Monday, December 18, 2006

Zoophoric

So...I guess I'm the only one who likes grainy videos of one-ton hominids appearing out of the Rawandan jungle and scaring the ever-lovin' guano out of a bunch of British photographers? Apparently so. How 'bout these apples? Watch this and tell me it doesn't remind you of sitting in a verrry.....lonnnng....meeting.


Since yesterday was the third Sunday of the month (and I am cheap), we spent a couple of hours cruising around the Natural History Museum, browsing their various bird, bug and bone collections. We were also able to get up close with an American Kestrel (kitty hawk or sparrow hawk), a Screech Owl (so small! so cute! so able to puncture your finger!) and a beautiful, broken-winged and half-blind Red Tailed Hawk. I've written about how much we both love birds, especially birds of prey*, but yesterday was a nice reminder. I grew up going to this museum, the zoo, and of course the beach, so this brings back a lot of good memories for me. What are/were your favorite places to go when you were little?

*Gorgeous, extremely effective pest control and unlikely to poo on your head and ruin a day at the beach or park.

8 comments:

Bryndar the Banarian said...

Oh my gosh that puppy video is too funny and so cute.

My favorite place to go when I was younger was the Botanical Gardens. My dad used to take my sister and I once a month, and it was always so interesting to go with him because my dad knows the name of EVERY plant.

Have you seen the penguins at the zoo? Love them.

Peter said...

AAArrrrgh! I'm a big dork. Way back when (6 months ago) I got a campsite reserved for Angel Island and just got a reminder. D'oh! Don't think we'll be making the march this year :(

jnaxz

Maya said...

Bryn - My mom took us there ALL the time, too!
Pete - So sad, but next year is always available. Or, you know, any other time of year.

Baja Babe said...

My b/f is a bird lover and we're going to the Yucatan penninsula to watch some birds...[or something;)] I could use some pointers on how to appreciate the art of bird-watching without looking like the puppy in your video!

Do you ever share stories of brides on a rampage???

Maya said...

I don't have that many B.O.A.R. (hey! BOAR! that makes a snappy acronym, doesn't it?) stories - I've been really, really lucky thus far. But I don't/won't share to many here, SB being SUCH a small town and it being fairly (very) easy to figure out who I am via this blog. Got some doozies, though....check out the post "Evidence that I am a direct descendant of Job" under the "work" heading. (Hint: Scroll down to the numbered list bit.) It was actually much, much worse than it sounds.

Maya said...

PS. Re: bird watching: No tips whatever, have never been actually just BIRD watching. Birds of prey are way cool....they look at you and you just feel small. Other birds? Mmmm...quail...yummmy! No, they're mostly pretty and I'm sure if you quiz the boyf beforehand on what to do (I think stand still, sketch) and not do (talk, move suddenly) you'll have fun.

Baja Babe said...

thanks for the advice...I'm in northern baja, btw. But i spend most of my time in san diego w/the b/f. :)

Unknown said...

This is a really cute video. It's totally like being at meeting sometimes. Chloe too does stuff like that. But it's more because she'll be sitting on our bamboo "rug" which I guess is kinda slippery on a dog's paws.