Tag: nature
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Easter Weekend at the Chicago Botanic Garden
This will mostly be a photo post, because I think there is plenty to see and I couldn’t add that much to what already exists. This weekend we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden to see the early spring blooms.The garden is free, though there is a per-car fee to park, except for military, which…
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Thoughts on Copenhagen Zoo
So I’m sure by now you’ve heard about Copenhagen Zoo euthanizing one of its giraffes for “educational purposes” and feeding it to the zoo’s carnivores. If not, here’s the story. I was struck by a particular response to this today in which someone I respect a lot (a natural history scientist and educator) pointed out…
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The lion in my profile picture
Because I am asked all the time about my profile picture, I thought I’d take some time today to tell you the story of how that photo came to exist. This photo was taken in summer of 2009. At the time I worked and volunteered for an AZA-accredited institution, working in the education department and…
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Wildlife Wednesday: California ground squirrel
The squirrels are different here. This is a California ground squirrel, and I am fascinated by these little creatures. Growing up on the east coast, I was accustomed to Eastern gray squirrels (which are everywhere) and the occasional chipmunk (which is very small and stripey) but I’d never seen one of these before. The first…
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California Friday: native habitat at the SDZ Safari Park
One of the interesting things to me about California is the sheer size and scope of it. I mean, Texas is huge and all, but California is SO LONG that you’d have to drive from north Florida to just about the New York state line to get a similar trip. It’s about a thirteen or…
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Wildlife Wednesday: burrowing owls!
Ever since I read Hoot by Carl Hiaasen, I’ve been kind of fascinated by these little birds of prey. This burrowing owl is from the Living Coast Discovery Center and is part of a colony they have on exhibit there. They eat insects and small mammals, or small reptiles and amphibians they find. One interesting thing…
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California Friday: at the Living Coast Discovery Center
Last week I discovered a nature center type place that’s south of me, right on San Diego Bay, called the Living Coast Discovery Center. It’s connected to the National Wildlife Refuge and sounded really interesting, so my friend and I drove down to see what it had. We found out that this place has been…
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Philippines, Day 8: the Underground River and Farewell Dinner
So, it’s been a couple of weeks since I got back from the Philippines and a lot has happened since then, but I still want to do the last couple of entries about the trip. This one is from Friday, June 6, and is from our trip to the Underground River, one of the Natural…
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Last weekend, J and I took a roadtrip north to Monterey and San Francisco. You can see all of the photos here. The main destination on Saturday was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Housed in an old cannery, the Aquarium is now home to a huge collection of California’s native marine species, from fish and turtles…
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Earth Day 2013: Balboa blooms and birds
This is one of the first Earth Days in a while that I haven’t been working or volunteering at an event of some sort, which is a little weird. I hope I can get outside and enjoy the sunshine today at least. In the meantime, here are some photos I took in Balboa park last…
Joanna Volavka 