Wildgehege Hufeisen

Today, the kids and I joined Maratee, Katie, Tara, and Kimberly and their children for a fun afternoon with wild-ish forest animals. 

It's spring break this week. Sadly, it's been a pretty lame spring break for us. Erick is away on business. Joey is having the time of her life on her first youth temple trip. But Bailey and TJ and I have been home nursing a sick David. When my wonderful friend Maratee recommended a visit to this wildlife refuge-type place near our home, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to go. Luckily, David is on the mend.

There were many different types of animals in the park. We found a frog giving her friend a piggy-back ride and later a big-horned sheep resting on a hillside.

Have you ever seen a baby boar? I hadn't. This year I learned that the babies are striped. Aren't they adorable? The mama and papa are not adorable. They're scary. I also learned today that boars are carnivores.  --Maratee shared an experience she witnessed a few years ago where a daddy boar flung a baby into the air, killing it. Then the daddy ate the dead baby boar, all while Maratee and a group of kids were watching.--  I guess that explains why I think they are so scary. It also explains why they were the only animals fenced in (fence not pictured). 

There was a fun playground along the path. The kids had a lot of fun climbing and playing.

The highlight of our visit was seeing the deer. The deer will come right up to visitors and eat out of their hands. One of them ate corn out of my hand.

I loved the albino deer. He got his antlers stuck in a tree branch for a bit, then he had an itch. I think.

David was not a fan of animals loose all around him. He clung to me like he was terrified for his life. When I asked him to smile for a picture, this is the best smile he could muster.

When the rest of the group caught up to David and I, the deer got a little timid. They backed away and refused to come close enough for the kids to feed them. Here is Bailey (in the center) trying to coax the deer closer. There were signs all around reminding visitors to stay on the path. That was very hard to do here. The deer were so close, yet we could not walk to them.

Here I am with my cute kids. We sure miss Erick and Joey, but we had a great time with our friends.