It's All Happening at the Zoo

The week I was going back and forth to Philadelphia for my testing I decided to make a trip to the zoo one day.  I've always loved the Philadelphia Zoo, which has the distinction of being our nation's first. I met my friend Gwen and her little one, Sweet Pea there. Join us.

 Flamingos always make me giggle.

There were a couple of women discussing this position with the little one they were accompanying.  We all agreed it looked like giraffe yoga.  Downward giraffe anyone?

 I was following my prep diet for the scans while at the zoo.  Last year I may have fought the otter for the fish.  This year my cravings were all about cheese, so I could just enjoy the otter's antics.  We also had an extended discussion with the otter's keeper.  We learned a lot about the breeding programs.  Essentially the worldwide zoo population of these river otters is descended mostly from the same mother and there are more hoops to jump through to get your otter laid than any sane person would even want to imagine.

 This bear seemed wholly unconcerned with any of that.

 We were hoping the peacock would give us a show.  He did not oblige.

Getting ready for a date and checking his deodorant?

"Listen, Glen may have on his aftershave but he still can't dance.  Just look at that ungainly display on the dance floor."

 GQ Lemur edition.

 The beauty shop at the primate house.

 Cutie

 Deep in thought or needing a smoke?

 Whoa, Mama!  the ground is waaaaaay down there!

 She seemed fairly annoyed by the people around.

 Sweet Pea's favorite toy is her stuffed lion.  It goes everywhere with her.  She wanted this lion to meet her lion.

Majesty

If you've ever read E. B. White's Trumpet of the Swan you may recall the main character Louis lives at the Philadelphia Zoo for a time and plays his trumpet for tourists.  The swan boats at the zoo are in honor of the book.

 Sass

 Just inside the entrance is this fountain.  I've loved it since I was a child.

Critters

I've been shooting all sorts of critters this summer....with Boom-boom my Canon....not boom-boom a gun.  It's a habit I picked up ears ago when Isaac was small and collecting the various insects, amphibians, and reptiles he could find in the yard was his favorite thing.  We'd take a picture, marvel a bit, look up the species, and put it back.  As I am lacking time to come up with a reflective or humorous post and as this past week has been a sucktastic one I am sharing the local fauna now in attempts to make myself think of more cheerful or peaceful things.  First up, the chipmunks.  As a kid I spent a lot of time in the mountains with my grandparents and feeding the chippies by hand was a favorite past time.  Since Mr. Lime and Isaac chase them off I was pleased to be able to sit in the yard peacefully with them one afternoon as they scampered around looking for seeds.


You talkin' to ME?  This little one cracked me up when I downloaded the picture off  my camera.

While I was in Maryland I was able to enjoy the goldfinches.  We get them at our feeder occasionally but I was able to get much closer to these and since I wasn't contending with the shade from our feeder their colors came out more brilliantly.  Here's Mrs. Finch.
















Mr. Finch.  You can certainly see how much more brilliant his plumage is.  Again, as a kid in the mountains, I was reminded of my grandfather. We kids could feed the chippies by hand but only my grandfather could draw the wild birds to his upturned palms as he sat in zen-like repose on the back porch.  I always thought he and the birds had a special relationship.  My aunt confirmed that with this story.

Back at home we found some other little friends.  This frog  has made a home in a hole in one of our fence posts. His drowsy look and his hiding space just sort of make me giggle.










Not far away from the fence post, Mr. Lime built a bird bath out of an old claw-footed tub.  About the time we found the fence post neighbor we found this little one had taken up residence in the birdbath.  He just seems a bit more outgoing and I can imagine him calling the other frog enticing him to come play while the other one moans about wanting a nap.

Finally, I nearly stepped on this little red eft one day on my way out to the car.  When I noticed him I had to go back in for my camera.  I can remember scooping them up and carrying crowds of them...um, herds...er, wriggles....whatever the collective noun for a salamander is...in my shirt by folding up the front hem and using it like a pocket.

Happy memories of years past and peaceful times this summer...aahh, that's better. 

Da Count-All Creatures Great and Small

We had all sorts of fun at the lake but our friends' kids also had fun in our backyard finding all sorts of critters. The first discovery was woodpeckers. We sighted a big Pileated Woodpecker but missed a shot at it with the camera. He's a wily thing I've only spied 3 times in the 5 and a half years I've lived here. Later we saw a Downy Woodpecker which is much smaller. Our guests enjoyed seeing deer and tree rats squirrels too. We saw evidence of a raccoon getting into the screened in porch when we discovered his footprints in the pollen on the chair rail. Over the years we have often had black bears go through the neighborhood and occasionally they get into the garbage shed.

We found an Eastern American Toad. Generally the routine at House of Lime is catch a critter, take a picture, admire it a bit, then return it where it was found. I tend to think wild things should not be long removed from their natural habitat. The toad spend a few hours in a box and was fed a number of earthworms before being deposited back by the woodpile.

We also found this Ringneck Snake near the woodpile. Looks big doesn't he?

Not so much though. Here he is on the back of my hand. I'm not sure whose skin is scalier...

Here you can see how tiny the snake really is. I have to admit to be tempted to hang on to him a while. I have lobbied for a pet snake for some time. They are non-allergenic, low maintenance, and can still be cuddled. What? Don't give me that weird look. They are.

Here is a Red Spotted Newt. I can remember catching scads of these things in the woods when I was a kid.

I'm not sure which species this one is but it's cute, maybe a Northern Two-lined Salamander.

A lovely lady bullfrog. At least I think it's a girl because her tympanum (the round ear drum near her eye) is smaller than her eye. In males the tympanum is larger than the eye.

I have no idea what species of dragonfly this is. It intrigued me because I never saw a golden one. There were several other varieties flying around but this one was the only one willing to pose.

Isaac has been a critter catcher since he was 2 years old and gently snagging crickets by their hind legs. We've seen all sorts of interesting creatures over the years. Some finds have been rather rarely seen animals and it impressed the naturalists at the local environmental center that Isaac had found them. It was a bit of a bonus to have seen so many different things all in a couple of days.

Say Cheese!

I ran out time to execute a particular idea for a blog post so today you get some critter pictures from the last couple of weeks or so.

This fellow looks like he is smiling at the camera. Or is it just me? Naw, he's smiling. Must be he likes tie dye (the sheet he's perched on) as much as I do.

This guy is definitely not smiling though. In fact, he looks more than a bit put out by the whole experience. Isaac and I have a long standing tradition from when he was 2 and started catching crickets. When he catches some very cool little critter he brings it to me and I take a picture of him with it before he releases it. It makes me smile that even though he is almost 13 Isaac still rushes in the house to show me what he finds.


I can't tell if this grasshopper is smiling or not. Maybe if I had a good macro lens we could see. Well, that and maybe if the darned hopper would face me instead of mooning me.