Zoo gains upgrade. Lazyness has been achieved!
On the week-end I decided that trying to affix drywall to the ceiling on my lonesome sucks (though I did it with the help of a deadman), and that going to the zoo seemed to be in order instead.
We didn't have a lot of time as it was getting later in the afternoon, but we buzzed through to see the white-handed gibbon baby. Not only was it extremely cute by itself, but also when the mother figured he/she had been near the crowd too long, ran across the enclosure on her back legs, scooped up the young-one and retreated further back, the whole crowd swooned.
The big cats were being big lazy, but when you're a big cat and it's 4pm, what else are you supposed to do.
A lot of the zoo is still under heavy construction with the Churchill exhibit well under way, but new things seem to be popping up all the time.
We decided to head for Toucan Ridge, which though open is still evolving. The ocelot hasn't shown up yet, but we did see yet another type of toucan. This time it was our friend the chestnut-mandibled toucan.
I didn't manage to get a good photo of this feller, but I wanted to show him anyway. So far this brings my toucan count to 2, with the channel-billed toucan we saw the other time...
... and then the groove-billed toucanet.
The birds were definitely doing their birdy-things, but perhaps the best photo of the day belongs to the red panda. Being cooler-weather animals, this panda wasn't coping with the heat too well. Or should I say instead rather she was coping quite well... having found the optimal place to enjoy the air conditioner that was installed for her.
By this time we were pretty much ready to call it a day, so not far from Toucan Ridge was our God-send and latest addition to the zoo. The lazy-person express:
We were just in time to catch the next tram...
... and get whisked back to the park entrance. I was a little curious how well they'd be able to maneuver on some of the paths in the zoo, but the driver didn't have any problems. Well, other than the one guy walking down the middle of the path while texting and completely oblivious to the tram for about 3 minutes while we followed him.
Now with a tram our zoo is starting to feel all growed-up! Plus, there were a number of seniors on there, and I can really appreciate how this would open up so much more of the zoo for them that might've just been too far before.
Now, it's off to work and meet with a graphic designer that's flown in from Washington.
We didn't have a lot of time as it was getting later in the afternoon, but we buzzed through to see the white-handed gibbon baby. Not only was it extremely cute by itself, but also when the mother figured he/she had been near the crowd too long, ran across the enclosure on her back legs, scooped up the young-one and retreated further back, the whole crowd swooned.
The big cats were being big lazy, but when you're a big cat and it's 4pm, what else are you supposed to do.
A lot of the zoo is still under heavy construction with the Churchill exhibit well under way, but new things seem to be popping up all the time.
We decided to head for Toucan Ridge, which though open is still evolving. The ocelot hasn't shown up yet, but we did see yet another type of toucan. This time it was our friend the chestnut-mandibled toucan.
I didn't manage to get a good photo of this feller, but I wanted to show him anyway. So far this brings my toucan count to 2, with the channel-billed toucan we saw the other time...
... and then the groove-billed toucanet.
The birds were definitely doing their birdy-things, but perhaps the best photo of the day belongs to the red panda. Being cooler-weather animals, this panda wasn't coping with the heat too well. Or should I say instead rather she was coping quite well... having found the optimal place to enjoy the air conditioner that was installed for her.
By this time we were pretty much ready to call it a day, so not far from Toucan Ridge was our God-send and latest addition to the zoo. The lazy-person express:
We were just in time to catch the next tram...
... and get whisked back to the park entrance. I was a little curious how well they'd be able to maneuver on some of the paths in the zoo, but the driver didn't have any problems. Well, other than the one guy walking down the middle of the path while texting and completely oblivious to the tram for about 3 minutes while we followed him.
Now with a tram our zoo is starting to feel all growed-up! Plus, there were a number of seniors on there, and I can really appreciate how this would open up so much more of the zoo for them that might've just been too far before.
Now, it's off to work and meet with a graphic designer that's flown in from Washington.