Change of Zoo Day.

Bright and breezy today.

I changed my zoo day to today because Peter has an outpatients appointment (podiatrist) at the hospital tomorrow morning. Although there is a multi-storey carpark at the hospital, which I've never noticed even though it is right next to the main road on the way into town (that's because I'm watching the road), the word is that's it's almost impossible to find a parking space and it's best to be dropped off or park in town and walk/get a taxi up the hill.

At the zoo I swept the main paths and then got on with weeding the flowerbed next to the wolf-dogs. Digging out some deep rooted dock was the biggest challenge though I had to be careful of the stinging nettles which I had great satisfaction feeding to the rheas and the rose bush drew blood on my unprotected arm. A good thing I had some plasters with me. For most of the time I had both of the wolf-dogs right by the fence watching me. I gave them the occasional grass stem, one for each of them which they took graciously even though their enclosure is full of the very same grass. I let them have a sniff of the back of my hand too as I think I'll be working in that flower bed for a few weeks yet. They showed their wolf-like side when the zoo cat walked past the pen, much rushing about and excitement. 

After my weeding I wandered around with my camera. First stop was the glass window into the pen where Keith the kookaburra was perched to take a photo of him and my reflection.

I wandered along the paths stopping to take yet another photo of the marmosets and then in another pen were the owner and one of the staff with a kookaburra. Much hilarity ensued when I asked if they'd got a new kookaburra as they had just moved Keith to this pen wrapped up in a towel. The reason for this move is that the current liscencing regulations deem kookaburras to be dangerous animals and should not to be visible from the cafe's outdoor seating area. It seems that most animals fall into this category and sloths are category 1 which is the most dangerous !! To have one in the zoo you have to have a liscenced marksman on site at all times. I guess they won't be getting any sloths for the zoo.

Maybe they'll have to stick to domesticated fowl like the turkey.

I've never had a special interest in birds but photographically I'm getting quite excited by the textures and patterns in their feathers.

When I got home I went out on the terrace to take some photos of a kite surfer and I was shocked to see THIS! With any consultation the builders had chopped away a section of the hedge that screens the terrace from the street. Bearing in mind that there is no pavement on the other side of the road so everybody walks on our side they now have a clear view right onto the terrace. Peter pulled this old tub over and we've now balanced a water butt on top to cover the gap but I am both furious and upset. Imagine relaxing on the sunlounger or eating a meal with people walking by and peering in. I don't think so. I think I'm as upset as if a similar sized hole had appeared in the sitting room wall. Also the bottom of the downpipe just stops on the terrace. I know I spoke to the lads about plans to put a water butt down under the hedge but until that's in place you can't have rain water flowing over the terrace. Peter has sent a message to the builder who will have to find a way of screening that gap. If I was really pernicity I could insist on a plant in a tub that was the same height as the hedge but I'll settle for some sort of natural screening to last until the hedge has grown back which I think will be at least a year.

It was a bit too windy to sit outside so I cheered myself up with a foot soak and pedicure while I watched tv. I protect nearly all my toes with plasters when I go to the zoo as kneeling in wellies tends to rub off the skin on my toes. Currently I'm sporting an enormous blister across a big toe from an earlier gardening session and two cuts from an encounter with a shopping trolley last week. As part of my 'pedicure' I attacked some bumps on one toe which had been there since being bitten by ants back in Pilton. Minor surgery with a needle resulted in a bit of blood and the removal of white lumps/blobs from each of the bumps. Some sort of reaction to the ant venom? 

Finally, some Solstice sunset photos from yesterday.