Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Applegate Zoo

When D comes to visit she also stops in at some of her relatives up north then heads down to visit us. Her Aunt C lives in Fresno so we usually meet in Merced since it's midway for both of us. While they visited we took the kidlets to the Applegate Zoo. It's a small zoo which takes maybe 20 minutes to walk all the way through.
I haven't been there for some time and was so surprised at all the changes. Entrance used to be 50 cents for adults, children under 12 free. It is now $3 for adults and $2 for kids, under 5 free.

I can definitely understand the price increase., it's not cheap to keep even a small zoo going. We used to donate and" adopt"/support animals there until the economy tanked and simply can't afford it anymore. We're very disappointed that we couldn't keep doing it.

What I found so disturbing was that half the cages were empty. it seemed all the animals were depressed. So sad to see them mope about. The monkeys weren't even throwing their poo at us :(

Red Fox

Emu

Crane

Alpaca, not even interested in us.

This area used to be filled with pygmy goats climbing over each other to be fed by visitors.

You could buy feed, but not anymore.

It was the most fun to feed them :(

Sad looking bear

This was the most active area thanks to the Peacock strutting his stuff, upper left corner.

The black Swan was gorgeous

White Crane

Black Swan and White Crane...ebony and ivory?

Such pretty white feathers,

it never moved, just stood there.

The Peacock was showing off for

the Peahen in the upper right corner......

needles to say, she wasn't interested or impressed...

neither were the Rooster or Swan :)

Well, here's a great photo of his back side! LOL

He finally turned around....

Gorgeous!

Letting his beautiful feathers down

reminds me of a wedding dress train

Beautiful bird

Thank you dear Peacock for making the visit worthwhile.

I cam away feeling sick. This small town is lucky enough to even have a zoo, no matter what size. So sad to see it go down hill. Example: several cages were filled with Parakeets and the petting zoo is no longer. So sad, indeed. It used to be so vibrant with such a variety of animals. Yes, it's small, but the city is so lucky to even have it. I pray they are able to get back on track and make it as it once was. It would be devastating to see it close.

Applegate Park Zoo

1045 West Twenty-Fifth Street
Merced, CA 95340
209-385-6840

Monday, March 25, 2013

Moss Landing Road Trip

My friend from Wyoming came out for a visit, as she does every year. We have certain places we visit on a regular basis, traditions if you will. One of her daughters and 3 grands came with her this year. The little ones have grown so much since the last time they came with her. They are old enough now to really enjoy our road trips. Z is 4 and W is 3. The oldest, T, is now as tall as I am...yes, I know that's not saying much. But it has been about 4 years since we've seen her. Best feeling in the world to see T again, who is on her way to becoming such a beautiful young lady.