Howls and Meowls

We headed to ZooAmerica in Hershey, PA for it's annual free community day this weekend.

This zoo only has animals that you would find in North American. It's the first time I have been here with my new camera (Canon Rebel T3i) and I was excited to get some good shots.

 I didn't think they would turn out this good!

Beautiful gray wolves looked perfect against the freshly fallen snow.

I shot this through a fence, still can't believe it. Looks like he's coming right for me!

Next is a bobcat. 

There were three of them napping and enjoying the winter weather their warm coats were made for.

This Canadian lynx was looking all around his enclosure for something. Maybe mice?

Look forward to the next post for some beautiful raptors!

6 Raptors and 1 Skunk...

Last weekend we ventured out into the cold for Community Day (free) at Zoo America in Hershey, PA. It was one of the best experiences we've had there. They had a lot of animals out on display, especially the raptors which are my favorite there.

Here's an Eastern Screech Owl keeping an eye on me!


Red Tail Hawk has his feathers puffed up to keep him warm.


Wish I could have gotten a better pic of the Snowy Owl.


This little owl came in with an injured eye. Now she can't be released back into the wild.


Love the barn owls!


Isn't this Cooper's Hawk a beauty? I was so lucky to get that close!


At the zoo they're teaching their skunk to "paint" with target training. You can buy her "art" in the gift shop. This was Zoe's favorite part.

Hunkering down for a big winter storm today. One good thing about it is that I will have lots of time to paint and create! My Franny the Snow Witch has been marked down, if you're interested scroll down a few posts and read her story.

Hershey Park Happy

I took the day off today to go to Hershey Park. My husband isn't much for roller coasters but I was able to get him to ride the newest one, Fahrenheit. After a 30 minute wait, which isn't too bad for a new ride, I was not disappointed. I think it was the most thrilling coaster I had ever been on. It has a 97 degree drop which I read is currently the steepest in the US. This was followed by a series of rolls and inverted loops all of which you travel at 58 miles per hour (felt like 200 to me).

The best part of the day however, was taking our daughter around and seeing her enjoy all the kiddie rides. The carousel is my favorite and for the first time she was big enough for us to ride side by side without me holding onto her.

Here is a picture I took that I really like. We were up really high on a ferris wheel, above the new water park and a wooden coaster. Storm clouds threatening in the sky. You can see the twin smoke towers that read "Hershey" at the factory in the distance.