Exotic Animals Found in San Antonio

Today, Todd, Devin, Faith, Grace and I all went for a walk at the new park near our home. It's called Stone Oak Park, named after the master-planned community in which we live.

To be realistic, it's not as much of a park as is a nature area. No playground or sandbox (so far...I think there are plans for them, though), but rather gravel trails with benches along the way. The trails circumvent a cave system that will be open to the public some day in the future.

The park is very pretty and, although it is only partially finished, the trails are beautiful and rustic. They are pretty easy, although Level 2 and Level 3 trails are part of the newest expansion, set to open at the end of this year.

So we had a great time just meandering along the trails, enjoying the beautiful weather and God's glory around us. Since we were there during the heat of the day, we didn't see a whole lot of animals, but we were able to point out different animal tracks, trees and cactuses to Devin. It's hysterical to hear him say, "Prickley Pear."

At one point, though, we heard something scurry into some of the brush (remember, this is San Antonio, so it's more like short trees and scrubby brush than the pine-straw blanketed piney woods of Houston where I grew up) and Todd investigated. It was a squirrel and he pointed it out to Devin. This was the first time Devin realized that there may be animals along the way and he became very interested.

Devin's Doozie

A short way past the squirrel-sighting, Devin shushed Todd and me and told us to stop. He said he'd heard an animal in the distance. Todd and I exchanged amused glances and followed our son to the edge of the trail.

There he stood, crouched down, quietly peering into the bushes. Todd whispered, "What do you see, Devin?"

Devin's response, "An itty, bitty hippopatamus."

Well who-the-heck knew? Apparently, San Antonio is home to exotic, wild animals. I didn't see the hippo, nor did Todd, but Devin swore it was there. And who are we to doubt him?