Watching the circle of life, or at least a lot of animals...

[jay]

Apart from the family news... today patgreene and I took ourselves and the kids to the San Diego Wild Animal Park, near Escondido, CA.

Baaaby rhino... In the cute baby animals dept... we saw several (deer, wild horses, ducklings) but this was the most memorable -- a baby rhino, getting a snack.

Pat watches giraffes We rode a monorail out around the grounds... through several ranges where animals roamed. Here, Pat is gazing at a feeding giraffe in the distance.

Swooping owl A brown Eurasian eagle owl was part of the bird show... here, just as it swoops upward, about to pass over Pat's head less than a second later...

Kids and lorikeets The lorikeets were a big hit, although they frightened David at first. He overcame his fears, as shown here. :)

Jay and four lorikeets Head, shoulders, and two on my arm feeding... inside the lorikeet enclosure at the SD Wild Animal Park. David is very amused in the background. James was in a similar position... except that the bird on his head began pulling out strands of (long, blond) hair... nesting material?

Comments

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

These photos are making me smile lots.

I love the lorikeet photos - especially the look of amusement on David's face watching you with the three who are perching on you.

I'm impressed at the shot of the owl in flight, and that baby rhino is to squee for!

And I'm glad you got to take the monorail... that's such a cool ride.

Sarah just came in and looked at the pics over my shoulder, and she thought they were wonderful too :-)

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Couldn't resist making an icon for you of that pic:



*hugs you*

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

and I made it be my desktop! Clearly, its a good photo :-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Oh yay, I love rhinos. :) It looks like you're having a great time.

[thats-ms-dragon.livejournal.com]

The Wild Animal Park is about 10 miles from my childhood home and I lived out there some years. I went at least once a month most of the time and sometimes once a week. I love it. You sit in the cage (the monorail) and the animals have huge enclosures in which to run free. It works for me. :)

I am always happy when people go here. Though I must admit that it has spoiled my enjoyment of zoos elsewhere. The animals at the Park seem much happier.

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing those. David's joy really comes through, and it is also charming to see mini JayKevin staying intentionally very still for the birds. It also gives me a better sense of your day-- you got to see photos from my lunch, I got to see your photos.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

The mini-Jay impression is further enhanced by the fact that Kevin's birds are perched in almost exactly the same places as Jay's are (head, shoulder, arm).

[tenacious-snail.livejournal.com]

yup, and the red shirts. I enjoy all of Jay's kids, but I know that some of what I love in them are the parts of Jay that I see reflected, and the opportunity to imagine Jay as a boy.

[cyan-blue.livejournal.com]

Yes :-)

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

Rhinos look so implausible.

That's a great shot of the owl!