The Smithsonian Zoo

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The weather here in New York was spectacular this weekend. It was one of the most productive weekends Douglas, Menderes and I have had in a long time. It was wonderful to have all of the windows open and work outside in the garden.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Things are coming along in the bathroom, but unfortunately we were not able to finish. I will update you on our progress later on in the week when I am able to get some pictures.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

For now, I will show you some pictures from our visit to the Smithsonian Zoo in Washington, D.C. If you have followed this blog for a while you know that I love the zoo. In the past twelve months, we have been to the Shanghai Zoo in China and the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. When Menderes and Douglas told me that they did not care what we went to see in D.C. I immediately decided that we would go visit the animals.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

While we were there I took over 500 pictures of the animals. I tried to narrow them down to one picture per animal, but as you can see I was not successful. There were just too many good shots of some of them. I did manage to whittle the number down to under 150.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

I mean how could I possibly only put one picture of this crazy pair. They are adorable!

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Or this couple? They are almost as cute.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

The parrots were quite entertaining. They climbed all over their enclosure while we were there, entertaining us with all of their tricks. One thing that I really like about the Smithsonian Zoo is that a lot of the exhibits are open on the inside so you are in there with the animals.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Some of the animals were not part of the exhibits at all. This hawk and deer were wandering around the zoo as free as could be.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

For some reason, I have more pictures of birds than of mammals or reptiles. There do not seem to be any pictures of amphibians, although I know that we saw some. I am not sure why that is. I guess the birds were more photogenic that day.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Douglas was particularly fascinated by this guy. The sign says that he is Australia’s disappearing Big Bird.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

 

More birds!

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.And more birds! I really could not seem to stop taking pictures of fowl.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

This guy looked like he was sleeping, but he was definitely keeping an eye on me in case I came too close for his comfort. I guess I was ok, because he never did move.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

This was one that I watched for a while. He was quite entertaining.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

 

On to the panda bears. They were very active while we were there. Mama panda, Mei Xiang, was strolling leisurely through her enclosure for hours before deciding to go inside and eat.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.This is the youngest member of the panda family, Bao Bao. She is a year and a half old. Last time I was at this zoo, her brother was about this age, but he has since gone to another zoo.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

At the elephant exhibit, Menderes tested his strength against that of the pachyderms. Guess who won.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Here are the bald eagles. Douglas still has not seen one in the wild, but he was able to get close here.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

The white wolf was one of the highlights of our visit. He is spectacular.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

He impressed us with some downward facing dog and entertained us for a while. Doesn’t it look like he is smiling in the last picture?

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

The Andean bear is a native of Venezuela, but I never saw one while I was living there. Here is a picture of a sleeping one. Later on that day we saw him running around, but he went into the cave before I could get a picture.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

The next stop was the aquarium.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Down below, there is obviously glass separating you from the aquatic animals, but the second floor of this simulated rain forest is open so that you can interact with the animals.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Douglas refused to take the camera from me, so there are lots of pictures of him and none of me.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.The spoonbills were nearly as entertaining as Douglas.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

We really enjoyed that exhibit, spending nearly an hour there.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Still more picture from the rain forest…

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Then on to the farm…

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

The porcupine was highly amusing. He was strolling around for a while.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Finally he decided that it was time for a nap with his girlfriend. How exactly do porcupines snuggle?

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

There are no meerkats at the National Zoo, but prairie dogs are the next best thing. Unfortunately, that day they were not very active. In fact, I did not think that we were going to see any until this little guy poked his head out.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

I never expected to see a dinosaur, but the National Zoo has one of those too.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.The tigers were roaming while we were there as well. This one walked around for a bit before stopping for a drink.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

In a nearby enclosure his buddy was extremely restless. He was pacing and crying the entire time.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

This couple was as relaxed as could be. It did not bother them that the other tiger was making quite the ruckus so close to them. They were enjoying the sun after a long winter.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

After a while one of them got up to have a bit of a stroll.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Nearby the lion pride was sunning themselves as well.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Next we visited the reptiles.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

And then on to the monkeys…

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.The orangutans found us nearly as fascinating as we found them.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C. At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

 

More monkey like animals…

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

And more small mammals to finish our trip to the zoo…

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Wait, that was not quite the end. One more bird before we go… the owl is just to handsome to leave out.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Of course, Menderes’ favorite part of the day had nothing to do with the zoo. He liked the BBQ place that we found just down the road. We highly recommend Fat Pete’s if you are in the area.

Fat Pete's BBQ Fat Pete's BBQ Fat Pete's BBQ Fat Pete's BBQ

I hope you enjoyed the animals. Check back later this week for more on the house. I wish I could do this on the roof.

At the Smithsonian Zoo, Washington, D.C.

Happy Homemaking!

 

 

 

 

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About

I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com

8 Comments on “The Smithsonian Zoo”

  1. I’m with Douglas — I hate taking photos on vacation because I don’t know what I’ve seen until I get home and look at the pictures. You all look like you had an up-close-and-personal day, especially with the birds. So fun. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music

    Reply

    • I understand that sentiment. Part of the challenge for me is getting that one amazing shot. Perhaps I inherited it from my maternal grandfather the photographer.

      Reply

  2. I love all your pictures!!! I will have to go to that zoo next time I visit my brother [he lives in Arlington, VA]. I think Douglas could have at least taken ONE picture of you!

    Reply

  3. My favorite shot is the tiger relaxing on his back! Next time I’m in DC I’ll have to try to get to the zoo … it’s been a long time since I toured one. Want to see bald eagles? We have lots! We often see them while we golf next to a river. So special.

    Reply

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