One of the main reasons I looked at the house that I now own was, as the saying goes, location, location, location. It’s very close to one of the largest parks in the city, the park where the zoo is. I love both the zoo and the park, and love being able to visit either or both after a five-to-ten-minute walk. (It’s also really nice to be one long walk through a lovely park and then a pretty, low-traffic neighborhood from a Starbucks. Love coffee. Love.)
My last home was also next to a park, and just like then, now that I’m getting out and being more active, the park is a big draw.
If you’re thinking I’m about to throw a bunch of phone-camera pics at you, give yourself a prize.
NOTE —->>> Do not pet the palo verde tree, or at least be very careful. (you don’t pet trees? Oh, I guess that’s…maybe just a me thing?)
I love our zoo. When I can, I maintain a membership to support it. It is a nice little zoo, easily browsed in a couple hours, and they work hard and do well at taking care of the animals and presenting lots of education on conservation. And currently, baby meerkats! What’s not to love?
They’ve been trying to expand the zoo for a while now, to renovate and give more of the animals a better habitat. A few years back, they put it on the ballot, and people voted for it! I was very happy. People around here don’t even want to fix the roads most of the time. Only then it came out that the expansion, instead of going in one of the two directions where there’s nothing but some struggling grass (or across the road into the golf course which to non-golfers is a huge waste of about half our park…) the expansion plan was to take out Barnum Hill.
This is the stream from the little duck pond, part of what would have been taken out.
And the stream that supplies this waterfall.
And a bunch of very large, wonderful, mature trees. (that I don’t have a picture of, but I have petted all of them.)
(Really? Y’all don’t pet trees?)
Fortunately, a lot of people yelled very loud. Barnum Hill is saved! The zoo will expand in another direction, and the little duck pond will remain. Which is wonderful, because I like to cross every bridge of the tiny stream that flows down the hill and into the pond, even when the herons wish I wouldn’t.
Now if you’ll excuse me, it is time for another park ramble. Take care of yourselves, friends.