Wild enough now?

A week ago, we joined my family on a trip to the zoo in Salt Lake. Though fun, Porter wasn't quite as animated as we had expected, repeating, "Hmm, not wild enough," at every exhibit we visited (including the bears, gorillas and tigers).

Our solution? How about a jaunt around our own backyard.

Where you can enjoy:

breakfast with a rabbit

(spotted from our dining room while noshing on oatmeal)

a picnic with a tarantula

(literally, mid-bite I spotted this hairy beast just feet away on our patio)

and after dinner, a good old fashioned hornet attack

That's right, unbeknownst to us, a colony of not-quite-killer killer bees took up residence in the hollow post of our iron gate. Andy found it when he opened the gate to take out the trash and was attacked. Two stings to the head and three to the arm later, and we now know you can remove wasp stingers by rubbing the blunt side of a butter knife across the protruding stinger, in the opposite direction of its entry.

We also hear rumor of a lizard who may or may not be lurking around our flagstone patio. Once we verify, we may begin charging admission.