Fall trip to Zoo Atlanta.

All of the trees at the zoo looked like the above.  Beautiful colors everywhere.

I saw this beehive high up in a tree.

The moon was still out right before lunch.

Meerkat poking his head out.

Baby giraffe at Zoo Atlanta. The keeper said it was almost 4 months old. It stayed in the back the entire time I was there so it was hard to get good shots.

Xi Lan is a new big brother this month.

The weather in Atlanta during our trip was just too nice to stay inside for even a second. I left everyone sleeping in one morning and headed out to the zoo just to get outside and walk around. The trees around the zoo were gorgeous. I think this is the first trip we've made to Atlanta since we left 8 years ago during the leaf changing season. I really wanted to see the pandas since we don't have them at the zoo in Tampa. My first lap around the zoo found Xi Lan sleeping. A quick second lap before I left found him eating. It wasn't until a couple of days later that they announced his mother, Lun Lun, had a baby. 

Skywatch Friday - Zoo Atlanta

New pine cones growing in the summer? No, it's not Tampa. I stopped by Zoo Atlanta for a quick visit while I was visiting my in-laws recently. Hey, anything to get out of the in-law house for an hour, right? The pine cones were bright green and looked pretty against the blue sky. They were in the asian section next to the panda house. The pandas were all sleeping while I was there so that was not fun. Below are some of the animals at the zoo. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa does not have pandas, gorillas or lions so I was trying to get some pictures of those.

For more skyscape photography from around the world, visit http://skyley.blogspot.com/.

Atlanta Part 3 - Zoo's otters

On a recent trip to Atlanta, I stopped by the zoo. I happened to walk by the river otter exhibit when the otters woke up and started to play. Usually you pass by these guys and they are sleeping in a bundle. They were so cute. They had a big crowd watching and the kids were going crazy. Above are some of my favorite pictures.

Atlanta trip

Today I am on my way back home from Atlanta for a quick trip. Yesterday was such a beautiful day there I had to go to the zoo.

When I first arrived I noticed the baby flamingos. There were 7 babies. They were so cute in their grey fuzz. It's the first time I've seen kids get excited over flamingos.

Then I headed to the back of the zoo to see Xi Lan, the baby panda. She turns one this month but is still so funny rolling around and climbing the structure in the exhibit. A warning if you visit in the summer, the glass to see into the dayroom stays fogged up so it is hard to get good pictures. Because the dayroom the pandas are in stays around 60 degrees and the outside glass is so hot it stays fogged up.

The elephants there have an orange tint to them because of the good ole Georgia clay all over their enclosure. People always comment on their color.

Before I left I caught the lions running around for a few seconds before they plopped down for a nap. It's rare to see them playing, they usually sleep so much in the heat.