Hi all, finally caught up 700+ posts) but gotta go to work now.

I just read a sad story about a family who lost an adult son because someone provided him with a medical patch which he chewed for a high.

The thing that got me was the line about the medication:

Fentanyl, a powerful and fast-acting opium-based medication, is used often by hospitals for anesthesia. It is considered 80 times stronger than morphine and

80 TIMES!

Sad story, but that's a lot of painkilling.

I swear my feet feel like they've swollen to twice their normal size. Taronga Zoo was indeed generous with its bounty; but it chastens those who would partake. 

Unless, of course, they stand under three feet tall and have four adults willing to carry them. Then it's aaaaaall good. 

billytea, did you see the Taronga Zoo's flying foxes? They have a lovely cameo in Allyson's book; I've read about them and edited their story and seen pictures, but I have yet to get to meet them in person, which is sad-making because they sound amazing.

Alas, we did not. (Not this trip, anyway; I've seen them before, many moons ago.) Ryan was a little champion, he went the whole day without a nap and didn't get cranky or stroppy at all; but we still could only really schedule the big attractions. 

Which big attractions, I hear you ask? I've mentioned the giraffes, who do indeed have incredible views (and are well equipped to enjoy it). They share space with the zebras, which Ryan can name in both English and Chinese (it translates literally as "stripy horse"). 

The Asian elephants had three infants (one of whom was getting disciplined - elephants? Loud). He loved them. Oh, the big cats. The tiger was very active. At one point, as we were leaving, it stopped in midpace to stare directly at Ryan and me. About fifteen seconds, that was a thing. The lions were cool; the male was keen on some loving, into a bit of neck-biting, but the female wasn't having it. The snow leopard, now; the epitome of cool. (See what I did there?)

Did you know that they have a Kodiak bear at Taronga? That is a big frakking bear. Ryan knows this. Of course, he called it a polar bear. Ok, here we step back a little. The Chinese for (maternal) grandpa and grandma are "Waigong" and "Waipo". Ryan reverses them (though he's just started to straighten it out); he calls them "Gongwai" and "Powai". Back to the Kodiak bear. He doesn't really call it a polar bear. He calls it a Powai bear. I'm not entirely sure what his grandmother makes of this. 

The great disappointments: neither the echidnas nor the penguins were active when we were there. No matter, the rest of the zoo took up the slack, such as the gibbon and the gorillas. Even the jungle fowl (wild chickens, really) were pretty cool. Their plumage is surprisingly striking and colourful. We could fit in at least one of my favourites: the Andean condors. They had a display showing the wingspan; Wallybee was gobsmacked. (Oh, and the Komodo dragon.)

Final treat for Ryan. When reading his animal book, he's keenest on the spider. Seriously. He gets the book, starts in with "Pider! Pider!" before we even open it. Boy loves his spiders. They had spiders in the zoo. There was a Sydney funnel web, a little hard to see in its burrow, and a redback. He was most taken with the huntsman, being easiest to see. 

That all leaves out the Harbour ride to and from the ferry, and the stop at the Opera House (and certain family dramas). Nonetheless, my traumatised feet aside, it was a good day. 

Dramas and trauma?! Noooo. None of these for the delightful Teas.

That sounds like a lovely time, bt.

Australian spiders, shudder. Couldn't your country have forgone its legendary biological creativity just once and be known for its remarkably tiny and inoffensive spiders? Instead of the ones you've got?

Sounds like an excellent day at the zoo, bt.

Sounds like a really nice day, BT.

erika, I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Doesn't matter if you grew apart; it's always sobering and affecting.

Happy Independance Day, Merkins!

Heh. One of my favorite days with billytea was cruising around Stow Lake in a paddleboat while Emmett peppered him with questions about the most poisonous creatures in every phylum.

I love condors! How cool!