of how much I dislike my current job and that as frightening as job hunting might be, the alternative has long term consequences that could be worse.

On that cheery note, we headed into the city for Groundhog Day.

We arrived before the zoo opened and waited in the empty carpark with a local radio station employee who sat in his car with the engine running. I thought to myself, 'geez, it's not *that* cold'. I guess when it's company gas, you don't care much.
I'm not sure that I expected crowds, but I did expect more than the two people and several news crews that showed up to watch a tiny critter poke his nose out to determine how long winter would last.
We were told that the animal historically used to judge how long winter would continue was the hedgehog. As the US doesn't have any naturally occuring hedgehogs, they employed an African species, a little guy by the name of Spike.
Though the sun was warm, the air temperate was below freezing and little Spike wasn't too pleased about this. Despite the zoo handler's coaxing, Spike showed no real sign of raising his head long enough so he could see his own shadow -- which is what the theory demands.
The news crews interviewed the keeper, shot long minutes of footage of Spike, and (so I learned later), filmed myself and Em as we stood and watched. As we comprised the 'audience', I guess it was inevitable that we be filmed at some point. We weren't interviewed though, thankfully. If I'd been asked why I was there to watch Spike raise (or not) his head, I doubt I'd have said anything other than make some vague reference to the Bill Murray movie and voice complaint that a groundhog would have been a more contemporarily authentic choice of animal, history be buggered. *lol*

Once inside, Spike became a little more animated and I was able to sneak in and take some photos while one of the media crew spent ten minutes (or more) crouched before a keeper taking photo after identical photo. I know good photography requires the taking of lots of shots, but this guy seemed to take that just a little to the extreme.
I did get a couple of good shots though, so I really can't complain too much. Though, I think I just did. *lol*

We headed outside, via the gift store with a resolve to come back and buy up big... well, *I* had that resolve anyway. I do believe I've taken it upon myself to restore the US economy, one credit increase at a time. *lol*

Just outside the gift shop was a sculpture of two horses, made entirely out of timber sticks.
The swans were the first point of call, two white Trumpeter Swans.
Beside them were the River Otters, my favourite exhibit of the whole zoo. The sleepy little beggars were dozing so we resolved to come back later.
The seals were next, and three very noisy individuals put on quite a show for us.
In one of the trees I spied a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I've now seen two or three species of woodpecker which makes me quite happy! :-)
No outdoors day would be complete without the Canadian Geese.
And, of course, the Cardinal! Lookie... I finally got a great photo of one! This was one of the last of a set of twenty or so photos, each one taken a little closer as the bird perched in a tree and preened itself. Often these birds are nothing more than a flash of red as they move from one bare branch to the next, so getting close enough to snag a decent shot was a treat.
We saw several other animals, some which were easy to photograph and others not so easy. The African exhibit, with the elephants etc, was closed for renovation but that didn't bother me at all.
I'm not sure what these birds are, but there was a male and female. I need to consult the audabon book again.Though I said earlier that the best part of the visit was the river otters, I have to add that the indoor exhibit occupied well over an hour of our time. Between the macaws and the meerkats, as well as the spider monkeys and other critters inside, we were in photographic heaven, entranced by these creatures that are so beautiful and behaved as though we were not even there.

I took what seemed like over a hundred photos of the macaws alone. Fortunately, I actually do like some of them.Opposite the macaws were the meerkats. These little guys always entrance me. I watched one episode of Meerkat Manor on television last year and wished I hadn't. I'd avoided the program for so long that when I finally gave in, it was an episode that showed the death of a baby meerkat at the hands of a different family group. Ugh! I wish I could remove the memory of that from my brain.

I have several dozen (or hundreds), but I'll just leave you with a few.

Also in this room were some frogs and monkeys.
The spider monkeys were amazing, especially this little guy that was endearing in a creepy kind of way.
We left the indoor section and headed back outside, but not before Em went sailing down the indoor slide. :-)
Outside we walked past the water bird aviary, and toward Australia.

Yes, you read that right. The zoo has a whole section called Australia. I was surprised and delighted to see that ours is the only country that is privileged to have an entire section to itself. So, into Australia we went.
Look, kangaroos! Who knew I'd see those in Kansas City!?Inside a shed is a collection of Australian memorabilia. It was cutesy quaint, complete with live kookaburras, though the poor things only had a tiny indoor cage.
I learned something about my own country from this place. These are tree kangaroos and I've since learned (via Google) that they are found in the rainforests of New Guinea (which I'd guessed) and far north Queensland (which I hadn't Here's a fair dinkum sheep station. ;-)

And an old car that confused me a little. Chris, any ideas on what this represents? It had NSW number plates and a billy hanging in the back, that's all I could figure out.
From there we headed back to the main entrance because it had gone 3pm and my stomach was on legs racing for the nearest food station within coo-ee.

We couldn't leave without visiting the river otters though, and they were obliging and put on quite a show.

I love this photo below, even though the glass has distorted the length of the otter.Satisfied with our wildlife encounters, and laden with souvenirs, we headed out to find lunch... even though it was now heading for 4pm.
We were hoping to find a Panera Bread, or something similar, but instead decided on Chilli's, an all american (i.e. greasy) place with a spicy theme. I got a chicken sandwich (i.e. burger) with far too many fries and a McDonald's style bun.

I've become awfully fussy, I've decided, but after being spoiled with Panera Bread's food, this place did come up short. However, it did fill our stomachs so it can't be all bad.

From there we drove to the Brass Armadillo.

We got there around 6pm, and left on closing time at 9pm. My feet hurt, my arms hurt, my legs hurt and my brain had melted into gloopy goop... but, damn, I wish we had a place like this back home.

It's a large (Bunnings size) warehouse with rows upon rows upon rows of dealer places. Dealers can rent a space, either a glass doored cabinet or an open space, to set out their wares. They set the prices and the Armadillo takes a commission. It seems you can rent by the week or month, so no fixed contracts.

There are literally hundreds of dealers and the place has antiques, vintage collectibles, retro items, new and used, themes sets and spaces that are pure odds and sods. It truly is incredible and the stock is turning over all the time, with dealers bringing in new items.

While we were there, several dealers traipsed in with boxes of things to add to their little stalls. I was exhausted by the end, having been on our feet for most of the day so I couldn't take it all in, but it's a collectors treasure mart. No wonder Mike spoke so highly of the place. If you can't find it there, then it probably doesn't exist. *lol*

From here we dragged ourselves home and collapsed into bed. Today was a big day, and I had a ball!!