Cormorants in the pond
Peeking duck
Fishing Great Blue Heron (just watch him get that fish!)
The duck family outing (but how will they reach the ticket window???)
Psssst... (cinereous vultures or lovebirds?)
Riding the train, engineer style
Check out those two new crazy engineers...
And this is why we came...to take Jon through Dinosauria
T. rex photo bomb
Zoo, photography, wildlife With temperatures at a manageable level, lazy white clouds drifting across the sky, and a week of hard work and great patience (preparing for the book sale), today just had to be a zoo day. The other bit of impetus was that Calvin finished reading Mr. Popper's Penguins and thought that it might be nice to see some real penguins. He asked very nicely about planning a trip to Antarctica, and I suggested the zoo. He was amazed! He'd had no idea there were penguins at our zoo. All these zoo trips and we hadn't taken him in the penguinarium since he was a baby. For shame.
The zoo was willing to oblige, and even treated us to penguin feeding time just as we got there. We spent about a half hour in the penguinarium, actually (after a while the fish smell is no longer noticeable. Really), and observed all kinds of behaviors.
The cinereous vulture was mighty friendly. I'm probably the only person in the world who finds them cute. Did you know International Vulture Awareness Day is just around the corner? Don't forget to love your vulture on September 3!
The tigers and bears were asleep, the lions were on vacation (they're getting a new house!)
The elephants have been gone from our zoo for years, except for this cutie pie, and if you think this makes me want to get him an elephant friend, you're right.
Fungus, fungus everywhere
In the primate area the drills were being bashful and the chimps were attempting Rodin.
And the butterfly house was our last stop, as usual.
For more info:
Zoo Weeks ago I thought of what I wanted to do with Calvin on his birthday: A Lego store opened in Michigan last fall, only an hour from our house and, even better, only fifteen minutes from the Detroit Zoo, of which we are loving members. Calvin loves Legos, he loves the zoo, it seemed a no-brainer, and I was right. When I suggested a day trip to him, first to the Lego Store and the to the zoo, he was as near to ecstatic as he gets. I had a brief moment of panic when I pulled into the mall and the parking lot resembled that of an amusement park, but luck was with us and when we ended up parking on the third floor "skyway" (simply because that's where the lane we were in took us) and thus entered the mall on the third floor, the Lego store was on that top level as well. That didn't stop us from taking the escalators all the way up and down a few times, but that's what life is for.
The whole day was a success. We gave Calvin some birthday money and I allowed him to decide how he would spend it. He came home from the Lego store with two new small sets to add to his castle mania. At the zoo we rode the train and I allowed him the choice between riding the train a second time, as he said he wanted to do, and visiting the dinosaurs, which he ultimately decided to do. It was a good choice—as we entered the walk through Dinosauria a docent who was off duty (are they ever if the love what they do?) was just going in as well, and we were treated to a guided tour.
We enjoyed lunch by the polar bears, something Jon and I loved to do before Calvin was born, the last time we enjoyed it alone being just a week before he was born. Five years ago.
The day was overcast but dry and much, much cooler than the previous few days had been. We couldn't have asked for a better day, because who really wants sun on a day at the zoo? Overcast is better for animal viewing and for pictures.
When we came home we enjoyed an impromptu dinner with family to celebrate. It will be the first of two, since the same group with re-gather at our house for Calvin's planned Wizard of Oz party.
Today was everything I needed it to be. Sometimes time can get away from me, and chores and teaching and life can get in the way of my enjoyment of those very things. It was Calvin's birthday, not mine, but having a full day of celebration to remind me that celebrating this life is what everyday is about? That's what I needed. And I got it, thanks to my son and to my family.
Zoo, milestones First we had to get past the volcano, which, with our little volcanologist aboard, was not an easy task.
Then wow! Dinosaurs.
Would you take a look at that guy?
There were a lot of grinning dinosaurs. Really happy, grinning dinosaurs.
Like this guy. Man is he happy.
This one is so happy he's gone stupid silly!
And look at this one...he even has his party hat on.
Talk about party hats!
Calvin thought this one looked sweet (as in "awwwww, isn't he sweet?")
But not as sweet as this one, and his whole nest of siblings
This one wants a dental checkup. Say ahhhhh...
We did not get eaten, and we avoided being spit upon as well...
And we even got a little friendly with the natives.
Very friendly.
Perhaps too friendly (has he been eaten???)
But we lived to see the rest of the zoo anyhow.
Till next time, zoo.
Zoo Calvin's first written word was zoo. I'm surprised, in fact, that it wasn't his first spoken word. It should not, therefore, surprise you that we were at the zoo again a few days ago, this time with friends. We've gone and had a great time with Noah and Isaac before and this was no different. As the boys grow older it is fun to observe the changes in their dynamics and interactions. Calvin brought along his magnifying glass today and all three boys had a fun time with it, mostly in making themselves lop-eyed monsters. And no two trips to the zoo are ever alike; aside from the variations in child behavior, the animals always treat us to something new and wonderful on each visit. Today the binturong, whom we have always observed as a faintly discernable shadow in the back doorway, was actually sleeping out in the open; a frog was hanging out in plain view in the fish pond; the flamingoes were honking away.
Probably my very favorite picture from this trip—discussing fungus.
