Chaffee Zoo

Yesterday, Sue and I went to the Chaffee Zoo in Fresno.

It was a great time to try out the new Nikon 5100 and its super telephoto lens. It was a great time to go as the temperatures were in the 80s all day. Sometimes Fresno in the Summer roles up to some pretty high temperatures that make zoo exploration problematic.

What was really great was to see the young kids enjoying the field trip day. It was easy to see that many, even though they were from schools nearby had never been to the zoo. Some kids took off in a run and had to be admonished by their supervisors that it was not a place to run as supported by the orientation talk. They were all wearing "character counts" shirts. Character counts is a program that is partially funded state money that was earmarked in the early years for police presence on campuses. In elementary schools it becomes an integrated part of the curriculum and garners state grant money. It seemed obvious that this may be a source for these schools to get money for field trips to the zoo in years where money is being parsimoniously spent.

There were also students there in a small group with highly identifiable shirts that said, "I am home schooled."A small band of these students were headed to the gift shop just as we were headed out. Gift shops are difficult for all field trip participants. Some kids have saved their allowances for months for a special thing to buy on a school field trip while others have very little to spend and have to watch the others pull souvenirs off the shelf to buy.

A third population was there with their moms and dads. They were toddlers that were in awe of the little things in a zoo that might be missed by their older siblings. One girl and boy were having a great time climbing all over the Nosey the elephant sculpture. Mom and Dad for one toddler were happy to get their daughter to hold up a branch of green leaves so that the giraffe could swoop down with his blue tongue and scoop up this special treat. Zoo handlers were their to supervise, talk about the giraffes and collect the two dollars required. This also made for a great photo for me to add to the collection of point and shoot digital photography series I am doing in watercolor canvas. The photographer in this case had bright red fingernail polish. This ought to be fun.

This third group also included toddler member that were in total awe of seeing giraffes for the first time. The Chaffee Zoo was very proud of their newest member of the giraffe exhibit. A new giraffe was born in the zoo two months ago. This baby was not yet clued in to appeal to the crowd. The crowd was loving the chance to see it.

Seeing the kids in action in the zoo was really a treat. One of my best pictures came near the end of our trip. I happened to see a bright red dragoon fly land on the guard wire of the anteater enclosure. I took its photo and took another when it took off and landed back at its same spot. It might be the best photo of the trip... go figure..

: ) Pat