Post-Post Inspiration + Visitor Monday

In response to the last “Khaki Shorts” post I have been notified about the following organization:

Braindrain! Check it out! It’s an organization all about encouraging young people to stay in, live in and energize St. Louis. 

As a resident of the city, I’m sure our girl, Bubbles, would approve!

Finally, it is, alas, “Visitor Monday.” Today’s visitor quote is not so much funny as it just made me stop and think. 

While feeding the tree kangaroos today, a visitor approached me and asked “So, are you just doing this while you are in school?”

Fair enough. I am young and look it. There are a million reasons this visitor might have asked me this question. 

But it just made me ponder a bit. How many young professionals are asked (often) if they are just doing their job to get through school? Probably not too many. 

How many of you zookeepers out there get asked this question? Probably way too many! 

Sigh. 

On this “Visitor Monday” I just want to take a moment to remind all of our beloved visitors that there are many careers out there for young people.

Not all of them involve heels and lipstick. 

On any old day, I’ll take poop and mulch instead!

In Defense of St. Louis

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about St. Louis. 

Why? Well, several close friends of mine happen to be dating men who have all decided they’d rather not call this fair city home. I love these friends and their respective boyfriends and I mean no offense to them at all, but I’d like to take a moment to simply state my case. 

After a recent “So and so doesn’t want to live in St. Louis or the Midwest” conversation (The Midwest? Really? That’s a lot of states, people!) I thought about St. Louis for a good, long hour. 

I spent this hour riding my bike around Forest Park. I live right near Forest Park in a lovely,  neighborhood between Skinker and DeMun. On my way to the bike path, I pass Concordia Seminary on my left and DeMun Park on my right. On that particular day, a Mom and Toddler group had congregated in the Park and people were walking their dogs on the rolling lawn of the seminary. 

Just down the street is the original Kaldi’s coffee house, selling fresh, sustainable foods and coffees on their sunny patio. 

Once I reached Forest Park I rode onto the bike route, becoming just one of the many St. Louisans who cross paths here each evening to exercise. These are friends, marathoners, weight watchers, Wash U or SLU students, old people, families with babies, picnicers, walkers and readers. We all like it here. 

On my bike ride I passed Art Hill, the museums, Steinbergs and the Science Center. I rode over bridges with trickling creeks. There is a willow tree I love to look at in any season. I had to slow down at one point, to let a snowy white egret make it’s way across the path. Did you know that there is a pair of great horned owls who make the park their nest and home?

Great horned owls. Snowy egrets. Wooded paths that wind and twist through trees and wildflowers and great, cultural institutions tucked into nearly every corner. All just five minutes from downtown.

From my happy, little neighborhood I can drive five minutes in one direction and see a Cardinal’s game. Fifteen minutes in the other, I can make it home for dinner with Mom and Dad. 

I know that moving away to a far off city on the East/West coast seems glamorous and exciting. I know that moving back to where you came from in this day in age seems, well, lame. But there is something to be said for loving and living in your hometown. And you know what? I like it here. 

I know we have had a particularly bloody and violent summer. I know that this violence has even, just this week, spread to my favorite park. I’m not naive. This is not Camelot, Mayberry or Narnia. It is a real, true city, with it’s own issues and dangers, I know. 

But maybe what this city needs are young, passionate people. People who will work hard and give back to this town, while still taking what they can and enjoying it. 

And trust me, there is a lot to take and enjoy. There are so many free fun things to do in St. Louis. The Art Museum! History Museum (Twilight Tuesday concerts, anyone?)! So many parks, Muny shows, concerts, arts, festivals! And, of course, a world class, free  Zoo. 

I know this city isn’t perfect. For god’s sake, the intersection of Lindell and Skinker smells awful. Awful! Don’t ever linger there. 

But George Vierheller, Director of the Saint Louis Zoo from 1922-1962, once said, “There are two things a lively city needs–a good zoo and a good baseball team.”

And, friends, there you have it. Couldn’t have said it better myself. 

I rest my case.

For further proof on the wonderfulness of St. Louis, check out this video below. The two minute mark even features the homing pigeon release at our own Children’s Zoo Farm Show! Enjoy. 

Visitor Monday...Sloth Style.

Wow, Monday again. These dog days of summer are flying by, huh? 

This week we had many a typical visitor quote in regards to owning various hoof stock:

Man: "Almost got us a goat yesterday, Tammi.“

Tammi: "Glad, you did not." 

Or the one I hear probably every other day while walking the pigs…

Visitor(s): "I/Gramma/Uncle Jim/My brother’s cousin’s wife use to have one of them pigs…”

But seriously. My favorite quote of the week was inspired by Elmo, our two-toed sloth. 

During our “Life in the Trees” Show I attempted to educate visitors about sloths. 

Me:“Sloths spend about 90% of their time hanging in the treetops. And they only come down once a week to do….what?”

Visitor (super excitedly): “Lay eggs!”

I loved that. The image of tiny sloth babies hatching from eggs is just too much. 

People really like sloths. I mean, really, really like sloths. 

And, honestly, what’s not to like? Sloths actually are very cool animals. It looks awfully uncomfortable to hang from a tree branch sloth style. Yet their muscles and bones have evolved to do so quite effortlessly. 

They are the world’s slowest mammal. They move so little that in their humid rainforest environment algae actually grows on their coats, making them blend in really well with the rainforest canopy. You might say that, visually at least, they truly become one with the forest. 

Sloths do practically everything while up in a tree–eat, sleep, mate, give birth, raise their young. Yet they’ve got a little Ryan Lochte  in ‘em too. Despite their awkwardness on land, they are actually great swimmers!

And finally, your odd nature fact of the day: Sloths have such a strong grip on the tree branches with their long claws that dead sloths have been known to remain hanging posthumously. Yikes. Weird but true, my friends, weird but true. 

So, there you have it. Visitor Monday Sloth Style. Go out, be inspired by the world’s most sedentary mammal and just, well, chill for a bit. 

But first, check out our cute, little Elmo below!

Visitor Monday!

AHHH it’s “Visitor Monday!" 

And guess what? This Keeper had a four day weekend to celebrate the nuptials of dear friends Kate Dobbins and Jeffrey Bonner (no, not the Zoo Director…but just as cool) in Louisville, Kentucky.

So this week’s edition comes courtesy of our wonderful education specialist and Outreach Instructor Extraordinaire, Emily Bowling.

One fine day Emily took a bearded dragon to a nursing home. 

This is what a bearded dragon looks like.

This is what Emily looks like. 

An old man takes one look at Emily and one look at the lizard. And says….

"Ah! I see the resemblance!”

Ta-da! And there you have it! This weeks edition of “Visitor Monday!”

Thank you very much!

the inaugural edition of "visitor monday!"

Nobody likes Mondays. Unless Monday is your Wednesday. In that case, Happy Hump Day to me! 

But seriously. Mondays really do need a bit more sparkle. 

So, here on the “Khaki Shorts” blog I have decided to make Mondays “Visitor Mondays” in which I highlight funny things overhead by visitors each week. 

As I only just decided this today I don’t have many for this week. But here are a few gems overhead this afternoon. 

On the proper naming for Bateleur Eagles…


V: What is it called?

Me (thinking this little girl meant the name of our Bateleur): Moogie!

V: Oh. I thought it was an Eagle. 

On tree kangaroos…


V: Don’t you just want to curl up with ‘em and snuggle!


Ah, the joys of visitors….

I’ll try to overhear more next week, but if any of you Keepers out there have some to contribute feel free to share!

In the meantime, here’s a photo update of our latest, “snuggly” tree kangaroo joey!

keeper/writer fail.

Well, the “Khaki Shorts” blog has been quiet for quite some time, no? 

I promise valid excuses.

First of all, let us blame one glorious week spent (mostly) internet free on the coast of Florida. No blogging to be done when there are beaches to be sat upon! Not to say that there wasn’t plenty of wildlife action! We were kept entertained by dolphins, anoles, a mother cat and her two young kittens, stingrays, plenty of frogs and lizards, a group of fabulous gopher tortoises nesting in the dunes and even…wait for it…A SHARK! How “Shark Week” appropriate, right?!

Though I’ve been back for over a week, alas, I have not had much time to write because less than 24 hours after returning from said vacation I moved! Yup, brand new apartment! The last week has, again, been (mostly) internet free and full of creative ways to fit all shoes and bike and kitchen cutlery into a tiny (but wonderful!) one bedroom apartment. Now that I am officially settled and wired up at my new address it’s time to share some moving war stories. 

Not that I can complain. My boyfriend, John, his dad and friend, Matt, did most of the work while I was at the Zoo taking care of those animals. After work, though, the movers were more than happy to share with me a gruesome discovery found beneath my TV stand…

It all started a few weeks ago with Herbie, the cornsnake. I borrowed Herbie from John to take to the “Bubbles” presentation at the St. Louis County Library Headquarters. Herbie is thirteen years old, a tried and true cornsnake. The perfect, gentle creature to take with me to the Library. Plus, she’s pink! All kids love a pink snake! Perfect, right?

Well, Herbie’s first night at the old Rosebury address was a little less than perfect. My first morning of snake-sitting I rose around 5 am to run before work. I didn’t check on the snake (keeper fail!) before the run and afterward, I spent quite a bit of time hustling around changing, getting breakfast, yada yada yada, pre-work stuff. Around 6:45 I was walking out the door to get to the Zoo and thought to check on the snake. 

You guessed it. Lid intact. Enclosure supposedly secure. No snake. 

After a frantic few minutes, I found Herbie, contently curled up against the wall amidst some moving boxes. John and I decided it was likely Bandit the Cat stepped on the lid and weakened the mesh allowing Herbie to make a snake escape with the lid still locked.

Still. Keeper fail. 

This leads us to moving day. Yep, you guessed it again. When John and Co moved my TV stand underneath was a big, old pile of snake poop. Snake poop! Three week old snake poop sitting on the floor of my apartment! Three weeks!

Need I mention that snakes eat mice? And dead mice smell bad? And already digested dead mice smell really, really bad?!

Snake poop is my least favorite Zoo smell! Yeesh!

So that is my moving story and my sorry excuses for my quiet, little blog. 

Now that the dog days of summer are upon us, I promise to do a little better. 

And look for new “Khaki Shorts” videos, coming to a YouTube Channel near you oh so soon!