I opened my email after a three-day hiatus from it, and was pleased to find a comment awaiting my approval today. The comment was in regard to an August 2006 post about the local zoo, comprised of a polite “thank you” and a request for link consideration.

I must admit that my critique of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium was straightforward and not entirely glowing with praise. I saw room for improvement while also seeing some truly well planned exhibits. Keep in mind that my opinion comes from having worked in a zoo and aquarium combination (Denver’s Ocean Journey, since then renamed Denver’s Downtown Aquarium.)

I applaud the Pittsburgh Zoo for its excellent promotion of two essential realities of a modern zoo: be a leader and a significant contributor to the conservation of endangered and threatened species; conduct research which supports and enhances the quality of animal and plant life, visitor experiences, education, and conservation.

The zoo was established in Pittsburgh in 1898, with an aquarium center addition in 1967; it was the first public aquarium in the state. Today the zoo sits on 77 acres, contains 475 species of animals and boasts over 4000 animals total. They have a successful breeding program with their Amur tigers as well as their African elephants.

The exhibits vary. 16 acres have been dedicated to the African Savanna, 5 acres to an indoor tropical rainforest. Water’s Edge, World of Discovery, and Kid’s Kingdom are equally as entertaining. The zoo offers Video Feeds online.

My husband, a marine biologist, will spend the entire day inside the PPG Aquarium, clinging to the glass in unintentional imitation of the starfish from “Nemo”, talking over his shoulder at the kiddies as he points out the interesting aspects of each fish. I was delighted with the PPG Aquarium; each display was perfect. As promised by their web site:

In June 2000, the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium celebrated the grand opening of its newest jewel, a 45,000-square-foot state-of-the-art aquarium. The $17.4 million facility flows with 380,000 gallons of salt and fresh water and houses more than 40 aquatic exhibits. It is Pennsylvania's only public aquarium and makes Pittsburgh one of only six zoos in the country to house a major aquarium. With the theme "Diversity of Water," the PPG Aquarium is home to more than 4,000
aquatic animals from around the world, including penguins, stingrays, jellyfish, an electric eel and thousands of exotic fish. The building includes a classroom for educational programs to help visitors further explore the "mysteries of the deep."

I do have one recollection that did not make it into my previous Zoo post: the gift shop. My memory of the action items is fuzzy, but I do remember how friendly the young women were as they rang up our purchase (a refrigerator magnet – my “tourist” obsession!)

I do encourage you to stop by the zoo if you are in the Pittsburgh area.




Current Zoo Admission Rates & Hours as of July 2008

Adult $12
Seniors (60 years of age or older) $11
Children (ages 2-13) $10
Children under 24 months Free
Parking Free
Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission Gates close at 4:30 p.m.

December 1 through March 31

Adult $9
Seniors (60 years of age or older) $8
Children (ages 2-13 years) $8
Children under 24 months Free
Parking Free




The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium homepage’s image is a screen shot displayed here for information purposes only. All rights to the homepage belong to the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium.
Your oldest friend ~






~ should be you!


Visit more old friends at Sunday Scribblings
Summer 2008 Vegetation
Summer 2008 Vegetation
The front yard in bloom
A symphony of dusty miller, impatients,
mums, elephant's ear, dianthus and lamb's ear.
The front porch planting beds
"Monster Hosta" in bloom
The Mimosa tree
View from below

flowering

Hitch hiker

The Eats

3 varieties of squash

Romano tomatoes

Strawberry pots on the deck

July 01, 2008
July 1st, Canada (birth!) Day
July 1st – a relaxing day. Not only is it my birthday, but also the day that Canadians celebrate the birth of the man (Oscar Canada) who discovered their great land. I’m told that they hold dog sled races in the deep July snow to commemorate the occasion, replete with lumberjack competitions and RCMP formation drills. The PM, Stephen Harper, was on hand to help judge the moose beauty pageant. The moose (or “mooses” if you are from the any state in the deep South, USA) must sing the national anthem (dedicated to Mr. O. Canada) with perfect pitch least they be disqualified.

My wonderful Canadian friends are going to kick my ass all over the Internet, to be sure.





I had a friend “back in the day” that honestly thought that Cinco de Mayo was held in celebration of the “man who discovered Mexico”. His name, of course, was Cinco de Mayo (no relation to Oscar Canada or even Oscar de la Renta.) The mistranslation of “Fifth of May” to “this guy’s name” undeniably stymied her attempts to date a Hispanic male. It didn’t surprise me one iota when some foolish person refused to believe Canada Day was about the enactment of the British North American Act. I am not going into detail about the “how and why” of it. Google and learn.

How sad is it that Americans seem clueless with regard to their neighbors to the north and south? Are we nothing more than a nation that saturates itself with prime time talent contests, baby daddy talk shows, and hyperbole as it pertains to our self-estimation? (Be forewarned, the next generation was weaned on Fruit Roll-Ups, Starbuck’s burnt coffee and Go-Gurt. I don’t expect much in the way of vigorous brain cell activity. God forbid they reach their 40’s and suddenly discover that Canada is not the 51st state.)

I can overlook some things. If you have never called a living and breathing human being in Canada, you might not know that you can dial the number just as you would any long distance phone number, using only 1+area code. Please do not try to place a call to Canadians who are not living and breathing; the dead tend to ignore the phone’s ring.

Another misconception: Canada does not have “states”. Should you ask a Canadian what state he lives in, he will probably think, “a state of hell, having to deal with yet another inept American.” Canada is a federation of ten provinces and three territories. They have a PM (Prime Minister, which is not the same thing as prime rib) rather than a president.


Canadians enjoy indoor plumbing, paved roads and buildings comprised of materials other than ice. They drive in the same sort of vehicles that you would see in the United States. Most do not finish every sentence with “ay”, although there are some that do. Contrary to popular belief, Canada has a military and space programs. Mounties do not ride yaks (the Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen are Ren and Stimpy fantasy.)

We will not even touch the clueless American who became rather perturbed upon hearing that Niagara (pronounced nye AH grah by the bungling) Falls has a “Canadian side”, how dare they! Les Chutes du Niagara cascading down from the Niagara River surely must belong to the Americans. It never occurred to her that there was more to Niagara than a single cataract of water.

My birthday (I did not discover Canada) was splendid. Better Half treated me to the new Disney-Pixar film, Wall-E. We had a lovely dinner out and enjoyed a wonderful cherry cake.

June 24, 2008
Waltzing Matilda, in pictures
6/15/08 Final days on the porch

2/29/08 Mads loved snowballs.
She would chase them, eat them,
and run about in the snow after them.

2/29/08 snow


2/20/08 Mads goofing off on Sami's pillow.


Mads takes over the couch





10/25/07 Daddy is Maddy's favorite person!

Same day - She is giving a smile


Same day - investigating



4/8/07 Easter Dinner filled her up.




11/23/07 Thanksgiving dinner is just as good!





6/28/06 Mads had a habit of blending into red things





8/8/06 Yep, she loves her daddy.








9/5/06 Car rides are cool




Loving on daddy and vice versa

Mads at the vet the first time. Notice how she blends
into the woodwork.