Separation Anxiety

The giraffes that we met at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park were very social and had distinct personalities. Some were quite forward and had to be pushed out of the back of the truck. Others were shy and had to be coaxed forward to eat the acacia leaves. The saddest thing that we saw while there was a young male giraffe being prepared to leave to be a breeder at another zoo. Because it is a breeding facility and to protect the breeding lines of the animals, young males are sent to other facilities. We saw one young giraffe being kept in a pen. The other giraffes were waiting around the pen. They could see and touch each other through the fencing. The mother, a sibling of the young male, and the young male himself were all nuzzling each other through the fence and obviously disturbed about being separated. It plucked at our heart strings that they couldn't stay together.

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Shoebill

When my husband and I first saw a Shoebill in the Heart of Africa at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park, we thought it was animatronic, but it was a real bird about our size. Comments on my photos have ranged from "Wow," to "Looks like some kind of pre-historic bird!" Gould, who called it Balaeniceps rex in 1851, wrote that it was, 'the most extraordinary bird I have seen for many years.'

The Shoebill has been called many different names over the years, including Whale-headed stork, abu markub (Arabic, father of the shoe), and Schuhschnabel (German). The bill which is its namesake is about 9 inches by 4 inches with a hook on the end to help kill its prey. Although it feeds primarily on lungfish, it has also been known to eat a variety of lizards and mammals.

Their feeding spots change over time. The Shoebill is native to papyrus swamps of the interior of central Africa, ranging from southern Sudan to northern Zambia. It is most often seen in Uganda. Although they are mostly likely to be spotted in pairs, they sometime range as vagrants or flocks. The Shoebill is listed as "Of Special Concern" in the African Red Book.

References

African Bird Club
Bird Families of the World

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The Cutest Baby Meerkats

I'm still working my way through the thousands of photos I took at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park last month. Today, I processed the meerkat photos. There was one older meerkat that kept a general watch. There were also two very cute baby meerkats in the display. One was eager to gain dominance and defend his territory. Even hissing, he was still very cute. I also caught one in a pose that makes him look like he's praying.

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Phoenix Art Museum

I'm covering both backend nights and coordinating shutdowns at work. Since I'll be working all weekend plus on a shutdown, I ran a practice shutdown at the beginning of the week and I realized that I didn't have any meetings scheduled for today, I took the day off. I spent the morning uploading photos from my trip to the Phoenix Art Museum Saturday with my Dad. We saw the travelling exhibit, Keeping Shadows 1845 - 2001 Photography from the Worcester Museum. It was a great historical look at photography, except for an obvious bias against color photographs. At the Phoenix Art Museum, you are only allowed to take photos of pieces owned by the museum without flash or tripod, so I didn't take any of the photography exhibit. Today, I finished uploading photos that I took of the permanent Asian Arts collection. My favorite piece is the statue, Bodhisattva Guanyin. I still have a few photographs from the Western arts to process and upload to my Phoenix Art Museum set.

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Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum

While I lived in Tucson, when I was a graduate student, then working, at the University of Arizona, I always maintained a family membership at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum to take friends and family there when they came to visit. The Desert Museum includes zoo, natural history and botanical garden attractions. This time, we ended up getting there only about an hour before closing at 5 PM, so we only had time to visit the hummingbird exhibit and the aviary. Throughout the year, native hummingbirds are caught and held in the hummingbird exhibit for short periods of time. It is always fun to watch them whizz by then hover at a feeder or a flower. Most of the birds I saw in the hummingbird exhibit this time were black chinned hummingbirds. I managed to get quite a few nice shots of them as they landed on low hanging branches. The Aviary is even larger than the hummingbird exhibit and holds quite a few different species from peahens, which are very shy and scurry away at the smallest sound on a path, to ducks, to parrots. An amusing change in the Aviary from the last time I was there was the colony of desert mice that had moved in and was prospering on the bits of seed and treats that the birds left behind. I watched on particular mouse scavenge for food, then tussle with a neighbor mouse when it tried to go into a hole under a stick that was already occupied. The Aviary is particular wonderful to visit in the summer. The shade of the trees and the babbling brook in the enclosure are very peaceful and a welcome distraction from the heat. I'm looking forward to the next time I visit and have time to visit all of the other exhibits at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

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Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch

Yesterday, I visited the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch with my Dad on the way to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. It is one of my favorite stops between Tucson and Phoenix. I had heard unsettling rumors that the ranch may be shutting down and asked them about it when I was there. Recently, a new horse ranch moved in next door to the ostrich ranch. One day, the new ranch allowed a hot air balloon to take off from their land. It scared the ostriches into a stampede. The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch lost 1000 of 1600 ostriches, miles of fencing and millions of dollars in contracts. The new ranch's insurance comany was unwilling to pay for damages, so they sued the new ranch, but lost in court on the argument that the balloon took off safely. The verdict is under appeal. I hope that the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch ultimately wins or is able to come to an agreement over the damages and future use of neighboring land. They have been a fixture in the community for many years and a pleasant diversion. It would be a great shame to lose them.

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Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Every year, my Dad comes to visit for a week or two around my birthday. This Saturday my Dad arrived for his yearly visit. We went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar. Fleming's is upscale, but not stuffy. Although it tends more towards formal than casual, I have been equally comfortable there in jeans as I have in a formal outfit and a mix in the crowd is not usual. Fleming's is open seven days a week with dining hours of approximately 5 to 10 PM. If you get there early, you can usually get right in, but Fleming's is popular, so there can be up to an hour and a half wait during prime dining hours. Consider making a reservation, especially on weekends.

As the name implies, Fleming's is best known for it's steak and wine, but they also have excellent appetizers, salads, soup and desert. Everything at Fleming's is a la carte. It's hard to go wrong ordering at Fleming's, except for the price. Although you can get out cheaper, expect to spend at least $75 per person, not including wine to avoid sticker shock. However for the gourmet, the price is worth every bite. We hadn't found a better steakhouse in the Phoenix area since Bistecca went out of business in Scottsdale.

The food at Fleming's is delicious. The dining experience starts with a complimentary relish tray which includes celery, radishes, bread chips and two types of cheeses, a goat chease and chedar cheese each blended with a different wine. As appetizers, Jim and my Dad had the seafood chowder, which Jim orders every time, while I had an appetizer special, Dungeness Crab Cocktail. My favorite appetizer at Fleming's is the Seafood Stack. They had taken it off the menu, but it has reappeared. It's pricy, starting at $45 to serve 2, but I'll probably order it if we go back to Fleming's for my birthday. This night, we all ordered the Porterhouse special for our entrees. Jim usually has the bone-in ribeye and I often have the filet mignon. All of their steaks are prime and grilled with salt and pepper. You can choose a side of sauce to go with your steak if you'd like. I had Bernaise and Jim had Madiera sauce this evening. We also chose a selection of sides to complement our dinner, creamed spinach, chipotle macaroni and cheese, and shoestring fries. For desert, we all shared a lava cake, chocolate with melted chocolate in the middle, which takes about 20 minutes to make. The lava cake at Fleming's is tasty and comparable to similar deserts that I have had at other upscale restaurants. Fleming's also generally has a selection of ice cream that they make in house. Last time, I loved the coconut ice cream. Also, the deserts are delicious, but the fresh whipped cream is so good, I'd order just that. With the family sized side and large meat portions, we had plenty of leftovers. I finished the other half of my steak and the chipotle macaroni and cheese for lunch the next day. I'm already looking forward to going back to Fleming's for my birthday. Yum!

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I should know better ...

... than to follow Eddie's example. You can't tell from this photo, but Eddie no longer has any of his canine teeth from chewing on the metal pool fencing that makes up his kennel. He definitely proves that metal is stronger than teeth and we have a vet bill that we paid last month from the last time that he chipped his teeth and scratched his tongue and gums, making him bleed significantly from the mouth. Last night, I jammed my stapler and needed to remove a stuck staple. I managed to get one end loose, but the other one was still pinched. I tried to pry it out by pulling on it with my teeth. Unfortunately, metal is stronger than enamel and all I manged to do was take a small chip out of an incisor. I did eventually manage to pry the stapler open using a key, which released the dangling staple, but the damage was already done. Oh well. Yet another reason I need a new dentist.

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Mandy Moore on Flickr?

DSCN0249, originally uploaded by mandyMoore.

Following up on Flickr celebrity hunting, it's debatable whether Mandy Moore has an active Flickr account. There are at least two accounts on Flickr that claim to be Mandy Moore, mandyMoore and TheREALMandyMoore. The former has a few photos posted with comments and is linked with mandymoore.com. Every photo has a comment left by TheREALMandyMoore claiming that mandymooremusic.com is her only official site and to listen to a message on the site. On that site, there are two recordings. The 2/14/05 recording does complain about others claiming to be her on the Internet, but doesn't specifically mention Flickr. TheREALMandyMoore has no photos posted, only a profile and link to her web site. What makes me believe TheREALMandyMoore is that mandyMoore has only posted a few photos which all include Mandy Moore. This is not an avenue for self expression like most Flickr accounts, including Frank Smith and Rosie O'Donnell. Most people appear in their own photostream occasionally, not in every photo. The photos on Flickr are likely to have been harvested from other sources, but I don't know enough about Mandy Moore to be certain.

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On 16th Cafe

Today, I went into Phoenix to get the ball rolling on redeeming an airline travel certificate for our vacation to Kauai in February. I hadn't eaten anything, yet, by 2 PM, so I was looking for somewhere to eat lunch on the way home. As I was driving down 16th Street I spotted the On 16th Cafe. I noticed a colorful roadfront sign, the Open sign was on in the window, and a couple of cars were parked in the small parking lot in front. It looked like it would be a friendly dining experience. Although I chose to eat inside, there is plenty of open-air patio dining. As I walked in, I enjoyed the bright colors incorporated in the interior design. There is a wide selection of deli sandwiches, salads and soup. Item prices range from $4.95 for a PB & J to $7.25 for a Chicken Ceasar Sandwich or a Mushroom Swiss Burger. I ordered a Reuben with a cole slaw side and a drink at the deli counter. I helped myself to rootbeer at the Coke products soda bar, then sat at a table. The proprietor was very friendly and brought my sandwich out to the table when it was ready. My sandwich and slaw were fresh and tasty. If you're in the area of 3102 N 16th Street around lunch time, I recommend stopping by and ordering your favorite salad, sandwich or burger.

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Antlers

Deer grow and shed their antlers every year. The size and shape of the antlers is dependent on the resources available in the environment and fitness of the deer, so they are the primary indicator used by does to determine with whom they will mate. Antlers are made of bone and covered by vascular skin, called velvet, while they are growing. Antlers are often eaten by does after they are shed because they are a valuable source of calcium. Reindeer are the only deer species in which both males and females grow antlers. Elk and Moose are also species of deer.

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Photosafaris Photos

I'm still working my way through the photographs I took at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park last month while we were on vacation. Yesterday, I uploaded a few, including gazelles, cranes and rhinoceroses. My favorite of the day was Grazing Gazelle.

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Frank Smith on Flickr

dinner, originally uploaded by mingchen.

Apparently, Rosie O'Donnell isn't the only celebrity sharing their life on Flickr. With a minimum of searching, I found what is reputed to be Frank Smith's Flickr account. As an actor, Frank Smith is best known for his screenwriting and portayals of Silent Bob. He has directed and produced a significant number of films, including Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Good Will Hunting. More information on his film career can be found on IMDB. He also has a blog, My Boring Ass Life.

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Rosie O'Donnell on Flickr

v n me, originally uploaded by Rosie O'Donnell.

I'm not usually a celebrity watcher, but I couldn't resist adding Rosie O'Donnell of comedic and television fame to my contacts list on Flickr when I saw her photos passing through the "Everyone's photos" section of the Flickr home page a few weeks ago. At first I was dubious, but the continuing stream of family, friends and business photos featuring Rosie O'Donnell and her family convinced me that this is indeed Rosie O'Donnell's account. Whether you're a Flickr addict or just curious about Rosie O'Donnell, you too can peruse her public family photos. Oddly, you won't be able to view her profile because it is private, but her photostream is public.

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