Biodome

I actually brought my camera with me, and ran out of battery two photos into the Biodome. (The charger, of course, is in New York, but even if it had been in Montreal it wouldn't have been in my pocket.) So, I did what I always do, which is just look at the animals.

Fairly early on, I wondered aloud where everyone was, given that it was Sunday afternoon, and papersky suggested that they were off shopping somewhere. For whatever reason, there were fewer humans than usual, and the animals were quite active.

Best, I think, was watching one of the beavers gnaw through a small tree trunk, drag a chunk of it off, dive (presumably to add it to the lodge), and then return to do the same with some smaller branches and then another larger piece of trunk. We all knew beavers did this, but we didn't realize how efficient they were.

The lynxes (or lynges, which would be the valid Classical plural, I believe, as well as amusing us) were amazingly active, leaping and chasing each other and one biting the other on the nape of the neck, and coming down to the area right next to the glass, as well as up on the higher rocks. I suspect they may be thinking in terms of baby lynges. I hope so.

When we walked past the otters, Papersky told them it was 8:15, and one of them stirred a moment later. rysmiel said this was unkind of her, but the otter didn't seem unhappy to be up and about. Far from it: stretches and such, and then sliding down the flume and going for a swim in its pool.

The fish and the golden lion tamarins were good, as usual; ditto ibises and spoonbills. We saw no tree frogs, and the anaconda appears to have had the day, or at least the afternoon, off for a spa visit after shedding.

After the Biodome, Papersky and I each concluded that we had no energy for even a brief stop in a bookstore, so the three of us went directly to Cha Noir. (rysmiel apparently would have found the soothing air of bookshop less so without company, or at least can have it solo later in the week, so declined the suggestion of stopping at Chapters and then joining us.) We drank tea, played Scrabble, and talked. I observed that if I bought two teapots in one weekend, cattitude would accuse me, justly, of starting a collection. There were none I really wanted, so it was easy enough to resist. Z and his girlfriend showed up later than they'd agreed, but they did arrive, and we all had a nice dinner at the Peruvian place, which tried to feed me too much. I cunningly resisted, by giving away the dessert that came with my dinner.

It snowed some during the afternoon, but not a lot; today apparently we get rain for my trip home.

Biodome

I actually brought my camera with me, and ran out of battery two photos into the Biodome. (The charger, of course, is in New York, but even if it had been in Montreal it wouldn't have been in my pocket.) So, I did what I always do, which is just look at the animals.

Fairly early on, I wondered aloud where everyone was, given that it was Sunday afternoon, and papersky suggested that they were off shopping somewhere. For whatever reason, there were fewer humans than usual, and the animals were quite active.

Best, I think, was watching one of the beavers gnaw through a small tree trunk, drag a chunk of it off, dive (presumably to add it to the lodge), and then return to do the same with some smaller branches and then another larger piece of trunk. We all knew beavers did this, but we didn't realize how efficient they were.

The lynxes (or lynges, which would be the valid Classical plural, I believe, as well as amusing us) were amazingly active, leaping and chasing each other and one biting the other on the nape of the neck, and coming down to the area right next to the glass, as well as up on the higher rocks. I suspect they may be thinking in terms of baby lynges. I hope so.

When we walked past the otters, Papersky told them it was 8:15, and one of them stirred a moment later. rysmiel said this was unkind of her, but the otter didn't seem unhappy to be up and about. Far from it: stretches and such, and then sliding down the flume and going for a swim in its pool.

The fish and the golden lion tamarins were good, as usual; ditto ibises and spoonbills. We saw no tree frogs, and the anaconda appears to have had the day, or at least the afternoon, off for a spa visit after shedding.

After the Biodome, Papersky and I each concluded that we had no energy for even a brief stop in a bookstore, so the three of us went directly to Cha Noir. (rysmiel apparently would have found the soothing air of bookshop less so without company, or at least can have it solo later in the week, so declined the suggestion of stopping at Chapters and then joining us.) We drank tea, played Scrabble, and talked. I observed that if I bought two teapots in one weekend, cattitude would accuse me, justly, of starting a collection. There were none I really wanted, so it was easy enough to resist. Z and his girlfriend showed up later than they'd agreed, but they did arrive, and we all had a nice dinner at the Peruvian place, which tried to feed me too much. I cunningly resisted, by giving away the dessert that came with my dinner.

It snowed some during the afternoon, but not a lot; today apparently we get rain for my trip home.