SQUAWK

STL has a couple of annual events that come in twos, a big, official one involving a mass parade downtown and a smaller celebration that's more fun in one of the neighborhoods. St. Patrick's Day is one. The other is Pride Fest. There is a huge thing in the city center (I was out of town for this year's) and a smaller, more informal affair in Tower Grove Park. Everybody is friendly, the crowds aren't onerous, and people are happy to talk and be photographed.

I learned that this macaw was cared for at a wild bird shelter. Its handler said that it doesn't talk but will bite if provoked (note taken). She also said that it was found during a bust at a drug house. How it got there is anyone's guess.               

Rat Race

Some filler until we get to central Michigan late this afternoon. We took Madeleine to the zoo last Saturday. The St. Louis Zoo might be the best in the country, although San Diego has its fans.

So what did we find? A dinky show in the children's area featuring a mouse walking along a meter of rope, through a little box with an inexplicable dollar sign. A depressed macaw (pardon the anthropomorphization). A loitering sea lion. And Ellie herself, emerging from a fake hollow log, clutching her old, tattered lambie. (Thanks again, Auntie Virginia!)