zoo trips continue

A polar bear jumped in the water, dove in to get his toy... and hooray, this time I had a camera and a fresh battery. It is great to be a zoo member. We stop by at the Manhattan zoo for a couple hours and see if the bears are having a good day.

The bear enjoyed himself in the water and then decided to take a rest by the window. We were thrilled to get a nice family photo.

Sonia sized up his paws. They were huge.

A polar bear kept looking at the crowd (it got pretty big) and enjoying himself so we took another family shot.

The ducks decided it was a diving day as well.

Sonia loved watching them go under the water.

Ducks would dive in, stay under the water for a while and then come out. Two of them would also do it in sync.
Three of us by a beautiful tree.

tutu

Walking back from the farmer's market we stumbled on this $1 pink tutu. Instead of a garage sale it is a stoop sale at a sixteen story apartment building. Sonia loved before she even figured out how to use it.
Fabric is a bit poky so she didn't stay long in it. My little ballerina.

Sunday walks

On the way to church we pass this green warehouse. Owned by Italians it has a chimney in green, white and red colors. Sonia was falling asleep in her stroller on September 14. We stopped to wait for a bus and took Sunday family pics to keep her from slumber.
I love our Sunday walks even when it rains. Walking and talking and enjoying ever changing old city.


As I was taking this pictures, there was an ambulance going by.

Moya malenkaya Sonechka ;-)

Prospect Park farm and pet zoo

After we discovered a petting farm in the zoo, Sonia and I have to come and visit every week. Last week we heard an old cow moo. When we came to the barn, a farmer pointed to a cow and asked Sonia what it was. "Moo," Sonia said. He smiled and asked her if she knew what were other animals in the barn. Sonia said "baas." Then he pointed to Alpacas and asked her what they were. Sonia thought for a split second and categorized them as a moo animal. Smart Cookie ;-)

She also loves birdies and they are in a "Tweet, tweet" family. So when a turkey arrived recently, she started her little sweet tweet-tweet sounds with a tiny voice and then her voice went rather low. So turkey is a low tweet bird, they are big.

Here a monkey sat near the glass and Sonia sat by her. They looked at each other and Sonia decided it was an "Arrf." She came up with it and I couldn't think of a better sound. After consulting with Jeremy, we decided that monkeys are "ooh oohs."Last week I visit taught Suvi at the zoo. Well, I looked everywhere in our apartment and couldn't find an Ensign but we had fun ;-) Suvi is fun and Sonia loved her. It was a pleasant break for Suvi from her studies. The sea lion show was a hit.

Wallabies are usually shy and lay deep in the bushes. We were lucky. They nested near the path. So close by that we took a few shots. Suvi inspired Sonia to become a turtle. I could never talk Sonia into climbing into the shell before.

What a nice roomy house turtles have. Rent free and quite comfortable. Plus portable.

May be Sonia will need one of these soon ;-)

Exploring Bronx Zoo

Riding a subway an hour north to Bronx takes you to a different world. It is the biggest New York zoo, located within a big forest-like park. Beautiful! First we saw a polar bear climbing up and licking honey of the rocks.

Sonia watched carefully and on the way back recalled bear going "up" that morning. Good memory!

Bronx zoo is super cheap but you have to pay additional fees for visiting special exhibits. We are members so we were spared this burden. We visited all we could in one day, even going on "skyfari".

Butterflies were flying and eating nectar with music of Chopin in the air.

Sonia rode an insect carousel for the first time. Jeremy called this insect a cockroach. I checked it with a guide and it was a valiant Philadelphia firefly.

Jeremy took a turn on a more recognazable bug...

Children's zoo was three times bigger than ours. It even had crocks. Sonia was scared and didn't want to go near one. She is on this picture however.

Crawling through the log.

Making funny faces while in the log.

Tigers!! I have never seen them this close.

Unlike San Diego zoo, these tigers loved moving and playing around.

They had a pool with fish. Sonia kept making "ooooh" noises and pointing out big fish in the water. We hoped tigers would go for a swim but they just roamed around.

We escaped the worst of vapors that day by spending a whole day at the zoo and coming home late at night. Our building was sprayed for roaches that day.

all in one day

We are about 10 minutes away from Prospect Park Zoo. We like to visit... Sonia and I fed ducks, swans, geese, turtles and fish on the discovery trail. We spent a tremendous amount of money on duck food and Sonia learned how to feed ducks and where to find feeding houses on the path.

We also jump sometimes as far as a frog or a wallaby. We love to see red panda, porcupine and birds.

Sonia milks cows and probably thinks that water comes from cows. I try to explain that milk comes from real cows and that is the way how cows like to be milked.

Papa feeds animals. Last time he discovered how sticky cow tongue is. This time he is making friends with guess who... please meet a sheep.

"Say cheese," I say and they both listen ;-)

West Indies next door

On the way to the Bronx Zoo we heard about the West Indies Day parade was taking place in 30 minutes just a few blocks down the road. We changed our mind and quoting Jeremy found ourselves in a "third world experience." Well, not sure how many worlds are there but this one was something.

First we saw our senator, mayor and state attorney general. Then lots and lots of police officers, correction facility officers...

Then we got to a good part. Costumes and sort of dancing with very little clothes on. People were celebrating their roots. I didn't realize how many countries there are.

We got some Jamaican spicy sea food. It tasted fine. Shrimp was really good. Later on we got sick from it.... there comes the third world part of the story.

Celebration went into the late night. This year there was no shootings or stabbings. Thanks to a dominant present of police in trucks, cars, helicopters, bikes, bicycles, horses and walking.

This was a once in the lifetime sort of a thing. We left quite soon and headed for the Central Park zoo. It was worth it because we saw a polar bear swim and play. When Jeremy and I saw this giant jumping in the water and yelled, Sonia was all excited and chatting about the ball in the water ;-) Some see a bear some like balls better...