Showing posts with label zoo. Show all posts
I've started seeing this every day as I wait at my usual bus stop. And it makes me grit my teeth, every day. Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed with the effort and showmanship of Zoo Lights. It's just that I refuse to accept November 1st as the beginning of Christmas season.
Go ahead, call me Scrooge or Grinch; you wouldn't be the first. While you're at it, though, tell Starbucks to put away their festive red coffee cups. Inform Lowe's that ornaments and twinkle lights are not yet in season, so they can hold the TV ads. And put the brakes on stacking tree stands and stockings next to the clearance-priced Halloween candy.
What's so wrong with taking twenty two days to appreciate and look forward to Thanksgiving? It has everything worth anticipating: food, football, family. Must we skip right past the day of giving thanks?
Once we hit Black Friday, do what you will with your tidings and cheer. Paint the town red. Throw up your bells and holly and lights. Direct masses of consumers to swoop through your doors and spend, spend, spend. I can't even argue with holiday music by that time (though I can still begrudge any holiday song that is not by *NSYNC or Mariah Carey).
For the record, it's not just the early mania for Christmas that gets under my skin; Halloween does not start the first week of September, nor does Valentine's Day need to begin before we've even stopped to revere MLK Jr. Christmas just seems to arrive early AND with heightened fanfare over these other days. Mostly I just love Thanksgiving, and I wish our society wouldn't throw it under the bus in an effort to fast forward to the next holiday.
what ever happened to thanksgiving? \11.03\
Full View
Labels:
holiday,
neighborhood,
zoo
Go ahead, call me Scrooge or Grinch; you wouldn't be the first. While you're at it, though, tell Starbucks to put away their festive red coffee cups. Inform Lowe's that ornaments and twinkle lights are not yet in season, so they can hold the TV ads. And put the brakes on stacking tree stands and stockings next to the clearance-priced Halloween candy.
What's so wrong with taking twenty two days to appreciate and look forward to Thanksgiving? It has everything worth anticipating: food, football, family. Must we skip right past the day of giving thanks?
Once we hit Black Friday, do what you will with your tidings and cheer. Paint the town red. Throw up your bells and holly and lights. Direct masses of consumers to swoop through your doors and spend, spend, spend. I can't even argue with holiday music by that time (though I can still begrudge any holiday song that is not by *NSYNC or Mariah Carey).
For the record, it's not just the early mania for Christmas that gets under my skin; Halloween does not start the first week of September, nor does Valentine's Day need to begin before we've even stopped to revere MLK Jr. Christmas just seems to arrive early AND with heightened fanfare over these other days. Mostly I just love Thanksgiving, and I wish our society wouldn't throw it under the bus in an effort to fast forward to the next holiday.
I've mentioned it before, but I hold tight as long as I can before turning on my air conditioning. At the present moment, it's 93 degrees and I haven't caved. Somehow I've managed to make it feel like a challenge, like I don't want to lose to my body's biological need to cool down. Ultimately, I know I'll give in when the afternoon sunlight starts pouring in my west-facing windows, ratcheting the discomfort level up to unbearable.
As much as I prefer fresh air to conditioned air, it sometimes amazes me that I grew up in a house devoid of the option to synthetically decrease the temperature. We subsisted on keeping the shades closed, fans of various types (ceiling, oscillating, attic), and the sprinkler in the backyard. That was the glory of being a kid and living in suburbia. During those summer days, there was no reason I couldn't live in my bathing suit and frolic in the icy hose water at any time I pleased. I have this inclination that it would go over a little differently if I brought that trend back to life outside of my urban dwelling...at the age of 28.
painting in pink \06.18\
Full View
Labels:
animals,
zoo
As much as I prefer fresh air to conditioned air, it sometimes amazes me that I grew up in a house devoid of the option to synthetically decrease the temperature. We subsisted on keeping the shades closed, fans of various types (ceiling, oscillating, attic), and the sprinkler in the backyard. That was the glory of being a kid and living in suburbia. During those summer days, there was no reason I couldn't live in my bathing suit and frolic in the icy hose water at any time I pleased. I have this inclination that it would go over a little differently if I brought that trend back to life outside of my urban dwelling...at the age of 28.
An addendum to yesterday's post: I found a second use for my homemade chocolate syrup. Coffee. I haven't been to Starbucks in over a month, thanks to my new AeroPress coffee habit. Now, there's no need to long for my $3.50 mocha. I am suitably pleased with my Trader Joe's Costa Rican Tarrazu and homemade chocolate syrup. I haven't done any test drives on iced coffee at home yet; we'll have to wait and see on that front.
I got a little stir crazy late this afternoon, but didn't feel like wandering too far from home. That's when the zoo and it's lack of an admission fee come in handy. The display of actual animals was rather meager, thanks to temperatures barely tipping 50 degrees, but I still found plenty of interesting focal points. This photo is an attempt to marry the subjects of animals and inanimate objects. The camel chewing on the fence was a really close contender for the coveted April 23rd slot though.
watering hole \04.23\
Full View
Labels:
animals,
urban outdoors,
zoo
I got a little stir crazy late this afternoon, but didn't feel like wandering too far from home. That's when the zoo and it's lack of an admission fee come in handy. The display of actual animals was rather meager, thanks to temperatures barely tipping 50 degrees, but I still found plenty of interesting focal points. This photo is an attempt to marry the subjects of animals and inanimate objects. The camel chewing on the fence was a really close contender for the coveted April 23rd slot though.