Towards the end of last week, as the pile of boxes appeared to be magically multiplying itself everytime that I turned my back on them, we decided that we very much needed to do the one thing that made good sense: ditch the entire operation for a few hours and go to the zoo. I have complicated feelings about zoos, if we are being honest, but I also think that sometimes there is nothing in the world that will make you happier than feeding a parakeet with birdseed stuck to a popsicle stick.
Additionally, the word "budgerigar" is remarkably difficult to pronounce properly. Go ahead, try it.
This guy, on the other hand, has no complex relationship with the idea of animals in captivity. He knows exactly what he thinks and what he thinks is that it is the most amazing idea. This was his first zoo experience, and when he caught on to what was actually happening there, he very nearly lost his ability to function. He just stood with his feet firmly planted in place, waving his arms and yelling at tree kangaroos with an unbridled joy so intense I thought he might fall over. It was something to see. Total strangers shook their heads with laughter and said things like "Wow. He is excited!"
Oh, and did you know that you can do more than feed parakeets with leftover popsicle sticks? True story. You can also make harmonicas out of them. The baby is somewhat less impressed by this trick than the bird thing, though.
