All Things Grand Rapids: April 2018

Thursday, April 26, 2018

John Ball Zoo ~ 4/26/18, and a 5/3/18 update!

5/3/18: What a difference a week can make! The first surprise was that this,

is now this.

Construction and landscaping work continues but the new path was opened all the way to the tigers (and Wyatt).

The African Savannah animals were back in their habitat; Warthogs, Hornbill, Mountain Bongo, and Egyptian Goose.

The waterfall was running again and the wallabies returned from their Oklahoma winter home.

Cheers to a new season at John Ball Zoo!

4/26/18: The zoo recently re-opened for the season and today was my first visit of 2018. It was crowded with young mothers and baby carriages but I persisted nonetheless.

After the white pelican, I next found the rule-breaking duck.

Other interesting birds were observed (Crested Screamers & Flamingos),

along with a few poisonous frogs.

An otter was active as was this flying fish :-)

And I found my first blooming magnolia.

The male African lion spotted me but was totally bored by the encounter.

Wyatt, the red panda, was taking it easy but did give us all a glance. His exhibit was crowded and you can see why.

Construction is still going on in the back portion of the zoo so some animals are not currently on exhibit.

I've pulled a few of my favorite photos from last fall to also include here. Some of the animals are not around today but others are still on view.

A Surprising Day at Meijer Gardens ~ I saw Hillary! 4/11/18

Spring break was safely over, and it was sunny and 50 degrees so it seemed like the perfect day to walk at Meijer Gardens. It soon became apparent that something was up at the gardens, however. Parking was outrageously crowded and I ended up near East Beltline. On my way in, I checked out the amphitheater construction.

After my 15 minute walk through the parking lots, I asked the person at the ticket counter what was going on. He informed me that there was a luncheon going on and Hillary Clinton was there. He thought they'd finish around 1:30.

So I had an hour to walk before circling back to the lobby. And the gardens are starting to show a few signs of spring. The Hellebores were outstanding.

A few crocus could also be seen.

The Japanese Garden is still a bit drab, and the 4 Open Squares sculpture seems to have lost a square.

I returned to the lobby around 1:15 and had to loiter there about 20 minutes, along with Secret Service and Meijer Gardens volunteers and employees.

And some interesting people came by.

Oh, red hat ladies. You, and the entire Red Hat Society, have completely missed the point of the poem that inspired you. But I digress.

And this sweatshirt horrified me just a little. But finally the moment had arrived. Secret Service were buzzing around. Personal assistants were handing back purses to Lynda Robb and Susan Ford, who came walking out with Hillary. Lynda Robb was out first, muttering to someone how without a name tag no one knew who she was. Fair enough.