Zoo Day.

A windy dry day with moments of hot sun.

After last week's sucessful weeding of the large play area I hoped this week to complete the weeding of the small play area. However by the time I'd planted out a couple of lavender plants, weeded the new flower bed, under a nearby bench and the tiny strip by the path I didn't have quite enough time or energy to get the whole of the small play area done. That said I still spent five hours there. Much as I wanted to complete the job the rest will have to wait until next week. There are so many weeds that need to be dealt with.

There were a lot of visitors to the zoo which was surprising as it's no longer half-term. There were a few school age children but more younger ones and at least one dog with nearly every group. The wolf-dogs get quite excited when they see the dogs, barking and wagging their tails. However I expect they aren't thinking about playing when they see the small dogs.

While I was weeding I heard a scraping noise in the enclosure behind me. I went over and found that one of the giant tortoises had jammed itself into the corner with the sticking out bits of the lower shell caught on the fencing. I had to lean over and heave the very heavy tortoise over until it was able to wander off.

It's the time of year when the furred animals are moulting. Zeus the wolf-dog looks very scruffy with handfuls of fur still attached to his back. Although they are comfortable with the keepers being in the enclosure he isn't tame enough to be brushed.

This silver fox is also looking quite bedraggled though its mate is still smart and bushy. She/he was enjoying dinner which had been hidden in a cardboard box to provide an enrichment activity. Silver foxes are not a separate species but just a genetic colour variation of the usual red fox.

The sun was still shining when I got home and for once my coffee time on the terrace coincided with a hot spell.

Then it was back to the cooler weather which sent me in to blog and email my homework to out tutor.