NC Zoo Trip

The boys and I went to the NC Zoo today with Madi. I'd been wanting to go back to the zoo for a few weeks now, so I'm glad we were able to make the trip today. The weather was iffy. It even sprinkled on us a few times on the way there, but after an initial sprinkle at the entrance, it was clear the rest of the day. Cloudy though, and that's a good thing 'cause the zoo can be too hot on a very sunny warm day.

We started on the Africa end and moved to North America...our usual route. The kids were REALLY interested in the bronze statues near the elephants:-) I could barely keep up with them posing...serious. Too cute!

We were especially pleased to see the lion awake for a change. We only saw the male. The female was not visible although Joey swore she was laying in the grass.

I had warned the kids to not fight over who could sit in the stroller. It's a 2-seater. Part of the time they compromised and took turns 2 riding and 1 walking. Joey decided it was easier to let Johnny sit on his lap. Madi let him sit on her lap some too. A few times they bickered, and I made all 3 of them walk. I still wanted the stroller to lean on;-)

Over in North America, we were just delighted by the animals that swam before us in front of their windows. The river otters have put on a good show most trips, but this time Willie the polar bear was awake and swimming too. What a delight!

We had our usual mid zoo ice cream break. Yum. We almost did the carousel this time, but it clouded up (?rain) and I decided to press forward to North America (it's at the midway point) instead of potentially wasting precious time waiting to ride.

I think one of my best pics today is the anole with his throat all puffed out, and he was a native zoo dweller and not in an exhibit!

So, we got there around 10:45 and left around 4:30. 5 ours is about right to see everything. The only thing we didn't do was go in the tropical plant 'house'. They had a special orchid show going on, but I just didn't feel like seeing tropical foliage today. More animals! (the kid kind included)

I'm probably leaving something out, but you get the gist. Ask the kids what they thought if you see them...

The rest of the pics are here.

Coffee & Crepes Photography Show

Last night, I hung a new set of pictures at Coffee & Crepes in Cary. This is my 3rd show. Thank you Terri for giving me this wonderful opportunity again.

The theme of this show is Birds and Butterflies.

My artwork will be up for about a month. And, if you get a chance, come see me Friday night at 6 for a Meet the Artist/Cary Art Loop event.


The rest of the wall hanging pictures.
Pictures in the show.

Durham Museum of Life and Science Butterfly Bash

Joey, Johnny, Madi, and I went to the Durham Museum of Life and Science today for their Butterfly Bash event. The weather was really nice if not just a tad hot by midafternoon. The kids behaved really well. And, there were a lot of extra things to do today on top of the really cool things that are always going on at the museum.

Madi was sweet on both boys a lot today. Johnny in particular was all smiles about it.



This is a picture of the butterfly parade. The guy on stilts fascinated the kids.



They had chalk for the kids to draw butterflies or whatever. The kids always like this type of opportunity to show off their drawing skills. They got me involved tracing bodies like we've done before at home and at the zoo.





Joey drew mom a swallowtail like she's been taking pictures of. Is that not too cute?!?



We saw Ranger Greg in the Explore the Wild exhibit today. He pointed out several neat things to us in the Wetlands area including this frog.



Conductor Richard taking train tickets.



The tunnel:-) Yes, they were LOUD. Say what?!?





I just like this picture of Madi. It looks like she's in some fairy tale dreaming of wonderful things.





We went to the butterfly house at 3 for the release. What a swarm of people today. But, we were lucky and all 3 kids got to hold a butterfly. Joey is lucky about getting them and then passing them on.

All of today's pics are here.

More Sights of Spring

The boys and I continue to enjoy the sights (and sounds) of spring. We went to Frog Fest at Crowder Park on Saturday and had a wonderful time. We also went to Bass Lake Park and canoed. Sunday, we were at Crabtree Lake Park and then Duke Gardens. Besides enjoying what's going on in our own yard, we've really enjoyed all the things going on in the local parks. We've seen butterflies and gorgeous flowers and even extra friendly herons. Hopefully we have several more weeks of wonderful spring weather ahead of us before the summer heat settles in. I'll be taking pictures regardless... :-)

Springtime in NC

On 2/24/09, I had 500 robins in my yard. We have about an acre. That's a lot of birds. They spent that day and several before and after eating every holly berry they could find. It was very cool to watch them. There were a few cedar waxwings mixed in with them. The birds also frolicked in the 3 ornamental ponds in my yard.

Most nights we have 1-3 opossums eating around and under our bird feeders. The kids and I shine the flashlight through my office window to see if they are out there, happy, and eating. If we go out, they just go up one of the trees and hope that we'll go away. Did you know that opossums are the only North American marsupial. Yep, they have a pouch for their babies.

Daffodils are always a sure sign of spring. I think they call this one sunny side up:-) or some egg name.

We are lucky to have a pair of white breasted nuthatches in the birdhouse on this pine tree in our front yard. I learned that nuthatches like pine trees. I guess this location is a natural spot for them then. I see lots of activity in and out of the box for 3+ weeks now, so hopefully we'll have babies soon and maybe more than 1 brood.

Prior to 1 month ago, I don't know that I'd ever seen a cedar waxwing. Well, I have now! At the Wal-Mart in Fuquay, at Danny and Christine's yard, and at the Cary Crossroads mall, I've seen hundreds at a time. They also like berries. They are such a cool bird with their bandit mask.

Cedar waxwings eating a holly berry off the ground

Cedar waxwings eating juniper berries.

Christine and Danny have bluebirds in their usual bluebird box. Last I knew, the count was 4. We see the bluebird sitting on these pinkish white eggs. Usually the eggs are blue, but we read up, and about 4% of bluebird eggs are this color. There are several theories why, but they aren't entirely sure why this variation occurs. The article went on to say that the 'babies' would be fine and not albino or anything.

The shot below is a hemaris diffinus moth that looks like a combination of a bee/hummingbird. He was sharing the yoshino cherry with various bees and butterflies.

Every year in march the swallowtail butterflies find their way to the new yoshino cherry blossoms. It is a delight to watch them and take pictures of them.

St. Patrick's Day Party

The kids and I celebrated St. Patrick's Day with some of our friends on Saturday. It was a typical holiday-themed craft party held in the garage. Good friends, good food, and lots of green with some orange mixed in. The kids constructed a Shamrock Bunny, decorated wooden shamrocks, and made silverware windchimes. Fun stuff! We danced, read books, searched for pots of gold, and played Bingo.

Whether you're Irish or not, take time tomorrow to be festive. I actually do have some Irish in my family from my mother's mother:-)

All the pics are here.

A Visit With Aunt Debbie

The boys and I made another visit to the Durham Museum of Life and Science today. We really like going on Sundays when the crowd is a little thinner. I called Debbie on Saturday to see if she could meet us there. We'd been talking about doing that for a while since she lives pretty close to there. As it worked out, she was free and agreed to meet us at noon. It was really good to see her, and the boys were very excited. We had our typical good time plus it was extra special to have Debbie with us.

We did our usual things in about the usual order. The boys showed Debbie their fireman pole skills. Then they showed her how to make, um, music:-) She joined in. We wandered through the farmyard. Joey thinks the donkey is just the greatest. Next it was time for the train. Two loops around and with the cheery conductor and joyful screams in the tunnel. The first dinosaur has been installed on the trail. The trail will open this summer. I started to say LATER this summer as in it being summer already. It sure did feel like summer today!

Of course my favorite thing besides just seeing the kids enjoying themselves and smiling is to walk the wetland boardwalk area. The turtles were out sunning themselves. We saw a Canada Goose and a Hooded Merganser pair looking for fish. The female Merganser caught and ate one near us for our viewing enjoyment. No Great Blue Heron today or hawk, but we still enjoyed the area.

We ran into Ranger Greg and chatted. He talked to us about the various frogs and frog sounds happening in the wetlands today. Plus, he showed us a snapping turtle. He also pointed out a spot where two nuthatches had built nest cavities in a dead tree limb but then had had the holes taken over by Carolina Chickadees. Unfortunately, no activity when we walked past. I keep hoping the Red-Bellied Woodpecker will be back in his hole. Ranger Greg said he hadn't seen him lately.

The boys had to have food at the cafe today. Hambergers it was. But, that made us a tad late for the butterfly release. Thankfully, a gentleman had one still on his hand and gave it to Joey who enjoyed it and passed it on to Johnny. It was another Owl Butterfly. Neat!

Probably the coolest thing in the butterfly house was this bird I got a picture of. What kind of bird is that anyway? Very cool how I caught him drinking. Is that water or nectar or what?

We made a second tour of the wetlands boardwalk after a visit to the gift shop and saying our goodbyes with Debbie. Mostly we enjoyed the bears. Gus, the only male of the 4 in the habitat rolled over on his back with his feet up in the air. Mr. Frisky! It was cute. We'll all have spring fever after this super pretty weekend.

On the way home, I noticed the moon over this barn on Holly Springs Rd. that I've stopped to take a picture of one time before and I turned around to go back and take a picture. This is the first time I've crossed the street to avoid the power lines and really get a good shot. Decent I think.

At any point, enjoy today's pics. The best are here. And, all of them are here.