When it snows too much, the animals take over

Welcome to the Manhattan Zoo.  Camel rides and dolphin shows!

This is the rare South American Pig:

The camel looks rather ornery today:

But why walk, when you can ride?

Greetings from the Suburbs of the Ice Planet Hoth

The Suburban Matron mentions those of us who live on the ice planet Hoth.  I can claim at least to live in a suburb of Hoth.  The icicles dripping down the side of the house are worrisome. I hear one of them dripping all day while I am working in my home office.

Today promises to be The Great Melt, with temperatures finally reaching above freezing for the first time since Hoth was formed.  The sun also made an appearance yesterday for the first time since the Winter Solstice.

Our weird three-pronged icicle.

Walk much?

Last Tuesday, I was not able to make it home in time to meet Youngest Daughter’s bus from school.  I asked the neighbors to see her home.  I did manage to drive up a few minutes after the bus came, expecting that she would already be home.  But no, there she was, only 20 feet up the hill from the bus stop, with two adult neighbors, one bending down at my child’s feet. 

I pulled the car up, and the neighbor stood up and said in an exasperated tone, “She’s all yours.  You can deal with her.”  ?!  The neighbor said, “She has tied her shoelaces together.”  Thereby slowing her walking speed to about 0.5 miles per hour.  (Thankfully this is a neighbor who will end up being more amused than exasperated by this.)  My daughter squealed and delightedly hopped into the car. 

I should know by now that it is pointless to ask this child Why.  But I did ask anyway.  “Because I thought it would be fun!  And it is!”  I did not tell her that tying someone else’s shoelaces together is a classic bullying technique.