The Weatherman – Wrong Again

This morning, after watching the weatherman tell me there was little chance of rain, I decided to go to Busch Gardens. I wanted to:

• See the new show that I heard had replaced Katonga (incidentally, Katonga is still on)
• Spend some time at Busch Gardens before I cancel my pass
• Try out some of the photographic techniques I’ve been studying

I arrived at the park before the gates opened and left about 12:45. While there I took 96 pictures, but don’t worry, I won’t subject you to all of them.

I decided that I would not use any auto programs on my camera, but instead used first aperture priority and then shutter priority. I took the first two pictures while waiting for the gates to open. This little flower added some real color in the middle of a lot of green leaves

The lines of this next picture intrigued me. I think the row of posts draws your eye to the tippy umbrella. And the umbrella tips the right way – well, not politically, but creatively.

This is a picture of a very quick squirrel that was hanging around the bakery tables. Yes, I know you can’t see the squirrel – I told you he was fast. I kept the picture because of the interesting pattern.

The flowers in the next picture were in a big pot opposite the bakery

I’m sure most people familiar with Busch Gardens are aware of their wonderful orchid collection. They’re located across the sidewalk from the alligator pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big crocodile that used to be in the pond as you enter Nairobi has been replaced with some playful, very active otters. When I saw the first otter, I toyed with the idea that Busch Gardens had created an extreme exhibit with otters as food for the crocodile – not really.

I took several pictures of the Aldabra Tortoise, which was brought here from Madagascar. The ducks give you an idea of how large these things really are.

I did manage to get a pretty good picture of an ibis -->

 

and a duck --

 

I call this “My Little Rebel Flower.” 

I took the “Topiary Sundial” picture so I would know what the picture after it was. With my memory, I was pretty sure I’d forget. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough sun to cast any kind of shadow. I’m glad I had my watch for backup.

Here’s another picture with where lines converge and draw the eye.  Of course, there’s nothing there to draw your eye to, but you can’t have everything. It’s still an interesting picture of the train and station.

Lights like this hang from the ceiling of the train.

Montu was traveling beside the train for a while and I managed to snap this picture. It goes upside down 7 times. The train doesn’t even go upside down once.

One of the first things you usually see when starting across the Serengeti Plain is giraffes, such as the one here.

 

Imagine having to bend over like this to eat – kind of awkward, isn’t it? Note the vehicle in the background ostensibly feeding the giraffe.

What do giraffes eat? Poor, defenseless, naive tourists? The next picture makes it look that way, doesn’t it? But I think giraffes are vegetarians. Still, I won’t be joining that safari ride any time soon. :)

As we were riding through the Serengeti, I noticed the sky getting darker.  In a short time, it began raining and then pouring. Thanks a lot, Paul Delgado, weatherman at Fox 13, for making me think it was going to be a beautiful day.

These lucky people had rain gear with them I didn’t and since I was sitting on the outside, I got soaked. In fact, my clothes were still damp when I got home.

  

As I was taking a break on my way out, I noticed this scene above the Marrakesh Market. I have no idea what purpose those bits of cloth tied up there serve, but apparently it doesn’t keep the birds away.

In short, I had a very pleasant day. When I got home, I put about 20 more books out on eBay.

Lewis and Clark

By the way, last night I was reading The Lewis and Clark Journals. Lewis was still writing about his trip from Pittsburgh to the Missouri River. He mentioned Charlestown and Wheeling as being in Virginia. Funny how things change.

He also mentioned the Grave Creek Mound near Wheeling. I don’t know how Mark and I missed hearing about that the times we went to Wheeling to see the WWVA Jamboree. It reminded me of the time Esther and Dawn and I went across the Mississippi River from Wisconsin to Iowa to visit the Effigy Mounds. I’ve put the Grave Creek Mound as a place to visit when I’m in that area.

Speaking of Wisconsin, Lewis used the French spelling when referring to the Ouisconsin River. Neat, huh?

He also talked a lot about his dog catching the squirrels that swam in the Ohio River. Apparently, he was very adept at catching them – Saved a lot of ammunition that way, didn’t it?

Until next time…