J. Lily Corbie 🦇

A grey tortie cat lying down, one front leg outstretched, looking very chill.

A grey tortie cat stretched to the side, one ear back, caught in a yawn.

A grey tortie cat, head thrown back, eyes shut tight, yawning wide. Lots of teeth.

When I try to get cute pics of Sonata...

They literally ruin everything they touch

The same sort of classic jack o' lantern with a mouth shaped like a bat, now with a tea light inside.

And here it is lit up!

It is a bat!

...Or it's supposed to be. My carving skills are not legendary.

A carved pumpkin with a smiling face. The mouth is a bat.

I carved a pumpkin! I haven't done a classic jack o' lantern in so many years.

Came out a little wonky, but that's jack o' lanterns.

I would still really like to go to one of the big zoo events. I like the zoo. I like supporting the zoo. I love Halloween.

I think if I ever get to go to a zoo event, I won't bother with Haunt the Zoo.

They clearly don't.

I've wanted so badly to go to Haunt the Zoo my whole life. The zoo has been sending my incessant emails advertising the big event tonight and using me to buy tickets at a discount since I'm a member.

I thought about it really hard, but couldn't afford it this year.

Christmas decorations set up directly blocking one of the few Haunt the Zoo signs. The Christmas decorations are expensive and elaborate, and the lone Halloween decoration is a painted plywood cutout.

I went by the children's zoo, going for more Halloween stuff since that's probably where a lot of the trick or treating happens, and, well...

The jaguar kept complaining about something, and a tiger joined in, then the lion decided to drown out everyone else.

I know a lot of people love Christmas, but how is it special when it takes up most of the year, is inescapable for more than a quarter of it, and crowds out all the other holidays around it?

A caracal standing on a platform at full attention, staring hard at something, magnificent ears on full display.

Something got this caracal's undivided attention.

A pumpkin in an enclosure with a face drawn on it.

Found a few enrichment pumpkins.

A jaguar on a platform, surveying its surroundings.

This jaguar had a lot to say.

A vulture peeking up before behind a tree stump with a meal waiting on it.

The vulture away from the stump, playing it cool.

The vulture was cautiously stalking something tasty on the log. They're so cute, I can't.

This is the farthest part of the zoo from the entrance, and I wasn't sure if I was going to come all the way up here, but the zookeeper I talked to earlier told me there was a baby langur, so I crossed my fingers and made the walk.

So worth it.

A baby elephant on the right approaching a juvenile elephant on the left.

Baby elephant (I think that's Xerxes) pestering a sibling.

A baby langur monkey, still bright orange, with its mother.

BABY LANGUR!

That's so sad! Let Halloween happen first!

A baby giraffe with an adult giraffe standing nearby.

Baby giraffe!

Three Nile Lechwe settled on the ground, with their sign in the foreground.

Two common ostriches behind their sign.

A giraffe in the distance behind the giraffe sign.

Very funny to come across a large exhibit with multiple animals and they're all chilling in front of their signs.

An aquarium with a gecko attached to the glass, to the right center.

An aquarium with a frog attached to the glass, left center.

A very sneaky glass frog peeking though a hole in a leaf, but also its shadow is clearly visible through the leaf.

I went in the herpetarium, and for some reason I can't find any of these lizards or frogs.

Hide and seek champs, I guess.

A screen with the dessert and a wanted sign for the chupacabra with a weird green alien standing in front that's probably supposed to be a chupacabra.

A screen with a train in it with a steam engine with a skull on the front.

Finally find a hint of Halloween. I guess these are where you can trick-or-treat.

You can really tell which event they care about.

A huge orange and blue peacock spider on a rock.

I'm pretty sure this is one of the Christmas decorations, but I dig it.

Exactly! I know Zoo Lights is a big dea, but so's Haunt the Zoo. Can we please finish one event before we set up the next one?

Like, I was looking forward to Zoo Lights! It's beautiful. But it's for Christmas, and today is literally Halloween.

Two baby mongoose climbing up branches.

A pile of at least four mongoose.

Had the best chat with a zookeeper while we watched baby mongoose play, and that cheered me right up

The walkway leading into the zoo, lines with giant Christmas presents, trees, and one of Santa's elves napping in a hammock suspended on candy canes.

Giant gingerbread men and lollipops by the walkway.

A giant happy holidays sign with a bigger Santa and snowman.

I took the day off from work to come check out the zoo on Halloween...and it's Christmas.

There's a big Haunt the Zoo event tonight that costs extra, but I guess you just get Christmas now.

The only Halloween is kids in costumes.

There might be more Halloween deeper in, but this makes me sad.

Rewatching Cursed to determine if it's a Halloween movie (the only rule being it actually takes place during/around Halloween).

It's not, though there's a costume party toward the middle that might make you (me) remember it that way.

Still the bestworst werewolf movie, easy.

Opinion | Evidence Backs the Transgender Social-Contagion Hypothesis The share of young people claiming another ‘gender identity’ exploded. Now surveys show it is receding.

Yikes! This is fake news. More trans kids felt safe to come out, now they don't. Government's are painting a target on the back of trans kids backs, forcing them tk stay in the closet.

www.wsj.com/opinion/evid...

Nationwide Coalition Sues to Protect Food Security for Millions as Trump-Vance Administration Refuses to Use Available Funds - Democracy Forward

The Trump-Vance admin’s outright refusal to fund SNAP for millions, including children & senior citizens, is immoral & unlawful. Turning hunger into a political weapon is not governing – it’s cruelty.

So we sued on behalf of the broadest coalition yet.

New Yorkers please make sure you vote for Mamdani if for no other reason than to ensure that Cuomo loses the general by an even wider margin than he lost the primary because that'd be funny as fuck and we could all use the laugh