Couple of hours at the Oakland Zoo

It was raining in the morning and outside temperatures were in the high 30's. We had made plans earlier to walk around Berkeley and then go on to the Oakland Zoo by noon. The weather was not something we factored in.

So we whiled away the morning indoors with the kids playing Kinect and then the sun came out! It was warm enough to walk outside without a jacket. It was already 11:30 AM.

With a rush of last minute enthusiasm we declared "even if we get to spend only two hours at the Zoo, so be it! Let us go" and we drove off to Oakland.

The weather was perfect to walk around and we got to spend exactly two hours at the zoo. We knew we were going to cover a small section of the zoo and let the kids go at their own pace till the zoo officials kicked us out at 4PM.

We were in for a treat. The lions and tigers were at their active best as were the macaws! The rest of the cages and enclosures were empty but thanks to the skyride we were able to figure out which enclosures had active animals and go see those.

Here are some pictures, thanks to the 70-200mm lens and the 2x extender which was used extensively on this trip. The wife and kids as well as BB family gave the photos a two thumbs up..

The small play area with the frogs and tortoises brought back so many memories of our last trips to the same zoo..

The little one still has the same fascination for the golden lion at the exit after four years!

The kids got their share of "rides"..

Finally for the photographs of the Tigers and Lions. Have never been able to get them like this in any zoo trip so far! Must have been my lucky day..

As far as wild animals go this is what we got to see. So in line with the S.Ve. Sekar joke,

Question : Can you name 10 wild animals?

Answer : 5 Tigers and 5 Lions!

you get 5 photographs of the Tigers and 5 of the lions.

Well, let's make that six pictures of the Tigers as this last one is too good to not post on the blog!

Our short visit in video.. The 70-200 converted to a 140-400 may be great for pictures but it is not easy to shoot video with such a huge lens combination. Holding it steady in your hand becomes quite a challenge.

The next visit might be a few years down the road for all we know. One thing is for sure. If you want a place where kids can have some outdoor fun, the Oakland zoo will always make it to the top 5 in our list!

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Excitement in the backyard

We have had one busy week with the parents both being super busy at work to the point where we think it is going to be a 12 day week.

In the midst of all this god always finds a way to throw some excitement our way to amuse us and the kids even if we are cooped up in our living room.

A wild cat of some kind decided to visit our backyard today. San of course assumed it was a raccoon perched on the fence. We (the kids and me) were pretty sure raccoons are not that big and do not look that muscular!

So we mounted the 70-200 and the extender to make it a 140-400mm and decided to observe the cat.

It was very pretty (and dangerous I am sure). Could not hold the heavy lens with my hand steady as there was a 30 degree temperature difference between the living room and the backyard and was also worried about the thing having rabies or making a dash for me.

Here are some pictures and a video. The kids are now scared of going in the backyard alone. That will pass. The wild cat gracefully made an exit into the forest like area behind our house.

We were happy for the temporary amusement..

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What could possibly do this?

This morning woke up and looked out to the backyard to find this..

some of these mounds of soil that are piled up on the lawn are larger than a basketball!

The crows hang around because they get the worms off the surface. Something is digging up and making these mounds. No hole in the center or side of the mounds though..

Any idea what this could be?

Should we call animal control?

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Remlinger Farms - Day trip from Seattle

We had half a day to spend with the kids before the entire group showed up at Seattle two weeks ago and that meant a local visit to some form of amusement.

Remlinger farms was highly recommended by our friends in Seattle and off we went.

It was a really neat place with lots of rides for kids including a cute mini roller coaster... (trains, cars, mini boats)

carousels, ferris wheels, pumpkin rides...

Little displays of tribal Indian stuff (carvings, tepe's etc.), a haystack maze, a little sing along concert (which the kids really enjoyed) etc. etc.

and of course pigs, turkeys, sheep, etc. etc. The FARM ANIMALS!

That turkey was the safest for daddy (well enclosed!)

Daddy did blotch it by trying to feed the farm animals and got allergy symptoms for the last hour of the trip. On hind sight, should have just disappointed the kids when they asked me to feed the animals.

Note to family...

Superman : kryptonite :: Sundarman : pygmy goats

The grand finale for this farm trip was the pony rides. The little one went for back to back trips and even memorized the names of all the ponies there. Both kids had a really good time and the adults were happy to see them giggle with glee.

On the whole, this place is strongly recommended for a bright sunny day in Seattle!

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Woodland Park Zoo - Photoblog

There comes a time in every mans life when he starts straying.. and gives in to temptation. You have been faithful and loyal to what you thought was a "vision to behold", the "apple of your eye" etc. etc. only to find by chance that sometimes you might just have missed out on a lot of fun.

Okay. We are not talking about my woman here, though god knows that Seattle women who come to the Woodland park zoo on a summer weekday can make you doubt your own resolve. That zoo can as well market itself as a pickup bar! As usual we digress, especially after a whole post has been dedicated to this topic already..

Now that you have guessed the names of all those animals from their butt shots, here are their portraits. But before going further, we have to clarify. The Canon digital rebel with the simple 28-80 (non image stabilized) lens is not exactly zoo material, except for low light shots.

The BIL has recently acquired a Nikon D40 with the works (body, wide angle, telephoto, tripod, etc. etc.). He had the 55-200 lens on his Nikon and in an impulsive move, I grabbed his camera to take a shot, simply because my camera couldn't zoom that nicely. Lo and behold, what a shot!

The rest of the zoo trip, would borrow his lens at every opportunity.

Love my Canon. This is not a camera limitation. If the old Tamron 18-200 lens was there, it would have done the job. There are no imminent zoo trips, so the wait for the lens will continue.

All shots taken with D40 except the snakes which were taken with the Canon.

Finally, our wild ones..

At the end of this trip when we were driving back, one thought kept crossing my mind. Human beings, inspite of all their flaws are the most fascinating of creatures.

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