Visit to Fort Worth Zoo
Bundled up in coats, scarves, and seldom-worn gloves, we spent several enjoyable hours at the acclaimed Fort Worth Zoo yesterday before driving home to Austin, following a post-Christmas trip to Dallas to visit my DH’s extended family.
Among the many birds we saw at the zoo, these colorful flamingos were my favorite. An entire flock stood comically on single skinny legs, heads tucked into their back feathers, eyes shut tight against the sparkling light and blue skies.
The result of too much late-night reveling?
Or maybe just a peaceful way to soak up the warming rays of the sun.
A taller and more orange variety of flamingo preened and strutted nearby, not at all interested in taking naps.
This little burrowing owl had fluffed his feathers against the cold as he stood on one leg by his burrow, soaking up the sun.
Likewise, a fox lay curled up in the sun next to his hole and tucked nose to tail for a winter’s nap.
Another look
Unbothered by the cold, a pair of Siberian tigers were active and alert. This one posed majestically.
You can see a little snow on the ground at his feet.
Next door a pair of orange tigers rather more reluctantly ventured outside. The female promptly lay down and let the male lick her head.
He also snarled at her a couple of times.
She was unfazed.
I snapped a lizard mural on the wall of a building and accidentally inverted the colors when I was rescaling the image size. I like it better this way, actually.
More zoo art appeared on a gorgeous gate decorated with Texas scenery: live oaks, road runners, opuntia, agaves, etc.
Steel cut-outs like this owl on a tree make up the body of the gate…
…while bas-relief tiles of native animals decorate the upper portion of the gate. It really was stunning.
The wonderful Texas Wild! exhibit features native fauna from the different regions of Texas. Educational signs give information about the geographical features of each region as well as some of the plants and animals that live there. This sign about the Texas Hill Country and the Edwards Plateau, which reaches east to Austin, says that we have the largest white-tailed deer population in the world. Egad! No wonder deer are camped out in my front yard and my neighbors’ every night.
A surprise 3 inches of snow had fallen in Dallas and Fort Worth on Christmas Eve, and patches of it still remained as late as yesterday, to my kids’ delight. Snowball throwing ensued.
The zoo’s many palms were burlapped against the freezing weather. But plenty of other plants, like this ornamental cabbage, don’t require such pampering to look good in winter.
Miscanthus grass puts on a big show in fall…
…but also looks great in winter if left standing like this beautiful specimen.
We had a great time at the zoo and even relished the cold weather. But I’m planning to work all day in my garden today, trimming trees and thinning shrubs, so I’m hoping for a slight warm-up. I haven’t seen the forecast yet, but I’m feeling hopeful.
All material © 2006-2009 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
Great shots of those birds. It is hard to improve on the colors of nature isn’t it. Glad your kids got a taste of snow and I am a little jealous that you will be outside working in the garden but then I have the summer days when it is too hot for you there.
Any gardener might envy our mild winters, Layanee. But you are right—payback comes in the summer. —Pam
Isn’t it great to get out of the ole routine and see some new sights occasionally?? Getting back to the garden sounds like such fun. It is too cold here to do much outside. With a layer of snow I am not much tempted to get out.
I love that big beautiful gate. It is truly a work of art. Your photos of the animals in the zoo are wonderful too. Have fun in your garden.
Thanks, Lisa. I plan to! —Pam
Looks like a fun time for all. Your pictures are wonderful, as always, showing the real beauty of those creatures. And snow! What a nice surprise for all of you.
As we drove into Dallas my son said, “What is that white stuff under the overpasses? Could it be….?” It was, to their astonishment. We scraped together a few snowballs at our first stop and all acted like kids. —Pam
When is the right time to cut back freeze- nipped plants? I always thought you waited until Feb. or March. I’m sure we’ll get more freezes here in Houston so I’m a little nervous to trim anything.
Hi, Chris. I generally wait to trim back roses, grasses, salvias, and other woody perennials until mid-February. Plants that blacken and turn to mush (purple heart, annual vines, etc.) are unsightly to my eyes, and I’ll cut those back right away. As for trees and shrubs, I like to shape those in winter. My rule of thumb is not to trim anything that’s marginally hardy in cold weather but to wait until spring. I think March is too late for Austin and Houston (spring is well under way by then), but Valentine’s Day is a good time. —Pam
A beautiful post Pam! The flamingos shots are stellar and I wanted to reach out and touch the fox! Have fun gardening and share with us, please. gail
Thanks, Gail. There are many little projects going on in the new garden right now. I’ll document (of course!) and post pics of some of them soon. I’m feeling a little scattered as there are so many things I want to get done and only so much daylight and free time. —Pam
What an interesting post with quite an assortment of lovely pics. The Siberian tiger does indeed look regal. The flamingos remind me of my first visit to the US, when I was 12, and our family went on vacation to Florida-Disney, Sea World, Parrot Jungle etc. That’s where I first saw flamingos, I think at Parrot Jungle or Bush Gardens. Of course that was a most memorable trip for my brother and I!
Also love the lizard mural, the gate, and the Miscanthus grass pics. Wishing you a Happy New Year.
Happy New Year to you too, Nicole! I’m glad you enjoyed the pics. When I was in Tanzania a few years ago, I saw flocks of wild flamingos on the lakes, which was amazing. But I got a more intimate look at the zoo. —Pam
Great photos, as usual.
Ft. Worth has a great zoo. DH and I both grew up in the ‘Metroplex’, and have been to that zoo many times.
The animals don’t all want to come out in the cold…or heat…though. We haven’t been there, since the white tigers came.
It figures, that the first white Christmas in 80 something years happens the year AFTER we move away!
Glad you had a good time.
By the way…I think at least half of that 1.5 million deer live in my neighborhood…haha
I know that feeling, Linda. Sorry you missed the white Xmas. 😉 —Pam
Lovely photos, Pam! I live in Fort Worth, and have had many trips to the zoo here, starting when I was just a kid. Since I just had my 57th birthday on the 26th, you can imagine how much the Fort Worth Zoo has changed over that time period, and all to the better. I remember seeing so many of the poor animals pacing back and forth in small cages when I was young, so it is a pleasure to see so many of their more natural habitats now. It is a wonderful place to visit! Yes, the 3 inches of snow that fell here on Christmas Eve surprised us quite a bit. So many of us were out in the very strong wind and snow flurries trying to finish Christmas errands that ended up hardly getting done. I barely got home that night, since the ice and snow on the roads froze that evening and made it an iffy proposition to drive. To wake up Christmas morning and see the sun shining on the snow was a wondrous sight for us Texans! I was so sad that my camera batteries chose just that time to go dead. I hope you enjoy working in your garden the next day or so, and that you have a very happy New Year! I so enjoy reading your blog and seeing the great photos that you take; thank you.
Thanks so much for your comment, Suzanne. It’s wonderful that you north Texans were able to enjoy a white Christmas for a change! We were happy just to see a little leftover snow while we were there. The zoo was great. Lucky you to have been able to visit—and watch it improve—over the years. —Pam
A little cool for yard work here….so I am at the computer…supposed to be working! Those photos are beautiful, it looks like you were right next to the animals! That gate is exceptional, quite a work of art!
Hi, Susie. Reading blogs is a great way to pass non-gardening days of winter. Consider it research and inspirational reading and don’t feel guilty! 😉 —Pam
You’ve captured those Flamingos beautifully. It is one of my regrets that I’ve never seen them “in real life” they are such an exotic creature. Thank you for the pictures!
Never say never, Loree. I know you love to travel. I saw wild flamingos in Tanzania, but a trip to Florida would be a lot easier, and they live there too. I bet there are some great gardens to see along the way. 😉 —Pam
Hello Pam,
Don’t you just love visiting the zoo? Not just to look at the animals, but to see the beautiful plant life as well? I do 🙂 You are not only great at taking photos of plants and landscapes, but your animal pictures are very, very good.
Thanks, Noelle. Yes, I love to check out the plantings at zoos, and the Fort Worth Zoo had nice landscaping. I always feel a little funny when I aim my camera at the plants instead of the animals, but both are worthy subjects, as we gardeners know! —Pam
Sounds like you all had a lot of fun. The girl loves your fox photos, and I really like the shot of the Siberian Tiger with the snow. Very cool.
My girl loved the fox too. But her faves were the celebrity sighting of teen idols Nick Jonas and Selena Gomez, who were strolling around the zoo too. Selena graciously allowed my daughter and her cousins to pose with her in a photo; Nick, however, declined. —Pam
What a wonderful day you had. I loved the miscanthus pic with the sun behind.
I hope you have a great new year that is healthful, happy & prosperous.
Thanks, Lola! And the same to you. —Pam
I love the expressions on the lady tiger’s face and the flamingo photos are fantastic. Thanks for taking us along.
It was my pleasure, Les. —Pam
Looks like the flamingos were trying to keep their beaks warm! Looks mighty cold out there……..
It was pretty chilly (in the low 40s) when the zoo opened at 10 am. But by early afternoon it was quite nice and more animals were outdoors. —Pam
Pam, methinks you got a new lens for your camera for Christmas! The detail in your long shots is stunning and so clear. You must either have the steadiest hand on the planet (unlike me) or you use a tripod? Beautiful photos; you’ve taken it to a new level. I grew up outside of Ft Worth also, and haven’t seen the Zoo since it has been redone into more natural scenes. Love it!
Santa was good to me, Robin, but not that good! Thanks for the kind words. But nope, I’m still using the same old PowerShot S3 IS. It’s a nice camera but nothing fancy, though it does have image stabilization (the IS). I should but don’t often use a tripod. My trick is, whenever possible, to steady my camera or my camera arm against a solid object. For the tigers—my longest shots shown here—I used the barrier wall to steady my camera. The other animals were shot at rather close range, in the case of the owl and fox through a plastic window. The flamingos stood almost close enough to touch with only a rail barrier between us. —Pam
Lovely shots as usual, Pam! How awesome that you all had a white Christmas! We just had rain, but we got about 4 inches on Sunday.
Happy New Year to you and your family!
We were in Austin for Xmas and didn’t get to Dallas until the 26th, so we missed the white Christmas. In fact, by the time we got there, most of the snow was gone. But patches remained, enough for several good snowball fights. We enjoyed it! Happy New Year to you too, Robin! —Pam
Very beautiful photographs. I love the tigers the best. they are so magnificent of creatures. Thanks for the trip to the zoo.
Tigers are magnificent animals indeed, although my favorites are the elephants, which didn’t come out the day we were there due to the cold. Thanks for visiting, Teresa. —Pam
Flamingos at the snowy zoo–now that’s a hard concept to wrap my brain around! The big cats are always my favorites. The Siberians probably weren’t too fazed by the cold weather. Thanks for the trip to the wilds.
The Siberian tigers seemed the happiest animals we saw that day. I think they loved the snow and cold weather. They must long for days like that during the hot summers. As do I! —Pam
What a wonderful outing for Christmas!
I could feel unexpected tears well up as I looked at your flamingo images. The color and light and feel, extraordinary. Thank you for posting them!
And thank you, Kathleen, for your always kind comments! I’m glad you enjoyed the pics. —Pam