Central Park, NY

I just got a new laptop, so I've been going through all my old photos and trying to get things organized. I found a small set that missed being uploaded to flickr with the rest of my 2006 trip pictures, and this is one of the missing. It was taken in the rotunda room at the Natural History Museum, looking out over Central Park around 5pm. The weather was pretty warm, but the trees were still mostly bare from winter.

Cat vs. javelina

I've been taking care of a friend's cat, and we had a bit of excitement the other day. A javelina showed up on the porch, seeking refuge from the mid-day sun (and 106+ degree temps!) and the cat got very agitated. Finally, the javelina came over to the porch door to see what was making all the ruckus. Every time the cat thumped against the glass, the javelina's hackles went up. You can see a bit of that here.

Watching for polar bears

What's more fun that going to the zoo as a kid? Going as an adult with kids along. Being able to experience everything through their eyes adds such a rich dimension to the day.

The "kid" here is my friend's 5 year old daughter. We were in a subterranean viewing area to see the polar bears, and one large bear was swimming laps around the pool. She perched on the windowsill in rapt attention for about 15 minutes.

Giraffe tongue!

More from the zoo trip...

We headed over to the giraffe exhibit in time for the 2pm feeding. For $2, you can buy a handful of lettuce and go out onto a special balcony that overlooks the giraffe pen. All three know when it's close to a feeding time and come right up to the balcony to snatch treats out of your hand. I took this shot before the feeding started, but after the giraffes had already gravitated to the walkway. This one was trying to reach some new leaves on a palo verde tree (obviously stripped as far as a giraffe tongue can reach).

The world's largest pigeon

No, I'm not exaggerating :) Here's a resident of one of the Reid Park Zoo's aviarys:




The first thing that struck me about this bird was the fluffy mess of fine feathers on top of its head. It was preening and kept shaking its head so fast that the feathers would blur into a kind of corona. It's about the size of a small turkey and, while shy, came right out onto the pavement when the zookeeper came around with food bowls. It never occurred to me that this might be a pigeon until a friend identified it for me. Now I can't help but see the resemblance. I see hundreds of regular city pigeons around downtown every week - this is just a grossly exaggerated version. Fun to be able to get so close to such an exotic critter.

A trip to the zoo

On Saturday, my friend and I took her daughter to the zoo. It was pretty hot in the sun, so we took a break by the koi pond to cool off for a bit. After a while, the koi got interested in the handful of food pellets we were tossing into the water, and we got a good look at the wide variety of fish in the pond. This one was my favorite - it had long, fluttery fins and looked downright ghostly as it rose through the water. Reminded me a lot of Cleo, the goldfish in Disney's Fantasia (the original 1942 edition).

Desert in bloom

A couple of weeks ago, I was housesitting in a place on the far east side of town. While I was there, every cactus on the property burst into bloom, and the desert was a riot of bees and color. I'm not sure what kind of cactus this is, but I think it's related to the cereus. It's a fat, ground crawling variety that puts out enormous, colorful blooms. These flowers are as big across as a large human hand - wrist to the tip of your fingers. This particular cactus is in a shallow depression in the shade of a mesquite tree. It was a breezy day, so the petals were fluttering and the shadows were dancing across the face of the flower. Perfect conditions for taking a photo tour of the property!