OT: We *finally* got to the Zoo!!!
Trish Brown
Inservice Day yesterday (school staff has a day off for professional
development and kids get to stay home). The time was ripe for the trip
to Sydney to see Taronga Park Zoo!
I've been to the Zoo many times and so has DS. DH had only been once
(with me, on our honeymoon) and DD had never. I couldn't *wait* to show
her all the animals and see the look on her face as she rounded each
bend to spot something new and exciting. I wasn't disappointed! :-)
We were late leaving (by the time the Browns have done all their
phluffing around, time has a way of passing one by...) and there was a
thick fog yesterday, which gave me the creeps. Many of the accidents on
the freeway are because of fog and there actually was one this morning,
due to fog on the Mooney Mooney Bridge! Anyway, I expected a bright
sunny day after the fog lifted, but that didn't happen. The fire
department was doing back-burning around the Zoo and so the smoke got
added to the morning temperature-inversion, which didn't lift until the
late afternoon. We had a very dull, oppressive day with lots of UV to
worry about, but none of that spoiled our enthusiasm!
Speaking of UV, I'd insisted that everyone had hats to wear (I got
*ferociously* sunburnt on my honeymoon and both kids have red hair!), so
we looked like Right Yokels! DD had her pretty little straw hat with the
pale blue hatband and bow-and-flowers trim, so she looked OK (although
sullen because she wanted to wear her school hat, which is
'trendy-looking' - now *that* has to be a first!!!!) DH looked like a
*thug* with his precious-darling-beloved Sopranos cap on (thank you,
Rita!) and DS looked like a Trappist monk with his battered old
gardening hat pulled right down over his ears. I locked that in the boot
(trunk) and made him wear DD's school hat, which is dark green 'cowboy'
style. Me, I had me Boston Celtics cap, which DH had brought back from
his trip to MacWorld in 1989. It looks *exactly* as though it's thirteen
years old and I was no oil painting. I didn't give a toss, though,
because we expected to be two hours on he road and I was more worried
about DD getting car-sick and throwing up over her father, behind whom
she sits (have experienced this with the Ugly Sister - see other boring
story about it on Kath Dyer's site).
The trip down the freeway was uneventful until I became seized by an
overriding desire to attend the dunny as we approached Wahroonga (outer
outskirts of Sydney). Owing to *heavy* traffic and a completely
masculine desire to forge ahead, DH found himself unable to pull over
until St Leonards (inner outskirts of Sydney). This meant approximately
half an hour of acute discomfort for poor little moi and a somewhat
moderate Domestic going on in the front seat between me and my beloved.
As it turned out, DD did not get car-sick, but now knows what 'vehicular
nausea' means. (DH and I had been animatedly discussing our concerns
about her tummy and we can't spell at her any more - she spells as well
as we do!) We got to the dunny at a gas station and stocked up on mints
for DD. Then we made our way down through our old stomping ground (DH
and I lived and worked in North Sydney about ten years ago). Boy! Has
Sydney changed! The AppleCentre where I worked is now a Police Station
and the lovely old Art Deco flat where we lived has been 'renovated' and
looks awful!
We arrived at Taronga Park at 11am and then wasted precious time making
and eating chicken sandwiches (to save carrying them about in DD's
plastic backpack). A number of Kookaburras approached as soon as they
saw our Esky (portable cooler fridge) and so we wasted more precious
time feeding them bits of chicken. It was only when DS came and said
'*Please* Mum! Can we go in! I can hear a peacock calling me!' DD made a
pain of herself by insisting that her two precious beanie teddies (Teddy
and Tickle-me-pink) should come too - she had secreted them in her hat,
knowing I would make her leave them at home otherwise! So *more*
precious time was wasted as I repacked her backpack and placed the two
blasted bears facing backward so they could see out. Hnnnnh!
We marched through the turnstile and were confronted immediately by
every birdwatcher's dream! Not one, but *two* stately Jabirus!!!!! There
they were, standing in a little corner of a pond, blinking their yellow
eyes at me and projecting a very clear 'Good morning, Patricia - we're
so glad you came!' DH took photos of me being deliriously happy and
raving on about them being _Xenorhynchus asiaticus_ and the only true
stork to occur on the Australian continent and so on and so forth. He
went on to mutter something about spanking my inner child, but I didn't
hear it. I was romping off down the path to find DS' peacock. It was in
full display plumage and the reason it kept calling so earnestly was
that seagulls were flocking around the food kiosk which was there. The
mad peacock seemed to think they were albino peacocks moving in on his
territory, so he spent the whole day calling and displaying at the
nonchalantly scavenging seagulls! Not only that, but Mr Peacock wasn't
alone: there were zillions of other peacocks all over the Zoo and they
were *all* displaying like mad! Yet, we didn't see a single peahen! They
must've been so embarrassed they were secreting themselves out of the
public eye.
I was particularly impressed by the bird exhibits (no prizes for working
that out!) and the others got sick of me pointing out obscure little
winged things when there were Monkeys to be seen! They went off and
spent a great half-hour at the Chimpanzee exhibit while I got to mutter
'white-winged chough, stone curlew, forest kingfisher, crimson firetail,
spice finch, purple-crowned pigeon, regent bower bird' etc to myself. I
was in Heaven! The collection of Oz birds at Taronga Park is very good
indeed and I saw zillions of species represented. The free-flight aviary
is particularly excellent, because the birds are completely tame and you
find yourself being strafed by things like Sacred Kingfishers, which are
normally quite difficult to see up close! DD excelled herself in there
(the aviary) by spotting a colony of electic blue yabbies (freshwater
crayfish) in the running water. I was *so* proud of her observational
skills!
As we left the huge aviary, I was *astounded* to be confronted by three
(3!) Wollemi Pine trees!!!!! These were only discovered in 1994 and they
are a living fossil. I've been dreaming of the day when I would clap
eyes on one (knowing they're being carefully tissue-cultured and made
ready for extensive distribution a couple of years hence). Can you
imagine my surprise and very great pleasure at having seen (and touched,
but don't tell anyone!!!) a Wollemi Pine just yesterday??? Here's the
site of the bloke who discovered them:
http://www.lisp.com.au/~daven/
Maybe Dave's story is only of interest to Botanists, but some of you
might find it engaging to read his tale of how this ancient colony of
pine trees was found lurking in a canyon! The trees are immediately
identifiable as a Very Ancient species. The bark is reminiscent of the
Bunya Pine (_Araucaria bidwillii_) and the leaves too, although they're
unusually long and extremely primitive-lookin, being pinnate with a
tendency to form an extra (third) row of leaflets along the rachis.
(This is for Monique, who was the first person I thought of when I
recovered from the shock of seeing my trees!) The saplings were about
six feet tall, planted closely together (they're going to have to
transplant eventually, because these trees will be *big*) and were a
lovely spring green colour. The bark is chocolate brown and is also
primitive-looking like all 'Araucariaceae' bark. It felt awesome to be
standing in the presence of something so Old! DH restrained me from
taking a cutting, but he couldn't restrain me from climbing up and
touching a tree ('Do Not Touch the Trees' said the sign...)
Well, DD most particularly wanted to see Large Animals of African
origin. Her current fetish is for the Cape Buffalo (she read about it on
the CDROM, 'Dangerous Creatures' and she is totally enthralled by them).
She was mightily disappointed when I had to tell her that Taronga Park
has no Cape Buffaloes, nor even any American Bisons for her to look at.
So, she decided immediately that a Wildebeest or Elephant would do
instead. Guess what? No Wildebeests and the Elephants are Indian ones.
Poor DD. Still, though, I did get my wish to see the look on her face as
she rounded a bend and shrieked '*Mu-u-uuum*! Look! There are giraffes
in there!' She was utterly entranced and it took us ages to drag her
away from staring at these unutterably beautiful creatures. I secretly
agreed with her that giraffes really are the most spectacularly gorgeous
and unique animals - it's something about the way they move and the look
in their eyes...
DS was quite chuffed with the Gorillas and he greatly enjoyed watching
them being fed with branches of mulberry and piles of *leeks and
onions*! Whew! Imagine *living* on leeks and onions? I'd hate to the
keeper who had to sweep up the gorilla-poo! Oh, and the tribe of
Chimpanzees had two little babies among them, a boy and a girl. The
girl's Mummy and Daddy were completely besotted with her and they were
lying together with the tiny baby between them, playing with her ever-so
gently. The male seemed especially human-like as he sofly picked up the
baby's hand and counted her fingers, placing each one on his lips! He
looked exactly like any Daddy, falling in love with his new baby girl
and when she fell over backward, he leapt to his feet and gently took
her little hands to pull her upright again. Then, he cradled her against
his breast and *smiled* at her mother! I kid you not! The crowd of
people around us went 'Awwwwwwww' and there wasn't a dry eye among us!
DS really enjoyed this and DD piped up and said 'Daddy loves *me* that
much, doesn't he?'
Well, we walked back and forth and back and forth for several hours
(Taronga Park Zoo is on a hilly site overlooking Sydney Harbour) and by
mid-afternoon we were absolutely cactussed! DH and I were supporting one
another as we hobbled along on burning soles, but the kids were still
romping along and forging ahead to find the Snow Leopards and the Lions.
We had a short respite when we sat down to watch the Bird Show, in
which various birds were exhibited in free flight. Let's see, there was
a flock of white pigeons which wheeled above the crowd, following the
trainer's directions and then dropping to the ground as one and
*disappearing into a hole under a rock* which led back to their cage.
This was *so* effective and the crowd went 'Ohhhhhhhhh!' as the fifty or
so birds suddenly 'dissolved' into the ground!
Next, a fully-grown Brolga (looks exactly like a Sandhill or Whooping
Crane - well, almost...) came flying into the arena. He performed a few
simple tasks, like walking into and out of water on command and then he
flew off among the bamboo backdrop to a hidden trainer. A Barn Owl came
next and then a Barking Owl who was asked to fly at low level over the
heads of the crowd so they could hear that his flight made no sound. I
*want* that bird!!!! He was the epitome of owldom and he *looked* at me
with his great orange eyes, saying 'Yes! I love you, Patricia! Take me
home with you!' But DH said 'No' and that was the end of that.
After that, a Galah came out and flew up to remove a dollar coin from a
gentleman's hand. You should've seen the look on his face when the
trainer pocketted his dollar! But later on, the Galah took the coin back
to him and he was very impressed indeed! I think the most impressive
appearance, though, was that of the White Breasted Sea Eagle (has a
wingspan of two metres)! She had lost two toes in a rabbit trap and so
can never be released because with only one working foot, she can no
longer hunt. This bird was just the most stunning creature! Huge and
pristine white with a pearl grey mantle (back and wings), Minka (that
was her name) seemed to realise that she was on an important mission -
to demonstrate that creatures need to be protected from the activities
of Man. She sat quite calmly on her trainer's hand as a series of Hooded
Rats ran along the pipe fence behind them. LOL! The trainer was
rabbitting on about once having a rat problem at the Zoo, but now, with
Minka and the Owls around, there aren't any rats around. The kids, of
course, were squealing 'Look behind you!' but each time she did, the
rats would stop coming. Then, as she turned back, another Hooded Rat
would scurry along the fence! It was really funny and the great bird
just sat there, with no interest in the rats at all!
The clever one was the Black Breasted Buzzard which took a stone and
used it to break open an emu's egg. In fact, the egg had already been
broken and resealed for the show, but buzzards can easily break eggs
like this in real life and so it didn't spoil the effect. When the show
was over, all the performers and then some came flying in to sit on the
trees behind the stage. There were Major Mitchell cockatoos,
White-Tailed Black cockatoos, pigeons, birds of prey and Billy the
Brolga. I cried.
Well, after that, we realised how late it was and how *far* and *steep*
the walk would be back to Elvis (the car). So, DH determined that we
would catch the Sky Safari. Bl**dy h*ll! I really didn't enjoy the Sky
Safari on my honeymoon and I really wasn't expecting to enjoy it now! We
began to walk the long and winding road down to the bottom of the hill
and I suddenly conceived yet another uncannily intense desire to attend
the dunny. Oh no! And I was going to have to sit in this blasted
ski-lift thing which would doubtless crash at its highest point, thus
turning me and mine into pizza and probably rendering dead any number of
endangered Zoo animals below us! Hnnnnnnh!
As soon as they seated us in the ridiculously swinging little
gondola-affair, I *knew* we were too heavy for it! Between DH and me,
who each weigh enough for two, we had exceeded the legal capacity by two
grown adults! I was *pet*rified! I have to add, this has only come upon
me in recent years. As a youngster, I used to love being in high places
and relished things like high towers and ferris wheels. Today, even the
smallest ferris wheel at Newcastle Show gives me the heebiejeebies and
so this Sky Safari thing was very bad for my health! I never said a
word, though! DS takes all his cues from me and if I'd let on that I was
terrified, he would've been too. So I sat there with my lips compressed
into a very thin line and looked straight ahead at the extremely flimsy
connection of the gondola ahead of us with the wire holding us both up.
We were roughly four hundred feet above the ground. Dear G*d!
Having reached the top (and gone immediately and extensively to the
dunny), we shopped in the souvenir shop for a while. I hate these
places! They offer utter rubbish for sale at inflated prices and
anything remotely attractive to a child is completely beyond the purse
of all but the filthy rich! DD wanted a stuffed tiger, but was not
allowed to have one (at $17.95 for a nasty, poorly put together thing
that would sell for $2 up home!) so she was very sad. We ended up
getting her a nice progressing pencil and a matching progressing eraser
with a plastic ruler showing animal pictures from the Zoo. She was sorry
at having to settle for 'school things', so DH managed to secrete a
small stuffed tiger beanie-thingummy in the shopping without her seeing
it. She was overjoyed when we pulled it out later and immmediately
christend him 'Rajah'. The poor thing met a sorry fate later on...
Well, we bundled into the car and headed across the Harbour Bridge. DD
is also fixated on it and thinks it the most beautiful and clever thing
imaginable. She was so excited to actually be *on* the Bridge, and so we
had then to go back across it, didn't we? But not before visiting
Waverton (where DH and I had lived) and all our old haunts from the
Olden Days. By then it was dark and the vista of the Bridge in lights
and the lights of Sydney surrounding the Harbour was almost too much for
DD. She kept exclaiming 'It's so pretty! It's so pretty!' and we felt so
good that we'd been able to give her such a lovely day out. DS excited
too, of course, but he's much older now. He was smilingly remembering
the time we'd taken him to the Emperor's Garden and made him eat a hand
towel! Of course, then we had to tell the story to DD and she was in
stitches! Laughter is very good for one, isn't it? So, we left Sydney
City at about 7pm in a great good humour!
We decided to search about for somewhere cheap to eat, but then decided
that a celebration was in order so I brought forth the Rainy Day money
(which lives in my wallet for emergencies). We found a nice little Pizza
Place in Chatswood where the kids had ham'n'pineapple and DH and I had
Tiger Prawns and Moroccan Spicy Sauce. Yum! It was so good to eat food
that was not McDonald's! I will treasure last nights' pizza for a very
long time! The waiter had a clever trick up his sleeve: when he saw that
DD was eight, he came back with a knob of pizza dough for her to play
with while waiting! DD is one of those kids who just sits quietly and
waits (well, maybe not *quietly* - she's never lost for a word), but she
really appreciated her dough and has brought it home with her. Isn't
that a good idea? The lump of dough would've cost the restaurant about
ten cents, but the gainful occupation of a child is beyond price to any
parent!
Well, after we ate, I took DD to the dunny. We went into adjoining
cubicles and I was just about to emerge from mine when a great wail came
from DD's.
'Mu-u-uum! I dropped poor little Rajah in the toilet AND I HAVEN'T
PULLED THE CHAIN!!!! HELP!!!!!'
Of course, a chorus of giggles emerged from the remaining cubicles and I
had to go and withdraw the noisome and dripping Rajah and wash him in
the pink gooey stuff they call soap. He turned out OK, but I think his
brief stint under the blow-jobber (hand dryer thing) did him ill. He's a
bit flat today, so I think I may have to unpick a seam and add to his
intestinal fortitude with some extra stuffing...
After all that, we proceeded home up the freeway without incident except
that DD was unable to go to sleep in the car because of being so
excited. She reckoned she kept replaying the day 'like a video in my
head' and couldn't stop watching it! LOL! On our arrival home, Miss
Alice was yodelling *madly* owing to being very hungry and not knowing
we'd been at the Zoo. DS shot in to feed her and DH and I lugubriously
unpacked the remains of the day. Poor old DD had to have a bath and her
hair washed owing to school today, but in the final event, her father
assassinated the alarm clock when it spoke out of turn this morning and
we all slept in.
Except for poor DS, who had to go to work. I'm making him some chocolate
muffins today to make up for that!
--
Trish {|:-}
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Di Messina
What a wonderful day you had. I felt I was right there with you. I
wish I could have seen all those beautiful birds.
If you ever come to Minnesota, we'll go to the Minnesota zoo. Your DD
(and everyone else) can see both Bison and Moose as well as wolves, and a
whole bunch of animals from the tropics. There's even a coral reef with
beautiful tropical fish and several kinds of sharks!
Di
"Trish Brown" <kawb...@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:3D8F0F82...@ozemail.com.au...
Danny Breidenbach
Trish Brown wrote:
> ... and the Elephants are Indian ones.
> Poor DD.
At the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., it was an Indian (a.k.a. Asian)
Elephant that was looking at the onlookers and doing a little dance purely
for the fun of it. Really! It was doing a sort of elephant style chorus
line kick routine (albeit all by herself ... the prissy African Elephants
weren't interested). We onlookers were puzzled by this until a passing
keeper told us that, yes, she's dancing, and yes, you should applaud. We
did. She (the elephant) smiled. Really!
--Danny in West Lafayette, Indiana
emerald
> Inservice Day yesterday (school staff has a day off for professional
> development and kids get to stay home). The time was ripe for the trip
> to Sydney to see Taronga Park Zoo!
Ooh! Taronga Zoo........lucky Patricia!
emerald
Cathy McKeller
Your marvellous story brought back many happy memories for me of 3
visits I have made to Taronga Park Zoo over the last nearly 30 years. As
well as the wonderful animals there (the giraffes are my favourite, they
are so elegant and gentle) the setting is simply magnificent with the
beautiful views of Sydney and the Harbour. I think it is time I planned
another trip, although it is such a long way from Townsville!
Cathy.......in Townsville, North Queensland
Trish Brown
>
> Trish
>
> Your marvellous story brought back many happy memories for me of 3
> visits I have made to Taronga Park Zoo over the last nearly 30 years. As
> well as the wonderful animals there (the giraffes are my favourite, they
> are so elegant and gentle) the setting is simply magnificent with the
> beautiful views of Sydney and the Harbour. I think it is time I planned
> another trip, although it is such a long way from Townsville!
>
> Cathy.......in Townsville, North Queensland
Oh Cathy! Let me know next time you plan a trip! It would be fun to see
the Zoo again with a friend! Yes, the Harbour *is* lovely - we ate our
ice-creams sitting on a stone bench facing the Opera House and chatting
about all the controversy it caused all those years ago. Sadly, we
didn't have a sunshiny day to give us white cotton clouds and sparkling
waters, but there *is* something magical about Sydney Harbour all the
same!
I was surprised that the collection seems smaller than I recall - then I
realised that a lot of the hoofed animals and larger specimens are often
out at Dubbo Zoo on holiday. Which is A Good Thing, because it's
certainly not natural for them to be sitting in the centre of a major
city with all the pollution and drawbacks that carries with it.
When the Ugly Sister and I were little girls, they were still doing
Elephant Rides. We both recall being seated on long bench-style seats
atop the long-suffering elephant, who trundled off around the Zoo with,
maybe, ten people on her back. At one point, she got a bit enthusiastic
and began to run! All the people cried out and the elephant trumpetted.
Mum nearly had a coronary, but the keeper assured us that she (the
elephant, not Mum) had been completely under control the whole time. I
wasn't sorry when they stopped giving rides on the elephants - there's
something completely undignified in it!
I was also interested to hear that the current female elephant at
Taronga Park was bought from a circus. She has the awful stable vice of
'weaving', which is a neurosis exhibited often by animals who spend
their lives in small enclosures (usually racehorses). In spite of
ongoing occupational therapy, the poor elephant still weaves incessantly
and isn't thriving as well as she ought to. Sad. Still, though, it was
*so* good to see the enclosure has been enlarged by 500% and now has
some *grass* for the huge animals to walk upon and gobs of aircraft
tyres for them to play with!
Trish Brown
>
> Trish,
> What a wonderful day you had. I felt I was right there with you. I
> wish I could have seen all those beautiful birds.
> If you ever come to Minnesota, we'll go to the Minnesota zoo. Your DD
> (and everyone else) can see both Bison and Moose as well as wolves, and a
> whole bunch of animals from the tropics. There's even a coral reef with
> beautiful tropical fish and several kinds of sharks!
>
> Di
I *love* Zoos! Which is really bad, because they're not natural places
for animals to be kept. Still, the chance to actually see the creatures
that I'd only ever read about or seen on TV - it's *wonderful*! I'm so
happy about the more modern trend of making zoos much more in keeping
with the animals' natural habitats and thus encouraging them to breed! I
would dearly love to see the Minnesota Zoo one day, Di! :-)
Robert and Elizabeth
> Well! We've been saving up for quite a while for this and DD had an
> Inservice Day yesterday (school staff has a day off for professional
> development and kids get to stay home). The time was ripe for the trip
> to Sydney to see Taronga Park Zoo!
Snipped really fun story of a good day--
In one of those weird coincidences, there was an article about Taronga
Park Zoo on our local paper's kid page yesterday, all about the
Jackson's Chameleons. They have a picture of one of the Dads and a baby
on the Dads horns. Very cute they are too.
Elizabeth
Marie
two large and wonderful ones. The Phoenix zoo is quite large, an all day
outing, but offers safari trains if your feet need a rest (sorry - no ski
lifts). The zoo features large, natural habitats for the animals and we
have Ruby, the elephant that paints! She has been featured on a number of
news programs and articles. There's a picture of her with her paintbrush in
trunk at http://www.phoenixzoo.org/ scroll down to Ruby, I'm sure your DD
will enjoy seeing her. We also have a large botanical garden that features
all kinds of our native plants, cactus, succulents, many rare/unusual
plants. A big attraction in the spring when all is in bloom. And Papago
Park, an old volcanic mountain that has holes in it, I mean it looks like a
swiss cheese and the holes go completely through, you can see through the
mountain, really neat.
Marie (Boboette)
"Trish Brown" <kawb...@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
news:3D8F0F82...@ozemail.com.au...
CynConn
Chimpanzee's and their baby. We have a couple of great zoos here in AZ. And I
totally agree about the natural habitats, not only are the animals happier, for
me it makes it more of an experience. After reading your story, it is
definitely time for me to go back to the zoo!
Cynthia
"Trish Brown" <kawb...@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
Cathy McKeller
morning in the shower that we will have to think about a trip, he
reminded me that as we are planning to go to the UK at Christmas to be
with my Mother for her first Christmas alone since my Father died in
May, and then credit cards permitting, to New Zealand next
August/September so he can show me where he lived for 12 years before we
met, we might be a bit short of $$$ and holidays for a while. (That
sentence was a bit long and convoluted!)
Cheers
Cathy.......in Townsville, North Queensland
Aramanth Dawe
<kawb...@ozemail.com.au> wrote:
>Poor DD. Still, though, I did get my wish to see the look on her face as
>she rounded a bend and shrieked '*Mu-u-uuum*! Look! There are giraffes
>in there!' She was utterly entranced and it took us ages to drag her
>away from staring at these unutterably beautiful creatures. I secretly
>agreed with her that giraffes really are the most spectacularly gorgeous
>and unique animals - it's something about the way they move and the look
>in their eyes...
One of my favourite memories will always be of DD#1, then about 3
years olds, gazing at the giraffes here at Adelaide Zoo and
proclaiming at the top of her lungs (as 3 year olds will) that they
were *almost* as tall as Daddy. Now, I'd admit that, at 6'8" Daddy is
one of the taller men out there, but he doesn't exactly rival a
giraffe!
Aramanth
Maureen
wrote:
>If you're ever in Arizona, I would be happy to show you our zoos. We have
>two large and wonderful ones. The Phoenix zoo is quite large, an all day
>outing, but offers safari trains if your feet need a rest (sorry - no ski
>lifts). The zoo features large, natural habitats for the animals and we
>have Ruby, the elephant that paints! She has been featured on a number of
>news programs and articles. There's a picture of her with her paintbrush in
>trunk at http://www.phoenixzoo.org/ scroll down to Ruby,
Marie,
When I lived in Mesa there was a big to-do because Ruby had lost her
baby. It was just so sad!! I thought somewhere in there I heard that
Ruby passed as well. I'm glad to hear I was mistaken!! Now I will
have to correct my story at work.
Maureen in the Finger Lakes, NY
X/USA/H+(Will)/1Y6(Sam)/-/2C,2D/1B/Hearts Birth Sampler, tatting/ X/28L/D/:-D~/Q,O/M/B/b/R~/S/K/E/-/G/
Wo/-/-/Derek Jeter, Matthew McC, Liam Neeson/n-a/wintogreen lifesavers, pizza.
Put my dog out to reply :)
Trish Brown
>
> If you're ever in Arizona, I would be happy to show you our zoos. We have
> two large and wonderful ones. The Phoenix zoo is quite large, an all day
> outing, but offers safari trains if your feet need a rest (sorry - no ski
> lifts). The zoo features large, natural habitats for the animals and we
> have Ruby, the elephant that paints! She has been featured on a number of
> news programs and articles. There's a picture of her with her paintbrush in
> trunk at http://www.phoenixzoo.org/ scroll down to Ruby, I'm sure your DD
> will enjoy seeing her. We also have a large botanical garden that features
> all kinds of our native plants, cactus, succulents, many rare/unusual
> plants. A big attraction in the spring when all is in bloom. And Papago
> Park, an old volcanic mountain that has holes in it, I mean it looks like a
> swiss cheese and the holes go completely through, you can see through the
> mountain, really neat.
> Marie (Boboette)
Sigh! I wish! Marie, when me little dinghy comes in, you'll hear from
me! I'd love to see your Zoo and all the others as well! I'd especially
like to see the swiss cheese mountain! What an amazing thing! :-)
Trish Brown
> One of my favourite memories will always be of DD#1, then about 3
> years olds, gazing at the giraffes here at Adelaide Zoo and
> proclaiming at the top of her lungs (as 3 year olds will) that they
> were *almost* as tall as Daddy. Now, I'd admit that, at 6'8" Daddy is
> one of the taller men out there, but he doesn't exactly rival a
> giraffe!
>
> Aramanth
LOL! Poor Ross! He must be constantly banging his scone in doorways?
Does he have trouble keeping his feet in the bed?
We had a young friend by the name of Simon - I met him through my DSS,
with whom he went to school. Simon was 6'6" and he kept telling us that
everyone else in his family was *taller* than he (except his Mum, who
was 'short' at 6'4")!
Hard to believe!
One day, we met Simon and his family during intermission at the cinema.
I'd gone to the dunny and when I came out I discovered DH standing there
talking to Simon, his brothers, Ben and Mark, and his sister, Cassie.
All were indeed taller than Simon's 6'6"!!!! So was his Dad! The Mum was
that tad bit shorter, but I laughed and laughed at my DH who, standing
among them at only six foot neat, looked like a fat little toddler! He
actually had to look *up* at Mrs Walters to speak to her! The really
great thing about this family was that they had no qualms at all about
being 'outstanding' as it were. Cassie especially had a great attitude
about her height and had obviously been taught to walk tall by her Mum.
Oddly, all the family members were basketballers! Hmmmm....
CynConn
from a uterine infection. For more info about Ruby, try this direct link
http://www.phoenixzoo.org/news/ruby/main.html
Her death was reported on CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/US/9811/06/dead.elephant/
Sad end for Phoenix's celebrated painting pachyderm
November 6, 1998
Web posted at: 10:14 p.m. EST (0314 GMT)
PHOENIX (CNN) -- Ruby, a 9,000-pound elephant who became famous for her abstract
paintings at the Phoenix Zoo, was put to sleep Friday after contracting a deadly
uterine infection.
During a Caesarean section to remove a fetus that had died, veterinarians
discovered that the 320-pound fetus had punctured Ruby's uterine wall and had
slipped into her abdomen. The resulting infection and severe peritonitis were
determined untreatable.
Veterinarians realized last week that her fetus had died. Attempts to induce
labor were unsuccessful.
For even more info, do a Google Search for "Ruby Phoenix Zoo"
Cynthia
"Maureen" <sammi...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
Marie
Ruby......I was lucky enough to be at the zoo during one of her painting
demonstrations. Very interesting and fun to see!
Marie (Boboette)
"CynConn" <Cyn...@shoesyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:8qGk9.15$845....@news.uswest.net...
CynConn
"chance", she really seemed to choose her colors and brush strokes quite
deliberately. Her paintings were great fund-raisers for the zoo. I also
remember Hazel (the gorilla) that died a few years back. I really like the
Phoenix Zoo, they are very dedicated to preserving species and making natural
habitats.
When the zoo was doing fund-raising to pay for a new exhibit for speckled bears,
the zoo sold real bricks with messages or names engraved on them. Then the
bricks were used as paving for the entrance. And then they sent every donor a
map showing exactly where their brick was. I thought it was a wonderful idea.
I also like that the keepers are sometimes around the exhibits observing the
animals and quite graciously answer questions. Can you tell that I think we
have a great zoo? <GRIN> And we have another one on the west side of town, the
World Wildlife Zoo, which is also very nice.
Cynthia
"Marie" <rpel...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:kBGk9.1145$Rt5.1...@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net...
Marie
a long time. They've built a number of new exhibits, I like the rainforest
one, really neat. The Wildlife Zoo is nice too.....We went last year and got
there just after the mother tiger had the 4 baby white tigers. We got to be
there at feeding time, they were sooooo cute and fluffy!!!! I enjoy going
to the zoo along with hiking and all kinds of things but it's been *so* hot
HOT all year, it's hard for me to be outside in it. We're going up to
Prescott tomorrow. Know any LNS s up there?
Marie (Boboette)
"CynConn" <Cyn...@shoesyahoo.com> wrote in message
news:tDJk9.37$845....@news.uswest.net...
CynConn
(http://www.cameoroze.com/shops/az.htm).
Cynthia
"Marie" <rpel...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
'We're going up to