September 19, 2007

• Dolce reminded me of something today.  Every year as Autumn comes whipping around the corner the vineyards turn into a riot of colors, for three years I’ve been trying to get photos and for three years I forget my camera at home when we leave the house. This year we have moved right into the heart of the Rhine wine growing region so all I have to do is hop on my bicycle and peddle to the vineyards. This year when they start turning I’ll be ready!   (I hope these don’t turn into famous last words)

  We had a really nice visit with Allie and Brian.  I think Bear and Brian got along really well for a first time meeting. They didn’t have the chance for any long father/future son-in-law talks but he fits in very well with our family.   We make each other laugh and that is always a good thing.  Bear has a very dry sense of humor that some people don’t get but Brian does, this is a good thing.  I think that the nervousness that Brian was feeling at meeting his future father-in-law went away pretty quickly when he saw that I wasn’t kidding about Bear being more of the teddy than the grizzly variety of bear.  Though in all honesty when the grizzly does make an appearance we all duck and cover. 

  We went to the zoo in Frankfurt the day before they left. The weather was gorgeous and way to pretty to be inside. Of course it was packed for that very reason. We all feel fall weather coming and everyone here knows that winter is coming on fast, so we have very few nice days left to enjoy. 

  

   

  Fun stuff I’m telling you.  They are building a huge new monkey house, though I think the technical name is probably Primate House. In my family we pretty much lump them all together and say ‘Let’s go see the Monkeys.”  Building a new house is a good idea since there are babies everywhere. They have baby Orangs, Bonobos, baboons and chimps and those are just the ones I saw.

  This is one of the baby baboons, though he/she isn’t the smallest.   That one was WAY in the back and I couldn’t get a clear picture.

  The teenage bonobo was the most entertaining last time Bear and I went to the zoo. He was having a fit because the newest baby was getting bottled fed and he was clearly having some jealousy/rivalry issues.   This time it was the teenage Orangutan.  We think he was having a snit too. He came out of the indoor house to the outside part of the cage, went as close as he could get to the bars squatted down, stuck his bottom lip out as far as it would go, hunched his shoulders and pouted. I swear he was pouting.  He also began begging….for French Fries. Which to my horror some kids obligingly tossed to him.  Good job kids, see the “Please don’t feed the animals” sign?  The nutritionist is probably having fits over his eating habits.

   

  Interesting sidenote, the spell checker had an alternative suggestions to Bonobo.  They were Beanba, bunyip and pinup.  Hmm? No thanks.

  Happy hump day peeps. I’m off to ride the lovely Lolly B in lieu of mopping the floors.

  • 1:23 pm
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