All these damn pictures

I appreciate that you guys are getting something out of seeing my millions of vacation pictures. I felt a bit guilty about it all, but realized that I was posting them for myself for the future as much as for me and my brother and father to enjoy now. Still a completely selfish motivation, but one I'm comfortable with, as it has become very handy to be able to make this blog into a photo album. Hopefully you will continue to be entertained by the pictures, since I've only posted up to the middle of the seventh day in a two week trip. The second week was mostly lectures, so there won't be as many pics anyway (but there will be some!)

And now, back to editing and posting pictures!

A Liddell detour

A glance at a guidebook showed that the nearby coastal village of Llandudno had some kind of Alice in Wonderland connection. I'll let this squirrel explain:



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Urban wildlife encounter

We stopped off at a rest area on our way to drop Andy off at Heathrow. There was an outdoor seating area with a little pond and some ducks. This moorhen was picking up scraps from under the tables.

National Zoo Keeper Week

Tomorrow is the last day of National Zoo Keeper Week. I'll spend my lunch hour sitting at a table surrounded by AAZK information, in front of a sign that says "Ask The Zoo Keeper A Question" with an arrow pointed at me. I'm going to make a sign that says this:

3 steps to becoming a zoo keeper
1. Care about animals A LOT! This part is easy. It’s why we become zoo keepers in the first place.
2. Go to school! Almost all zoo keepers have a college degree, usually in biology, zoology, or wildlife science.
3. Volunteer! Prove that you are willing to get dirty and do the hard work it takes. If you are too young to volunteer, go to zoo camp or become a ZooTeen.

Probably every profession has a National Week. I think it's worthwhile to celebrate zookeepers, because for most people, we are the only conservationist they will ever meet. We care about animals and the environment enough to devote our lives to it. We willingly give up the possibility of great wealth to provide the best possible care for captive animals, in the hope that they will inspire children and adults to care about them as much as we do.

Windsor

We went to Windsor twice. We saw the castle, heavily armed castle guards, huge crowds of tourists, the crooked house, and a brass band parade. I didn't really like any of my pictures except this one: two teenage buskers, awkwardly picking at Beatles songs.

Poole to Jersey: vacation's over!

Dad and I dropped off Andy at Heathrow, took the train to Poole, then spent the night there. In the morning we saw a little bit of the seaport, then took the ferry to Jersey.
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Urban Nature Pictures 7/12

Indoor spider, Durrell International Training Centre.