Book Review - Terry Davidson

Linda, I am by no means a book critic. I have read many books, from philosophy to world history, religion, woodcraft, the art of warfare and many other subjects, but rarely do I ever read novels and almost never children's books. But after you gave me that pamphlet, on The Thwarting of Mr. Dingsnapple and I read the first paragraph, I knew I wanted to read the book. And after you gave me a copy, I can truly say that I wasn't disappointed. It was a very good book, with a good story line. It had everything you would expect, mystery, humor, suspense, love and friendship and it was also very educational. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be one of the first to read this great book.

Book Review - Sharon Lupella

“This story is filled with rich descriptive language and genuine heart-felt emotions revolving around a mother goose and her goslings.  The book’s characters are well-developed individuals whose interactions with the main character, Sweetie, are role models of friendship . . .

…   I personally enjoyed reading the book. (I read it in one setting.) It had a nice pace, not too slow or too fast. The plot was interesting and had a few twists to it. I liked the way the characters were introduced one at a time as part of the zoo family. I could picture the zoo in my mind with each specific building and the pathways connecting the buildings. It was a unique opportunity to be transported to a place where friends actually worked together to help a friend achieve her goal.”

Sharon Lupella,

Retired Teacher

Book Review - Ellen Fockler

“… First, let me tell you that you are a remarkable writer.  You have a sense of timing, rhythm, and wording that cannot be taught.  You have succeeded admirably in creating very individual characters -- from Sweetie, obviously young, idealistic, and inexperienced, to Matilda, who must bear the grief of her own loss.  My favorite character -- and, I suspect, the favorite for many of your readers -- is Heidi.  The repetition of phrases that is her characteristic is a brilliant device.   

Your knowledge of the zoo and of animals is very apparent.  It is a mark of achievement that you impart a great deal of information to readers in a very natural way -- without sounding as if you were teaching them a lesson.  Well done…”

Ellen Fockler

Current School Library Consultant at Fockler Library Consulting, LLC

Jackson Hole Writer’s Conference

Join me!

20^th Jackson Hole Writer’s Conference

June 28 – June 30

Life in a Zoo the Fictional Version: Pygmy Goats

Baby pygmy goats

My very first goats were a pair of newborn orphan pygmy goats. These two little orphans came from the Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine. One of our boarding kennel clients was a student there and telephoned us. She felt that we might give them a good home.

Life in a Zoo The Real Thing: Geese on The Pond

Emden and Toulousegeese on our pond.

Our home and compound sat on about three acres.  We really didn’t have that much room for all the animals we eventually housed.  After people began donating more and more geese to us, we realized that plastic wading pools simply would not take care of their needs. See the post on Where is Sweetie's Husband? to see a picture of a goose in a wading pool.

Life in a Zoo The Real Thing: Daisy the Deer and the Emu Chicks

Later in our zoo days we began to breed emus. We had the incubators and all the equipment to hatch eggs for other breeders.  

After the chicks hatch, they spent about a week in the hatchery. Then we took them to the chick barn.  This was a specially built building with four stalls inside it.  The first stall was for the tiny babies. When they reached a certain size, we transferred them to the next stall. It was important to keep the emu chicks separated by size, because the bigger ones could trample and hurt the smaller ones.By the time they were about three months old, they were big enough to stay outside, so we moved them from the barn.   

Life in a Zoo The Real Thing: Pheasants

Pheasant Pen

You can see a silver pheasant in the left corner of the picture.  Silver pheasants are easily tamed and get along well with other birds.

Egging: Scale Model Church Diorama

First Presbyterian Church inside Emu Egg.

In The Thwarting of Mr. Dingsnapple, the zookeeper takes not only Sweetie's eggs to sell, but all the goose eggs.  His reason is that a lady from the International Egg Art Guild needs 100 eggs for an egg decorating class. She plans to pay him handsomely for the eggs.

Outside of boiled Easter eggs, most people do not know about this highly advanced and challenging art form.  Real eggs are emptied of their contents, cut open, and decorated in a variety of ways. Most eggers, as people who participate in this art form are called, prefer to put jewels all over the eggs.  I did some of that, but my preference was making miniature scenes.

Life in a Zoo The Real Thing: Silky Chickens

Silky Rooster and Friend

One of our Auburn University Student Volunteers is holding this bird. Young men and women from the university often came out to volunteer and help with our critters.  They did everything from cleaning pens, to scrubbing water pans, to raking the grounds, to helping us build pens, sheds, and fences. 

Life in a Zoo The Real Thing: Lop Rabbit

 

Lop Rabbit

Over the years we were given many, many rabbits. in fact, at one point in time, we were building more rabbig cages than anything else.  We eventually had over 25 rabbit cages!

Zoonooz Excerpt September / October 1990 circulation 150

Here is an excerpt from our little zoo publication,

ZOONOOZ.

We didn't send it out monthly, but every two or three months, as I had time to work on it.

In the early days, we looked for publicity wherever we could find it.  Advertising was at a premiu. The best we could do was get a listing in the telephone directory.
Whenever possible, we would get ourselves into the public.  Sometimes I took Magic the Mini-horse to the library or a school event to allow kids to pet him.

Sometimes we went to the County Fair and set up a few animals for people to pet.  But one of our favorit things was the local parades.  I would walk with Magic attached to his wagon. There would be a rabbit or two in a wire cage in the wagon.  Joe would walk along with Brighty, our standard donkey .

Upcoming events:

• November 28 – Opelika Christmas Parade!
• December 12 – Auburn Christmas Parade!