it's a zoo out there::part two

Throughout the North Carolina Zoo , on the trails between exhibits and as part of some exhibits, there are many beautiful plants and flowers. Here are just a few that I captured along the way. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the names of these beauties, but they are still gorgeous, nonetheless. And just so you know, there will be an amazing display of orchids in the African Pavilion during the entire month of May.

We also spent a lot of time in the aviary. It's such a strange, yet wonderful feeling to be near so many birds. Exotic, tropical birds. The sounds they made were amazing. Some of the birds weren't too scared of us and they let us get pretty close. Others didn't really care to have us in there and watched us from above. And still others sang loudly as if playing marco polo with us. We just had to follow the sound and have keen eyes and then we'd spot them.

This zoo used to have a petting zoo section but not any more. I was kind of sad about that because I really wanted to see some goats and sheep and chickens. To our delight though, they turned the petting zoo into a wonderful area of exploration for the kids. There was a butterfly garden, a long, winding maze of a balance beam made of logs, garden trellis tunnels to walk through, a bamboo maze (which the girls did by themselves-twice!), a wall on which to draw with chalk or paint with water, a pond stocked with tiny fish and timid frogs that drew us in because there were little nets all around for us to use in catching something...we didn't. It was still very fun.

A new section that we were excited to find was all about honey bees. I was quite smitten with the whole design. The walkways and garden fencing were all hexagon shaped. There were flowers everywhere to attract the bees and little information signs with cool facts about bees. There was also a real hive enclosed in glass so we could see all of the activity and bees in various stages of life. Fascinating.

And just so you are completely aware...the Africa side of the zoo will be opening a new exhibit on May 22nd....Lemur Island! Happy Wednesday xo ANG