Zoo Trip

Zoo trips are always fun! So of course, this time was too! My cousin, sister, grandmother, and I all piled in the car and drove the long, but totally worth it ride to the zoo. When we got to the zoo, we headed straight to the animals! First, we saw the spider monkey along with a dark haired one that I'm not so sure of the name. They were gripping their big and long branches, swinging and swinging through the treetops. I loved going into the reptiles and amphibians exhibit and seeing all the FASCINATING creatures that I definitely wouldn't want to see anywhere else. I also like the place where they tell you about a specific animal and this time it was some type of turtle. I learned that one type sleeps 16 hours a day! We trudged along for quite a while, ate, and soon entered Bear Country, where we saw the sloth bear that was sitting happily and the polar bear that was sleeping and sleeping, not swimming in the water which was what we all wanted it to do. My sister desperately wanted to see the aardvarks so we walked over to the Small Mammal House. We saw the adorable aardvarks snoozing, while cuddled up close together. I learned that they are nocturnal so that was why they were sleeping. We ended our zoo day with a delicious, satisfying, soft serve ice cream each and headed home. What a day!

A Day and Night in Nature

At my grandparent's house, the tractor was slowly forcing itself up a small hill. Behind the tractor was a big wooden wagon, filled with kids and other family members all riding in the wagon. On this small journey we went across the road to a corn field. There was a beautiful view and you could see the twin towers!
That night we slept on the wagon with many matresses, pillows, and blankets. We looked up at the bright black sky that the moon lit up like a huge flashlight, we watched for shooting stars until we all fell asleep.
The next morning we hiked down in the woods where SO many trees fell from Hurricane Sandy, and got to hop over tree trunks and tree branches, also looking up to make sure know really loose and almost falling trees would fall while we were walking under it. It was so fun to navigate our way through the woods searching for the big black bear that my grandparents had seen about a month before our camp out.
Camping and hiking are so fun and I hope you try it and have a great nature experience.

Long Island Fun

This summer I went to Long Island for a nature related vacation and had a great time. We were visting our grandparents for the weekend. There house was right near the bay/sound so we went swimming, tubing, and kayaking. Sitting on the sand, after a long time of swimming, splashing and other water related activites, I searched the sky for the FASCINATING osprey to fly across the treetops. My grandmother got me this bird watching book where there are all these stickers with pictures of birds on them, so when you saw the bird you would take the sticker of put it on the page with its name on it then write when and where you saw it. Also, there was a spot to put some observations about the bird and what it was doing. One of my observations for the osprey was: This elegant bird was gliding and flapping its huge downy wings, propeling itself forward in the air. If any of you are interested in this book it is called: Beginning Birdwatcher's Book-by Sy Barlowe.
Birdwatching is enjoyable and a very fun hobby. I hope you all try it one time and enjoy those flying, amazing, and FASCINATING creatures.