Water lilies, lionesses, and rat-eating rattlesnakes… Eeeek! Fall Fun at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

: Here’s an amazing water lily!

There are few places in Jacksonville that is more family friendly than the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. Alexandria had homeschool classes at the Zoo yesterday morning, so the other kids and I spent the morning leisurely strolling through the gardens. If you live in Jacksonville and have small children, you have to have a membership to the zoo. We go there so frequently that it pays for itself in no time. We always see something new. We renewed ours yesterday for the last time. After 4 years, it was kind of bittersweet. When our membership expires next year, we will be settled in a new part of the country.

Our visit introduced the children to many firsts. Bella got to brush and pet the goats for the first time and loved it. She kept trying to ride them, though. She would waddle up to a resting goat, make kissy noises, pat it, then sit on it. They were pretty rotund goats and couldn’t move very fast. The boys loved brushing the goats too. I don’t think they remember the last time we did that… it has been a while. They are pretty stinky and I avoid them. I think we’ll go back, though, since Bella is getting so big and no longer eats everything on the ground.

We also witnessed snake feeding time. The rattle snake was fed a big rat and his companion was fed a mouse. The boys were amazed. I thought it was pretty gross. It was definitely a learning experience! The boys also talked me into taking them to the “Kid’s Shop” at the far end of the zoo and got “slap snakes,” snake bracelets you slap on your wrist. I remember them from my own childhood, although they weren’t nearly so fancy.