A day at the Bronx Zoo

As a young boy, I've always loved animals. In fact, at different points in my life, I've had dogs, cats, frogs, fish, turtles, rabbits, hamsters, birds, insects (yes, I had insects as "pets"), and I always wanted a monkey, though I've never had a real one. I do however, have a stuffed one that my baby gave me to fill that monkey void! LOL! But I know we'll get a real one some day (right bo???!! ;-)

One of the fondest memories from my childhood summers is when my dad came home from the supermarket with a bag full of crabs. He empited them out and grabbed one of the snapping blue crabs and chased me around the house with it. Imagine, the fright of a young child being chased around by something with claws! Later, we did enjoy a delicious Haitian crab dinner, but we also kept the agitated crab I was chased by as a pet for a while. So you see, I loved animals and critters of all kinds. I named the crab "clapper". Don't ask me why.

Anyway, the Bronx Zoo has always been one of my favorite places to go as a child, not to mention that my dad was a Nature/Animal Show Junkie! Needless to say, the affinity has rubbed off, and my baby luvs 'em too! Recently, I felt an overwhelming need to connect with my childhood in someway. And I wanted to share the experience with my partner. And since we both love animals, the Bronz Zoo seemed like the coolest place to connect with the energy of the animals, and with each other, to relive chilhood memories, and create new one's.

It was the perfect Saturday afternoon, with sunny indigo skys and cottony white clouds, and way too many baby strollers! Still, it was nice to relive the wonderment and free-spiritedness of boyhood, to actually see light and beauty around me, and to recognize it as such, and for never taking my life nor my gifts for granted. It was a great day spent with the animals at the zoo, simple but profound, and it was nice to share it openly with my baby. He's not ready for his debut on brothaluvacafe, but he's all up in these pictures!

Enough gushing! Enjoy the pics! :-)

Monkeys at play.









Posing Seal.



Tiger amongst the foliage.



Flamingos.


Flamingo kiss.


Giraffes.


Black Leaopard


Marsupial.


Poem, Tree and self.