Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Saturday, July 29, 2017

A Day Outing With Three Grandsons at the Louisville Zoo~



The Sunflower shares throughout this post are in the fields that are just about 5 miles from home.  This is the first season that this farmer has planted them and they were magnificent.  I have used them throughout my post share to divide up my sets.  
Come along with me to the beautiful Louisville Zoological Gardens of Kentucky, USA. 
A day outing on Tuesday with three of my grandsons. 
Braden is 9 and is daughter Brittany and Dale's middle child. 
The twins Cullen and Kerrick are the children of daughter Hillary and Andrew.  
You can see all of the wonderful animals and fun right from the comfort of your home, and not beat the heat and high indexes as we had to do.  
Whew wee it has been hot here since May~



Remember to double click on the first image, to view a larger slideshow presentation after                                                                you have read the narratives~

I am joining in the fun with Eileen at:
Saturday's Critter

Anni at:
http://id-rather-b-birdin.blogspot.com/ 
I'd Rather Be Birdin'
 Linking to I'd Rather B Birdin'

    
Maggie's  MOSAIC MONDAY
                                              https://normandylife.blogspot.com/


Stewart for:



We got to see a big favorite of all of ours... the male Orangutan named Teak and he is 30 years of age and such a huge part of the Zoo...he is so wonderful and seems almost human like. 
Two of the boys had fun finding out what it feels like to be one.  
See more images below~ 


One of my favorite animals at the zoo, the Sumatran Tigers. They just got this new male in April. His name is Heran and he is 11 years old. Heran was diagnosed with Glaucoma upon his first check-up and it was causing the Tiger chronic pain. They made the decision to remove his right eye and he has obviously adjusted beautifully. I love this set of image shares, watching Heran stalk and play act with the other Tiger was quite wonderful to witness...and you could tell he was enjoying the fun~


















Though their troop is quite large at our zoo I did manage to get some photos of the Silver backs of the Gorilla family at the zoo... Jelani, Bengati, Cecil, Demba and Kicho had some time to roam their grounds and find the little tucks of fresh veggies, always such a great experience~ 








 It has been quite a while in the making for me to finally get to see a real life Mandarin Duck pair. This exhibit is only open certain times of the year, and each time I have come, I have missed them in the past, but not this day~





This share of the elephants has much meaning for many reasons. 
We arrived in time to see the elephants go through their daily routine. 
Mikki is 29 years old and she is an African Elephant. I don't remember the name of the Indian Elephant~ 







The zoo also has a great splash park and the boys had some great cool down from the high heat.  
The little boy standing with the hat...his family shared a bench in the shade with me~






 These are mosaics of some of the many other wildlife animals we got to see this day.  The Polar Bear and Grizzly Bear exhibits were both getting some extra care and so we did not get to see them this trip~



Pink Flamingos and Bald Eagle~


Rodrigues Fruit Bat~


Pygmy Hippos baby, Rhinoceros, Bongo baby called Isabella, Griffon Vulture, Giraffe, Giant Tortoise, and a species of Monitor Lizards~


18 comments:

  1. Hello Mary, your zoo outing with the grandson looks like a fun day. They are handsome boys. Your zoo critter photos are just stunning, beautifully done. The closeups are just stunning. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

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  2. Wonderful photos of your handsome grandsons with the excellent shots of the zoo animals ~ ^_^

    Check out my new blog design ~ Happy Weekend to you ~ ^_^

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  3. Oh, Mary, what a wonderful zoo visit! I always love the gorillas so much and the elephants! Looks like the kids all had a great time, and you got some amazing photos. Love the sunflowers as well. Beautiful!

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  4. Hello Mary! What a fabulous day you all enjoyed at the zoo and all of your photos are wonderful!

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  5. Wonderful photos. Your shots are so crystal clear.

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  6. Hello!:) Your grandsons are very handsome boys, and you must have had a wonderful outing at the zoo with them. I remember when our grandchildren were that age and our trips to the zoo. Such fun, and happy memories. All your captures are first class. Very entertaining post!:)

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  7. What an exceptionally fun day at the zoo!! Loved all your photos [the close up of the gorilla is extraordinary!!!!!] And your birds [the duck would be a new thrill for me to see]...I can never say just how much I enjoy your posts...excellent, thru and thru.

    Thanks so much for sharing this bit of your life of birding with wonderful narration and linking in this week at I'd Rather B Birdin'.

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  8. Love the critters and grandsons, but particularly loved what you did with the sunflowers.

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  9. What a great day at the zoo with your grands! I love zoos and will have to put the Louisville zoo on my list to visit. Your images were delightful and the smiles of the grands -- very special. Sunflowers are among my favorite flowers. I've only seen a field of them once and WOW! Happy Monday.

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  10. What an amazing day you all had, spending special time together at the zoo and water park. Your animal mosaics are fabulous, the close-ups make me feel as if I'm right there in front of them.
    I love sunflowers, we only see them in the flower shops up here in Normandy but last year when we visited the Dordogne we saw never ending fields of them.
    Happy MM, see you again in September, I hope.

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  11. Outstanding photos of the zoo; I especially enjoyed the tiger series. And those boys of yours - what a great way to spend time with them. The sunflower photos are also stunning.

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  12. It looks like an awesome day for you all! Your photos of the animals and the kids are just fantastic!

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  13. Mary - thank you for sparing us the heat so we could go to the zoo! As a former resident of Cincinnati, I know a lot about its zoo - shame on me for never visiting the Louisville zoo. As many have already said, the close-up of the orangutan IS stunning - the detail - I felt I could just reach out and touch him. And the color and pattern on the Sumatran tiger - so vibrant - only our Maker could bestow such a gift. Glad you shared your day out with the grands!!!

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  14. Looks like a fun day!
    Great photos, love the sunflowers!
    Of the animal photos, the tigers are my favorites

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  15. Mary, What a great post. That many sunflowers make my heart sing. I so enjoyed them. The zoo animals are terrific and the grand kids had a great time. Splash parks are wonderful in the heat. I remember once a few years ago my niece and I were on a trip and it was hot. As grown adults we headed into the splash park and got quite wet but we were dry in 20 minutes. The cool water hit the spot though and we we refreshed. Have a great week. Sylvia D.

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  16. Wow. Fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing them.

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  17. Did you happen to see my ancestral graveyard (If it is still there -- I'm not sure any of the family descendants are even still in the area -- it would probably be pretty easy for the zoo to cover it in) Bill never tires of telling people I have family at the Louisville Zoo.

    If we ever went back I'd pay more attention to the animals and less to tracking down the grave markers. Your pictures are great and it looks like the grands had a good time.

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