I’m thankful for:
I spy something yellow and black. And no it’s not a yellow clip on a black sock. Look again. 🙂
March 3, 2014 in Photography, Singapore, Thankful
Tagged birds, laundry, thankful, thankfulness, yellow
The final day of Tam’s stay
was spent with the birds.
What a way to spend a day!
Her visit blessed us beyond words!
It would’ve been a great tragedy if we had been remiss in not making a point of bringing my ornithologist of a sister with us to the Jurong Bird Park. Besides, we were blessed to have free passes through Andrew’s work, so we hardly had a good excuse for not going. Instead we were full of good reasons to go!
The last picture of Aunt Tammy & Gideon together
I have to say though, as much as Tam enjoyed the bird park, I think she was as equally impressed with the orchids that graced the entrance to the bird park.
The flowers were pretty – but my sister is prettier
As we were walking between exhibits, my sister called a halt and pointed out a beautiful butterfly. I can’t remember the name of the butterfly. Something like, “hairy tale,” or “little hairy” – I know those are wrong, but maybe my sister can refresh my memory later.
Good eye Tam! (And knowledge too, to know what it was called … unlike me!)
I’m always impressed by the variety of birds God has created. From Scarlet Ibis:
The scarlet in their name is an apt description!
To large Emus:
This emu growled at me!
Did you know that Emus can growl? It’s true. At first I was like, “um… what did I just hear? And why is that bird making that noise at me?” But then we read a plaque that described how the large bird can make grunts that sound like a growl!
Andrew and I were eager to get to the Aviary, the largest in the world. (We remembered it being one of our favorite things from our last visit.)Â We weren’t disappointed!
Large enough to house a huge waterfall! (Look closely, there’s actually a black and red bird in mid flight next to the waterfall in the shot.)
Watch out for the birds! Well – it is a bird aviary after all 🙂
Okay, maybe we were slightly disappointed that we weren’t in the aviary closer to feeding time when more of the birds would’ve been out and about, but it was still enjoyable.
The picture doesn’t adequately represent the iridescence of the birds!
Although the birds were pretty, the waterfall was probably the most impressive thing in the aviary.
Couple Shot
Tam and the waterfall
I got the handsome guy to smile for the shot!
Gideon was asleep when we took the waterfall shots, so he had to be content with his picture being taken with the fountains later.
I think his mom was hoping he would be more impressed. Oh well!
I think we all secretly wished we could douse ourselves in the cool water of the fountain, because we were all SWEATY! Because we were so warm, and Tam wasn’t interested in seeing a lot of the birds she had seen multiple times in the past (birds like flamingos/etc) – we were able to make our visit shorter than we originally expected. This meant we were able to get some lunch in an air conditioned facility and then head home for a break.
After cooling off at home, Tam was ready to go out for a simpler outing of a bike ride with Andrew.
Riding her temporary bike!
In many ways the bike ride was a fitting way for Tam to spend her last afternoon with us. It demonstrates her love for the simple things in life, her athleticism, and her enjoyment of the outdoors. She was so easy to please, and I think really enjoyed her time with us. I know we really enjoyed our time with her.
What we didn’t enjoy was the fact that she had to leave the next morning.
Gideon’s sign and face tell all!
Well, it’s taken me a while, but I’m finally finished with posting regarding my adventures with my sister Tamarah. But, the Lord is good. Since these memories took place, I have found out wonderful news. Another sister of mine has bought tickets to visit us. So, Lord willing, I will have even more memories made with another sister this summer! And Gideon will get to meet another aunt and for the first time, some of his cousins! Doubly blessed.
I have a pet peeve that has nothing to do with “pets” but rather a “pest.” ( I wonder: does this make it a pest peeve?)
For whatever reason birds like to come into my home. They don’t come in like regular guest through our front door. Nor do they like to come in my living room. No, their preferred place of visiting is in my kitchen.
I do not like their visits. Their visits are intrusive, sometimes sneaky, and just downright rude!
Caught in the act of snooping!
They always come right into my kitchen and snoop around seeking out crumbs. If they can’t find any crumbs or food to nibble on they leave me the gift of poo. Actually, they leave their poop regardless of whether or not they found crumbs.
I don’t know why they come in. But I am banking on the fact that its because they like food. Now, I don’t always keep my kitchen spic-and-span… in fact, more often then I like to admit, there are dishes or other items sitting around in the kitchen waiting to be taken care of. However, I have evidence to support the fact that its not just my keeping of the kitchen that seems to make these birds self-entitled to intrude upon my space.
My evidence for their love of my kitchen sans food impetus is thus: right after I have done a deep clean of the kitchen and mopped the floors the birds still come in. I wouldn’t mind so much if they were friendly, but their pooping on my very clean floor is NOT friendly.
All this unwelcome bird activity has caused Andrew and I to start searching for an effective method of discouraging the birds from entering. Andrew proposed that we take old CD’s and hang them from our window.
It’s hard to tell if they actually deter the birds. It seems like they come in ever so slightly less. But then again, we’ve noticed them entering right next to the CDs. However, it also seems that they prefer the other window slightly more when there are CD’s around. Hmm…
There is one discovery though: CDs hanging in window + wind = Adrielle deterrent. The sound of CD’s flapping against the metal on the windows does not exactly sound like a pleasant wind chime. On the plus side, CD’s don’t poop.
If you close the window with CD's... CD's stop being annoying, birds don't
I spent a lot of time on the computer the other day searching for people who have found effective ways of discouraging these Javan Myna from entering my kitchen sanctuary. No luck.
Here are some of the ideas we have had, some with varying level of plausibility vs. drawbacks:
Plausibility: If the windows are closed all the way, they can’t come in.
Drawbacks: If the windows are closed all the way, the birds aren’t the only thing inhibited; the wind/air flow is also stopped. Also, if there is an open crack in the window, the birds will find a way in.
Potential: I suggested we put up a large owl. They scare off other birds in the US right?
Drawbacks: Two problems with that idea. 1) as Andrew pointed out, Singapore isn’t known for its owls. So, would these trespassers even be phased by a non-existent-to-them bird? 2) a friend shared this frustration, there is no obvious place in Singapore where such menacing bird statues are to be found. So, I don’t think we’ll try that idea.
Potential: While at the bookstore the other day we saw a water gun. Andrew suggested we pick one up… for bird control. We also could put up a warning signs for the birds that says, “Warning, kitchen invaders will be shot.” The idea had some merit, but it also had:
Drawbacks: $15 for one water gun. Really? I mean, we don’t even know if it will be an effective measure. Also, sure water beats poop, but who wants water all over their kitchen every time a bird decides he’d like to come in? Not me.
Potential: Andrew also had an idea that combines his field of expertise and a slight geek factor is to build an ultrasonic gun. The upside: wickedly outside the box. No water would be used, no windows would be closed, and it might be fun. (Please don’t call me morbid for thinking shooting invader birds with invisible and inaudible sound waves is a great idea.) And who knows – maybe it’d work.
Drawbacks: I don’t know how feasible this idea is. Maybe it wouldn’t work. … but I sure would like to stick around to find out.
The verdict is still out on whether or not the CD’s are effective. It’s been a few days so far. It hasn’t stopped them, but it is possible that it has partially decreased their likelihood of entering. But we’re still desperate for more ideas. We’d really like to hear if anybody has ideas that are worth trying. Help!
During our visit with Jehiah & Selam we had bought combo tickets to the Night Safari & Bird Park. This saved us $$$… but it didn’t necessarily save us time. We had a month to use the tickets to the Bird Park.
Yesterday (Saturday) was planned for our visit to the Bird Park. We woke up to stormy weather. It cleared by late morning only to rain again shortly after noon. No good. Bird Park day postponed.
Today: “dry-er” weather + only a few days left to use our tickets = mission to visit the Bird Park. Yay!
Jurong Bird Park
Even though we were at a park that focused on birds, that didn’t mean that we would pass up an opportunity to get Andrew’s picture taken with the cows!
Mom/Dad - this one's for you. See if you come visit us, we'll take you to see cows! 🙂
So that Andrew didn’t feel alone in posing with statues, I took my picture next to the flamingo.
Alivia - This picture is for you! 🙂
Now – enough of the statues. On to the real birds!
Real Flamingos
Did you know if you feed flamingos green veggies they will turn white? I didn’t either. I don’t know if that’s what happened to this group, but they were definitely whiter than the rest of them.
Flamingos at Flamingo Lake
Had I not read plaques I would have guessed these birds were simply mini flamingos. But nope!
Scarlet Ibis
Parrots
Picture of a lime green bird for my mom 🙂
While some of the birds were in cages – a vast majority of them were allowed to roam. One example of this was the HUMONGOUS African Waterfall Aviary.
The Waterfall in the exhibit
It was incredible that this massive waterfall could be contained in an aviary. It gives you a small idea of how large it was!
African Waterfall Aviary
More birds in the African Waterfall Aviary
Here there were colorful birds literally everywhere. As people were allowed to feed the birds in this exhibit, the colorful creatures were not shy in the least but rather came very close and would even approach you.
Lory Loft
The Cassowary
This unusual flightless bird we were told is one of the most dangerous of all birds!
The ostrich
This bird was described by the park guide with a lot of superlatives: largest, heaviest, fastest-running, biggest-eggs, and biggest eyeballs… all for one bird. Who knew!?
Such beautiful crowns!
We both agreed that the trip would have been more enjoyable had we been able to share it with Andrew’s mom or my sister, Tam… but that beings said it was a wonderful visit to the Jurong Bird Park.
"Loving" the bird park
Of course our day wouldn’t be complete without a detour for some cheap ice cream. This time we stopped at Wendy’s (there isn’t a Wendy’s close to us, so this was a treat) and had a chocolate frosty mini cone!
Frosty in a cone - a wonderful invention!
Only for 70 cents too! The perfect solution to being hot and sweaty, having tired feet, and possessing a few hunger pangs. Mmm….!
Posted in Photography, Singapore
Tagged Animals, birds, Jurong Bird Park, sight seeing, Singapore
Randles like Candles 