Chilean Flamingos

Today I'm taking you to the Houston Zoo and the newly refurbished
Chilean Flamingo Habitat.

The Chilean Flamingo pool and waterfall opened in 1926 and it became
the centerpiece of what was then the Zoo's main entrance.
At the time, the exhibit and pool design were state-of-the-art for zoo exhibits.
Failing infrastructure of the pool, new innovations in avian husbandry
and a desire to enhance guest viewing of the flamingos prompted the recent decision
to perform a complete renovation of the area.

The updated space features a 20,000 gallon filtered pool, 

a separate feeding pool,

new animal holding facilities,

and lush new vegetation. 

The renovated habitat also includes a large nesting island that

will allow the Zoo's flock of flamingos to grow into the future.

The original exhibit concrete decorative work was designed and built by

Mexican-American artist Dionicio Rodriguez.

Mr. Rodriguez specialized in "faux bois" artwork, which is the use of cement to create

the look of wood.

During the renovation of the Zoo's flamingo exhibit, 

the artificial trees that were designed and built by Mr. Rodriguez have been cleaned and repaired.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to the Chilean Flamingos at the Houston Zoo.

Detailed information about the Flamingo exhibit provided by WILDLIFE published by the Houston Zoo.

Thank you to Misty for hosting

and to Mary for Mosaic Monday.

Thanks for stopping by.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

This and That

It's Friday!

Time to reflect on the week ... or not! 

Thank you Nancy for hosting.

*

Hard to believe that the merry month of May is at an end.

Tomorrow June starts and so does ICAD -- or Index Card a Day.

ICAD is Tammy's wonderful idea.

"Buy a pack of index cards.

Cheap ones.

Draw, doodle, write, collage, paint, haiku, stamp -- whatever.

One index card each day -- June and July.

61 days = 61 cards."

I played last year starting on June 1 and made it all the way through.

The year before I didn't start until July 1.

It is fun -- you can start at any time.

No pressure.

Fun Facebook and Flickr groups too.

You can find out all the details on Tammy's Daisy Yellow Blog.

ICAD from July 2011


**

My Rice University Owl baseball team won the Conference USA tournament
and the automatic bid to the NCAA baseball tournament.
They are off to Eugene Oregon to the regional playoffs.
They start play today.
Good luck!

***

This is birthday week.
Lovely lunches with family and friends.
Today a trip to the Natural History Museum to see the newly opened, remodeled, Egypt galleries.

****

You are going to get tired of me saying it is hot and humid, but it is!
I try to get my outside garden work done early and my away from home errands done by 10 am
spending the rest of the day with the kitties, books, crafty stuff and lots of iced tea.

*****

This little guy came by this morning to try out the buffet.
When we lived on Galveston Island we saw the little Inca Dove almost every day.
In the big city, I don't see them often, but always smile when I do.
Such a cutie!

Thanks for stopping in.

Don't forget my Blog-o-Birthday celebration!

Have a lovely weekend.

Wishing YOU well and much joy.

Good Morning!

I can't clean because ...

I get distracted by all the

Cool stuff I find. 

Blue and White

It's time for tea.

This lovely set was a gift at Christmas --
teapot, teacup, luncheon plate.

Called Watercolour Floral Afternoon Tea Set.

The teapot holds 6 cups of delicious tea.

The whole set is quickly becoming a favorite.
I love blue and white. 

"When making a great pot of tea, pour hot water into the teapot to warm it

while the kettle of water is heating."

"My dear, if you could give me a cup of tea to clear my muddle of a head

I should better understand your affairs."

~ Charles Dickens

"Iced tea was invented at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair

by an expatriate Englishman named Richard Blechynden.

His hot tea wasn't selling so he poured it over ice and had an instant success."

(From 365 Things Every Tea Lover Should Know)

Thank you to our tea party hosts:

Tea Time Tuesday

A Return To Loveliness
Teacup Tuesday

Tuesday Cup'a Tea

Share Your Cup Thursday

Tea In The Garden

Wishing YOU well, much joy and a wonderful cup of tea!

Don't forget to check out my

Blog-o-Birthday celebration give-a-way.

Splash Time!

I've spent a wee bit of time at the zoo lately -- especially with the Asian Elephants.

This is Mithai.

She celebrated her 44th birthday earlier in May.

She is the matriarch of the herd and spends a lot of time keeping the youngsters in line.

A little Spa time before dealing with the kids.

Mithai with Baylor.

He gets a little rambunctious and picks on little Tupelo.

Mithai decided Baylor should just stay in the pool!

Splash time!

Tess (Tupelo's Mom) and Shanti (Baylor's Mom) let Mithai discipline Baylor.

Looks like fun!

Baylor really does think he is the star of the show.

He is named after the Baylor College of Medicine.

BCM and the Houston Zoo have joined together to do research on the

Elephant Herpes Virus which is deadly to Asian Elephants in captivity and in the wild.

They've made progress -- especially in finding new treatments. 

Thank you to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday

and to Misty for the wonderful Camera Critters.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to check out my

Blog-O-Birthday celebration.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!