at the zoo
This past weekend we visited the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston. I must admit that I feel very conflicted about zoos and I think that there are convincing arguments both for and against them. But, in general, I think it’s a good thing that there are places where injured animals can be rehabilitated, or where endangered animals can be protected (like tigers, of which there are heart-breakingly few left in the world). I haven’t visited that many zoos, but the Franklin Park Zoo was surprisingly large, and had a wide variety of interesting animals that seemed to be well-cared for. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a gorilla as close up as I did at this zoo; it was a little uncanny because they are very human looking in real life, especially their eyes. Also, tapirs are surprisingly enormous and they make ridiculous faces (my husband says they remind him of Jon Lovitz – ha!). Both kids enjoyed the zoo very much, and Lillia had a particularly good time. Here are some of the animals we saw.
boston // museum of science
This weekend we visited my husband’s sister in Boston and decided to take the kids to the Museum of Science. The last time we visited the museum was during our year of homeschooling Lillia, in December of 2012. Comparing my photos from the two trips I noticed a few things: my kids have grown a ton, and so has my husband’s beard; my photography has changed a lot thanks to my 50mm f1.8 lens, Photoshop, and two years’ worth of practice; I used to have a really annoying habit of breaking my posts up into multiple parts. I remember two years ago when I took those photos I thought they were amazing, and I was totally shocked that I was actually the person who took them! Now I look at them and see that they are not terrible but they represent a younger, less experienced photographer (and probably a younger, less experienced me, too). In any case, you can look back at our photos from the first trip here 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Many of the exhibits have changed in the past two years, so it was really fun to see some old favorites but also to experience some new things. Lillia’s favorite part of our visit was definitely the Hall of Human Life area, where she got to measure her gait, her body temperature, and all sorts of other things (check out our infrared “family portrait” here). Zane’s favorite part was the baby chicks, of course. He really didn’t want to leave. All in all, a great trip!
lupines
From Miss Rumphius , by Barbara Cooney:
“You must do something to make the world more beautiful.”
“All right,” I say.
But I do not know yet what that can be.
Two things: if you have never read Miss Rumphius , by Barbara Cooney, you are missing out on one of the greatest children’s books of all time; if you have never been to Maine at the end of June when the lupines are in bloom, you are missing out on one of the most beautiful natural wonders of all time.
[Note: These photos were taken at the house my family rents every summer. If you’re interested in visiting Lubec, I highly recommend this rental cottage and you can get more info here. It’s not a 5 star hotel, but it is a true Maine-living experience and you can’t beat the views.]
lubec // days five & six
