Today, our son and his lovely fiancé (yes!) from Shanghai head back to University of Alaska, Anchorage to resume their studies for another semester. My husband and I will miss them, but look forward to more time together in the future. In the meantime, we have many happy memories of preparing for and celebrating
Christmas as a family, and getting to know each other.
The weather has been unseasonably warm this holiday season (low to mid sixties during the day), and dry (an unprecedented number of "spare-the-air" days – meaning no traditional yuletide log in the fireplace). The light is fantastic and golden, and always in your eyes, no matter what time of day. Last year I reported on our expedition to the Presidio and Fort Point for a unique view of the Golden Gate Bridge. This year we headed for the Oakland Zoo in the East Bay – a first visit for all of us.
The Oakland Zoo is part of the 500-acre Knowland Park, located in the Oakland Hills. The zoo covers 45 acres, and provides naturalistic settings for the animals. It is always a pleasure to watch animals move, interact, and eat. Some of my favorites are elephants and giraffes; Meer cats and otters; and snakes and alligators. It is also fun to watch human groups, enjoying leisure time together.
The weather has been unseasonably warm this holiday season (low to mid sixties during the day), and dry (an unprecedented number of "spare-the-air" days – meaning no traditional yuletide log in the fireplace). The light is fantastic and golden, and always in your eyes, no matter what time of day. Last year I reported on our expedition to the Presidio and Fort Point for a unique view of the Golden Gate Bridge. This year we headed for the Oakland Zoo in the East Bay – a first visit for all of us.
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The Oakland Zoo is part of the 500-acre Knowland Park, located in the Oakland Hills. The zoo covers 45 acres, and provides naturalistic settings for the animals. It is always a pleasure to watch animals move, interact, and eat. Some of my favorites are elephants and giraffes; Meer cats and otters; and snakes and alligators. It is also fun to watch human groups, enjoying leisure time together.
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I was surprised to see so many tree and plant species in the
zoo, including bottle trees, olive trees, oak trees, and many types of grasses.
The Native Plant Society (NPS) put together a plant list in 1995, which is
quite comprehensive: http://www.monocot.com/zoo/LeitnerZooPlantList1995Linked.html. This makes the Oakland Zoo a useful resource for observing plants and trees
go through their seasonal cycles, in addition to observing the animals go
through their life cycle in natural habitat. Plus, it is just a lot of fun!
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| Young Bottle tree at Oakland Zoo |
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