Lanterns

Like most other people during this pandemic I’ve been staying close to home. Even family get-togethers are not safe in these COVID days. Once every couple of weeks I drive one mile up the road to pick up my pre-ordered groceries that workers safely place in my car. That’s it as far as going places so I was particularly excited last night.

My two daughters and I drove to our destination in separate cars, we wore masks and we social distanced, but still I couldn’t wait for our adventure! I even wore makeup and felt like I was going on a date. The tickets were expensive and limited to allow for lots of space between guests. Where was our big night?

Wild Lights Asian Lantern Festival at the Louisville Zoo

The Louisville Zoo is one of my favorite places because of the animals, of course, but the animals on display last night were made of silk of every color of the rainbow.

Most were very realistic looking and all were brightly lit. There were more than 2,000 lanterns displayed in 65 larger than life scenes. It was a fantastical journey of about one and a quarter miles. There was a 130 foot-long dragon set on a small lake with a fountain. It was beautiful.

Being with my two most favorite people made it perfect. They took the photos as I was too excited to have patience with a camera. These pictures are all compliments of Dianne.

 

 

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The Travelling Cat Chronicles

“The Travelling Cat Chronicles” by Hiro Arikawa

When I borrowed this book I was expecting a silly cat story. Boy was I wrong! This is truly a chronicle of a cat who traveled. In fact he traveled all over Japan. The cat is the narrator and he is very funny and wise. His relationship with his master was one that made me smile page after page. This small book is packed full of interconnections of small boys as they grew into adulthood and the emotions run the gamut. I recommend this book for anyone who is an animal lover, especially a lover of cats.

A book that “speak[s] volumes about our need for connection—human, feline or otherwise” (The San Francisco Chronicle), 

Talking to the Animals

If you could communicate with animals, what species would you like to talk with?

My Answer: Dogs and Cats

I would want to know what they remember, if they can think of the future and whether they get their feelings hurt. I feel sure that they love deeply.

Your Answer?

 

“Children, old crones, peasants, and dogs ramble; cats and philosophers stick to their point.” H. P. Lovecraft

Photos by Pixabay

 

Where Would You Go?

I love to write but once in a while, I seem to slow down to the point of having nothing to say. I’ve told other bloggers that I do not like to use writing prompts for my blog, but I’ve recently changed my mind. My Granddaughter gave me a book entitled “300 More Writing Prompts” and I’ve found some ideas to use here on Crooked Creek. I’d always seen these writing helps as places to write my private thoughts, but this book has prompts that spurred me to share some ideas with you.

The prompt I chose for today is “If you could book a flight for anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?” I required no time to think about an answer: the Galapagos Islands is where I would go. If I had a bucket list this would be on it. There are animals, fish, birds, and plants there that exist in no other spot on the planet.

It is a group of islands in the Pacific around the equator. Ninety-seven percent of the islands is designated as a National Park and therefore protected. In the past, some non-native species have been introduced which upset the natural habitat, but Ecuador’s measures to protect wildlife should prevent recurrences.

“If you could book a flight for anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?”

 

Nature photos by Pixabay

ZOO WALK

My daughter, Dianne, and I signed up for a walking club that meets at our local zoo before opening each morning. I have ambiguous feelings about zoos. I know they save some animals even species and I love to see the animals that I would never see “in person” if not for zoos. On the other hand, I sometimes see animals pacing their enclosures and I know that we (humans) have driven them mad for our pleasure. So, I sit on the fence a bit, boycotting circuses but every few years visiting a zoo. My daughter feels even more strongly anti-zoo than do I.

So, how did we end up walking there? Good question. I suppose we felt we could see the animals without supporting the zoo by buying a ticket. Cheap? Perhaps, but I think it is more a rationalization. Regardless, I was disappointed that we didn’t see many animals on our first walk. A lion, a tortoise, a rhino, that was about it. But this past week we hit the jackpot by staying a little later. We saw, tigers, monkeys, wallabies, kangaroos, a grizzly bear, all kinds of birds and these, my favorites!

The slideshow below contains more shots of the gorilla and polar bear. All photos taken by Dianne Bynum.

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I welcome your opinions regarding supporting zoos and any special memories you may want to share with us.