Emily has never been to the zoo before. Well not that she remembers, anyway. There was a small zoo in Hilo, Hawaii we used to take her when she was a toddler. It only had about 10 animals, but since she doesn't remember anything about it, it doesn't matter much. It seems like such a rip that we spend all this time doing things for our children and they don't remember any of it! At least I remember everything my parents every took me to. I'm sure I do. Well, even so, despite her forgetting the Hilo Zoo, it probably became part of her in deep unremembered ways. At least I'll tell myself that it is so.The Schönbrunn Tiergarten is a primer zoo. We didn't have the energy to see everything but what we saw soo cool. Above, Emily sees fruit bats for the first time. Indeed, I see fruit bats for the first time. (And note we are in their cage, nothing separates us from these lovely creatures.) They were in the rain forest house. 85 F and 80 % humidity. You might think that the fruit bats could not be topped, but on the bottom floor of this massive green house, in a small stream I saw a mud skipper! Those little fish that breath air and can walk around on limb-like legs! I've always wanted to see one and there it was, about the size of an aquarium guppy, sitting on a little log poking out of the water. I was like a kid at a zoo seeing that. For me that was the highlight of the Teirgarten. It's strange what captures and delights us, but that little mud-skipper won the day for me. I should point out that BOTH Lori and Emily said, "Oh" and moved on. IT WAS A MUD-SKIPPER! for heaven's sake. I don't understand some people.
Despite her face, Emily was really intrigued by these Flusspferd:
Can you count how many mice it has in his beak? Or are they rats? They are awfully large.
This Koala bear might be the cutest thing I've ever seen. Ever. Ever.
A Kodachrome moment:
This is a real elephant:
Lori and Emily watch a sea lion.
Emily tries to find out if this frog is a prince:
One of the other highlights was a display of these bee hive landing boards. They had a number of observation hives, but these paintings were absolutely fascinating. I think the bees must have enjoyed coming home to such aesthetic surroundings.
The Vienna Zoo has two pandas.
It was a full day, but a great one. I saw a mud skipper.
You can't fake this kind of smile!
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6 comments:
That sounds like so much fun. And, I don't really know what a mudskipper is or what it looks like, but if you showed it to me I may have acted interested... But it sounds like a fun filled day for the pecks that can go cool places. :)
Pardon a moi, aber wo ist das Germalde die mudskipper?
What a memorable outing and pictures were great. What a beautiful setting for the Panda's. The only ones we have ever seen were in a bare cement cage. Wonderful Zoo.
Love the blog - Love all of you! - Dad/grandpa
When I first looked at the pictures, I didn't see the bats hanging over Emily's head..EKKKKK, Emily you are a daughter of your dads for sure..I would have had my arms wrapped around my head and only stayed in there for seconds if at all..What a neat zoo..some zoo's are not cool, this one looks like fun..glad you all had a fun day!!
Hey guys, Is that all you do is have fun outings. That zoo looks like a lot of fun. Just to let you know I would love to see a mud skipper (now that I know what one is). The way you describe it I can see it sitting on the log looking back at you and taking just as much interest in you as you in it. Sorry to hear about your fall Steve. You better get some of those grippy things mom always put on the bottom of our tubs growing up. Hope your doing better now anyway. I havn't had a chance to look at your other blog yet but I'm looking forward to it. You all take care, Love Klint
Flusspferd behind
Mudskipper below me here
Pandas all day long.
Ok People where are you, do you not know I look forward each day to see what your up to..??? Please come back!!
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