Christmas: What a blur...

We celebrated Christmas at our house this year. What a day! Busy, busy, busy!!! We we're so exhausted by the end but it was worth it. Joined by our families, we all had a great day.

All decked out

In the morning we frantically ran around getting the jobs done and putting the finishing touches on all the decorations. Miss M opened a few presents with us and was more impressed with the paper than anything else. We all dressed in our finest and awaited the arrival of our guests.

 Family arrived and with them came wonderful food, gifts and merriment. We all managed to sit down together and eat. And then came the gift giving.

Santa made an appearance and one little boy was beside himself with excitement. Everyone did well with the presents. The kids especially. 

It ended up being a great day. My organization and months of preparation payed off perfectly. Couldn't have asked for better. Now I just hope Miss M's 1st birthday goes as well!

Zoo News...

Another update from the Zoo. Maimunah had her baby girl on Monday 6th December, just before midnight. Both mother & the as yet unnamed baby girl are doing very well. Mai's mothering instincts kicked in and she had the new edition suckling with-in moments of the little bub being born. 

Mai is a very protective mother, spending most of her days since the birth in the nest she made in the night den covered with a sheet. Few have seen the little girl. But I did get a brief glimpse of her on Friday afternoon.  She's a tiny little bundle of red fluff, and Mai isn't really letting the public see her precious girl just yet so I feel very privileged to have caught a rare peek.

Mai about a week before she gave birth

Mai looking rather tired

Mai's first born, Menyaru. He's now 7 years old.

Mai on Friday 10th December.

         The briefest of glimpses of the baby. You can just make out a tiny leg in the middle right of the picture.

 

 

 

 

Other Zoo news: I spied some new ducklings roaming around the grounds. Not only do the exotic animals call the zoo home but a host of wild native birds do too. They use the protective confines of the zoo to breed and raise their young with out the threat of predators. And they do so very successfully. 

More new babies

It seems to be the time to be born at the zoo! Another new edition arrived on 6th of November. A new baby Black-Capped Capuchin Monkey. It's mum Possum's second baby. Keepers still haven't been able to get close enough to mum & bub to tell what sex the baby is. So until they know a name hasn't been chosen.

New baby Capuchin

I can guarantee more news from the Zoo in the coming weeks as I wish to check on the progress of all the new babies regularly. Hopefully I can capture some better images too. Especially of the new Orang-utan. So until then...  

It's been a bit odd lately...

Melbourne has experienced its second week in a row of extreme weather. It's been so tropical here that you would be forgiven for thinking you were actually up north. From torrential rain and flash flooding to violent storms and strong winds. Crazy!

But for those of us who relish these kinds of conditions it's been great. Storm chasers rejoice. The chasing season is upon us. Thursday offered a doozy of a storm, with massive thunder and lightning! Awesome!

Unfortunately I didn't catch any of the lightning this time but be sure to watch out for some pictures in the future. Enjoy these images instead!

Cloudy sunset

The storm rolls in

The sky darkens

Clouds bubble under after the storm

Sun shines through the rain

The park in the light & shadow after the rain

Rainbow