A Day with the Animals

Friday was spent visiting the Brevard Zoo.  It was a cool day, cold by Florida standards, so it seemed to be the ideal time to go there and enjoy all the walking in cool temperatures. We discovered that was not a good idea because many of the birds and animals were under cover or using heat lamps to stay warm. On top of that there was no school in Brevard County on Friday, so at least half of the kids who were out of school decided to go to the zoo! Even Disney brought in a couple of tour busses. So our quiet, leisurely tour of the zoo did not happen. However, it was a lovely day and we enjoyed being in the outdoors enjoying nature.

By far the most fun was the Meerkats. They are in a sandy area where they did huge holes, stand guard to watch out for anything threatening, and run and cavort like crazy. There were two babies there, and lots of fun watching them all act out.

Here's one of the babies with its mother.

Here is one of them acting as a lookout.

There were lots of large animals, like these zebras. They didn't seem to mind the cold.

The rhinos were out and about and rooting in the dirt and mud.

I don't know what the name of this bird is, but it was the ugliest thing we saw all day!

The most beautiful birds were the flamingos. They have just added a new flock of flamingos to the ones they had. Gorgeous birds!

Even the alligators seemed a bit sluggish in the cold. Once the sun came out in the afternoon things were a little livelier.

The aviary is always fun as birds fly around you and land on people. The birds seemed a little overfed as the huge crowd all wanted to feed them.

Here's Gary feeding a cockatoo with seeds on a stick.

This is the best picture of the day as this huge cat finds a bit of sunshine to rest in.

By far the most popular spot in the zoo is the feeding platform for the giraffes. There was a mother giraffe and two young that we caught a picture of feeding.

The biggest thrill in the zoo for a child is to feed the giraffes. They walk right up to the food and take it out of people's hands.
It was a good day at the zoo and we hope you enjoy the pictures of some of our adventures!

Why we love Florida in the winter

Here we are in our last month in Florida this winter. The time has passed so quickly. We thought we would reflect briefly on the reasons we love it here so much.

First of all on the list is the weather. It is truly warm. We have not had a cold day this winter. To wake up every morning to sunshine and warm breezes is in itself priceless.

The second item on our list is the beauty of it. We are living in an area of beautiful homes. Landscaping is beautiful. The homes are such cheerful colors - gold, beige, light blue, peach.

Here is an example of one of the homes along the road. And another:

These are just the ordinary homes along South Tropical Trail. Some of them are vast estates with incredible homes. One near here even has a service entrance! Most of them are gated.
The skies are so blue and everything is so green. The lawns are beautiful. We watched a load of sod being placed across the road.

One of the favorite trees are the old live oaks. They have annoying little leaves, but the live oaks spread out with crossing branches, spreading in every direction. They sometimes form a canopy across the roads. Some of them are hanging with Spanish moss. They are now dressed out in new green leaves.

The third reason for loving Florida is the ease of life here. There is no rush. There is a peace about the place. There are many places to go and things to do. Here we have the farmer's market that we visit every week.

The beach is always a source of peace and beauty.

The flowering bushes are blooming to add vibrant color to the atmosphere.

It is so beautiful to just go for a ride down good roads with beautiful sights to see. The color is incredible. The sound of the wind blowing through the swishing palm trees is relaxing. When the spirit moves us there are literally dozens of places to go out and eat.

Here we had lunch at Molly's Seafood Shack, outside on the deck with the breeze blowing through.

Right now we are both sick with a nasty cold and sinus infection, so it will be a few days before we get back to the beach and dip our feet in the sand, but we hope this has explained a bit why we head south in the winter. We know there are many people who love winter, snowsleds, snowballs, and the white world that lasts for months. We did that in December. Each day is a joy in Florida when a person prefers a world that is warm and colorful!