Gaboon Viper in Philadelphia Zoo

This picture show the head of a West African Gaboon Viper. We took this picture when we visited the Philadelphia Zoo on 22nd March 2008. This viper head was so big that we did not need to use our Nikon Micro lens on the camera. This kind of viper can grow to longer than six feet and six inches in diameter. It is one of Africa's largest venomous snakes. The color of its head looked like a leaf and so their preys would not notice its existence nearby.

It is dangerous and we would only want to see it in zoos or pictures. In the wild, we really do not think it is safe to see such a viper that close. So, we think zoo is a wonderful place. We have a chance to see the animals and we do not want to see them in the wild.

Hanging Monkeys in North Carolina Zoo

Have you ever seen hundreds of monkeys hanging all together at the same time? You might have but you would not have noticed. We saw a full rack of monkeys (stuff animal) hanging together in the gift shop of the North Carolina Zoo on 19th April 2008. They all had happy faces with different colors.

We have a monkey like that in yellow color for over ten years. Interestingly, in that rack, there was not any yellow one. Why? Maybe, the orange, red, and blue color monkeys are modern these days. Yellow monkey is from the past generation.

Baboons in North Carolina Zoo

We visited the North Carolina Zoo several times before in winter too cold and in summer too hot. We went there again on 19th April 2008 in spring time, not too cold and not too hot. So, baboons were all outside enjoying the beautiful weather very much like humans. The young baboons ran around like kids but the older ones were staying still most of the time. A couple of them were in serious business, flea picking. The smaller one on the right, female, was working hard to pick fleas from the bigger one on the left, male. That flea picking operation lasted at least 15 minutes. They were in extreme patience which was amazing.

They are Hamadryas Baboons. The male baboons are 2 to 3 feet long while the females are 1.5 to 2 feet long. Both male and female Hamadryas Baboons have bare red rumps for sitting on hard surfaces for extended periods of time.

Sleeping Flamingo in North Carolina Zoo

Long time ago, one of our friends told us that he slept while he was standing because he was too tired. However, that was a rare occasion. Human beings do not usually sleep at standing position. Moreover, we have never heard of anyone sleeping when standing with one leg. Well, this flamingo we saw in North Carolina Zoo on 19th April 2008 could do just that. It was really amazing to see that. We did not stay there long enough to see whether they change to standing on the other leg or not.

From this picture, it rested its head and neck on the body. The body was quite round in shape which minimized the surface area. So, it reduced the chance to have wind blowing it down.

Those are Chilean Flamingo in the zoo. Their feathers are in pink because of food they eat such as tiny shrimp, insect larvae, and algae. All these animals and plants contain the chemical, betacarotene, which is the source of these flamingo's pink pigment. Well, it is too bad that human can not change skin color by eating different kinds of food.

Shampoo Ginger in North Carolina Zoo

We found this so called "Shampoo Ginger" in the North Carolina Zoo on 19th April 2008. It is originated from Malaysia in ginger family. From what we learn, that cone-shaped floral bracts of that aromatic plant release a milky substance. That material is being using as shampoo in Asia and Hawaii. In fact, some brands of commercial shampoos are using that as one of the ingredients.

These days, we all want to eat healthy and organic food come to mind. Maybe, we should wash our hair in healthy way too using organic shampoo from this ginger.

Scarlet Ibis Wings in North Carolina Zoo

When we visited the North Carolina Zoo on 19th April 2008, we spent quite a lot of time in the Forest Aviary which is a big cage housing a bunch of tropical birds and plants. When we walked in it, the first bird was saw was the Scarlet Ibis. It was so close to us and it stays there for a long time. So, we was able to find a good spot and had our camera ready for some nice shots. Interestingly, that Scarlet Ibis was making many different kinds of movement. It was trying to clean itself up after a bath we believed. That bird did open up its wings a couple of times and we were able to take some nice pictures for it. As you see in this picture, the tips of the wings are black while the rest of the feathers was in scarlet. It was really a nice-looking bird.

Scarlet Ibis in North Carolina Zoo

In the North Carolina Zoo, there is a big cage called Forest Aviary housing a lot of tropical birds, frogs, and plants. When we walked into it on 19th April 2008, there was a colorful bird right in front of us. That red bird was so close to us which was unbelievable. In fact, that was Scarlet Ibis from South America. It is the national bird of Trinidad. Their feathers are completely scarlet, except for the black wing-tips. They like to stand on top of the trees. When we were in the Forest Aviary and looked up, there were several of them. Because of their scarlet color feathers, we had no problem to spot them. That made us wonder how they could hide themselves from predators in the wild.

Walking Iris in Chapel Hill

We always like to take pictures for flowers. Most of the time, those flowers are from gardeners, neighbors, botanical gardens, and friends. We never thought we would grow any nice-looking flowers ourselves. A while ago, Robin gave us some Walking Iris and we placed them in a pot indoor. As usual, watered it regularly but did not pay much attention to it. Amazingly, it was blooming. On 14th April 2008, we saw this beautiful Walking Iris in our own home.

We know that Walking Iris flower comes and goes quickly. There was about 8 hours period for the bloom which was enough for us to a lot of pictures. After some experimentation, we decided to have a red color jacket hanging behind the flower. That way, the picture looks a little more lively.

Red Panda in Philadelphia Zoo

We saw this Red Panda in Philadelphia Zoo on 22nd March 2008. It is not as big as the Giant Panda. However, Red Panda likes to eat bamboo too. So, for a long time, people thought that Red Panda and Giant Panda were close relatives. It turns out that Giant Panda is really bear while Red Panda is in fact related to raccoons.

The Red Pandas in Philadelphia Zoo were so adorable. When you look at this photo, we have a feeling that the panda is trying to tell us something. Or, the panda was showing us the boring face.

Peacock Back in Philadelphia Zoo

For a long time, we know that we need to look at things from different angle and we may see things differently. When we visited the Philadelphia Zoo on 22nd March 2008, we saw a couple of Peacock openings. There were just beautiful if we look at the peacock face to face. Most people watching the peacock opening would move around just to look at the front. When the peacock made a turn, people moved too. We did the same but later on we decided to look at the opening from the back. It was really amazing. During the peacock opening, all the feathers in the back were shaking coherently making very interesting sound. The peacock was like playing music and dancing simultaneously. If we just looked at the front, we would have missed a big part of the opening event.

Lily in Longwood Gardens

We have seen this kind of Lily a lot, very popular. However, this Lily from the Longwood Gardens we saw on 23rd March 2008 is somewhat different. The gardeners there have done a wonderful job to grow those lilies. They were big, healthy, and fresh. Using our Nikon Micro lens, we were able to take some close-up photos on the inner part of that beautiful flower.

Lady's Purse in Longwood Gardens

The pocket of this Lady's Slipper is a little round and it does not look like a slipper any more. We should call it "Lady's Purse" instead. However, when we first saw it in the Longwood Gardens on 23rd March 2008, we thought there was something special about it. If you look at the purse, it is very transparent. You can almost see through. In fact, the inside wall has some light brown spots and we can even see the spots from outside.

Again, this is a very interesting Lady's Slipper. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to write down the name of it. We were simply too busy taking pictures.

Lady's Slipper in Longwood Gardens

One kind of orchids has the nickname of Lady's Slipper because of its resemblance to a shoe or moccasin. When we were in the Longwood Gardens on 23rd March 2008, we saw a lot of different Lady's Slippers. We saw this elegant and shiny one inside the Conservatory. Since it was located in a darker place, we had to use flash with diffuser to take this photo. Because of that, we could see how shiny it was.

Pink Rose in Longwood Gardens

When we visited the Longwood Gardens on 23rd March 2008, orchid was the main show inside the Conservatory. However, there was one section displaying roses. We have never met anyone who does not like roses. We are no exceptions.

When we were inside the Rose Garden, we just wanted to take many pictures. The only difficulty avoiding us from taking hundreds of photos is the lighting. We tried very hard using natural sunlight. We could use flash light but we thought that it would be nicer to utilize natural light. We saw this pink rose which looked so fresh and beautiful and it was in a spot where the sunlight was properly shined.

Orchid Ball in Longwood Gardens

We saw such an interesting orchid in Longwood Gardens on 23rd March 2008. In this photo, the orchid forms a ball collectively. It looks to us that the ball has a hole but there are a few blooming to fill it up. We wish we had a chance to go back a few days later to see a complete ball.

Bellflower in Longwood Gardens

We have seen many bellflowers before. However, this one we saw in Longwood Gardens on 23rd March 2008 looks very much like a bell. its blue color was so attractive to human eyes. Beekeepers use these bellflowers to make sweet honey.

Forget Me Not in Longwood Gardens

These blue flowers are very small, about half inches in diameter. When we saw them in the Longwood Gardens on 23rd march 2008, "tiny and nice" came to our minds. They were labeled as "Forget Me Not", a very interesting name. Nickname for flower can be very creative. We are wondering who gave this name to these little blue flowers. What was in his/her mind when the name was created?

After looking over information over the web, here is what we learn. Forget Me Not is often worn by ladies to signify faithfulness and enduring love. There is an old legend about this flower. A knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. The knight picked a posy of these flowers. But he fell into the river because of the heavy weight of his armor. Before he was drowned, he threw the posy of these blue little flowers to his lady and shouted "Forget Me Not".

Marguerite in Longwood Gardens

We found this Marguerite in the Longwood Gardens on 23rn March 2008. This is a popular flower to grow and we have seen it in many different places. However, the Marguerite in Longwood Gardens inside the Conservatory was extremely healthy. We think that flowers would do quite well in such a nice green house with a lot of green thumbs.

Winter Red Hot Poker in Longwood Gardens

When we first saw this flower in Longwood Gardens on 23rd March 2008, we really wanted to know its name. We knew that this flower must have a nice name. After finding its tag, it said "Winter Red Hot Poker".

Bird of Paradise in Longwood Gardens

This flower is so called Bird of Paradise, a beautiful name. We found it in the Longwood Gardens when we visited there on 23rd March 2008. It really looked like a bird's head.

Bird of Paradise is also called Crane Flower which is a native of South Africa closely related to banana. The climate of Florida in USA is the best for this beautiful flower. Of course, with a green house such as the huge one in the Longwood Gardens, Bird of Paradise can do just fine.

Calla Lily in Longwood Gardens

In the Conservatory of the Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, there were so many beautiful flowers when we were there on 23rd March 2008. Right by the front door, we saw a bunch of Calla Lily brooming. This particular one caught our eyes. It was about to open up presenting an extremely nice looking curvature.

Orchids in Longwood Gardens

On 23rd March 2008, we were invited by some good friends to visit the famous Longwood Gardens in Kennett Place, Pennsylvania. It was about the end of March and therefore it was still in winter time. There were not many leaves on the tree. Flower beds had no flower. Water fountains were dry. We were quite disappointed at first until we walked into the Conservatory, one of the biggest green houses in the world. In there, thousands of orchids were displayed. Once we saw that, our first reaction was to change to the micro lens as quickly as possible so that we started our wonderful journey of flower photography.

The orchid show there was simply breathtaking. We thought that we have seen a lot of orchids. But, in there, we saw some new species we have never seen before. From what we learn, orchid has over 900 genera and 25000 species. Also, people develop hybrids from time to time. We saw one orchid there labeled as "To be Named". In this picture, these two orchid flowers positioned themselves nicely, one up and one down facing the same direction.