Saturday, March 12, 2016

Zoo, God, Hugs







The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is one of the best zoos in the country.
I remember as a kid visiting the zoo and loving it! We could see animals close up. The zoo  originally had talk boxes at the exhibits. You purchased a plastic key that worked the boxes.  I remember we had to take turns with the key.  We didn't care what the information was from the box, but just wanted out turn to turn the key! LOL  I found a  picture of the key that was used!

ZOO HISTORY
The Zoo began as Wade Park in 1882 after Jeptha H. Wade donated 73-acres of land and 14 American deer to the City of Cleveland. By 1907, however, Cleveland City Council had laid plans to build the Cleveland Museum of Art and decided to move the Zoo to its current location.

Did you know... The Zoo was originally located near Wade Oval in Cleveland's University Circle?

The animals kept in the early Zoo were mostly of local origin, but the next thirty years saw the building of the Zoo's first Monkey Island, Sea Lion Pools and bear exhibit before the Cleveland Natural History Museum assumed control in 1940.

In November 1940,a new Asian elephant arrived at the Zoo. The Cleveland News sponsored an elephant naming contest, with the winning name "Osa" submitted by a 12-year-old boy from Cleveland Heights. However, the elephant had a name, "Frieda," to which she had responded for many years. It's extremely difficult to change names in the middle of an elephant's life. A few years after the elephant had been living at the Zoo, one of her ex-trainers happened to visit her, and called to her by her original name. She responded in dramatic fashion and from then on, everyone called her Frieda. Frieda, the beloved Indian elephant, died on November 27, 1956. Accounts of her age varied from 56 to 72. She was one of the older elephants in the country and succumbed to a cerebral hemorrhage.

In 1955, Zoo staff and supporters organized an African safari and obtained three elephants, two hippos, two rhinos, three giraffes, and many smaller animals. A year later, the Zoo's Pachyderm Building opened to house many of the animals acquired on the safari.

Did you know... Breeding and conservation programs supply the world's zoos with enough animals for almost all new exhibits?

In 1957, the Cleveland Zoological Society assumed control of the Zoo. In January of 1959, heavy rains and melting snow caused Big Creek to overflow, and the resulting flood wiped out the Zoo's reptile collection and damaged many buildings. The Zoo recovered by 1962, however, and moated lion and tiger exhibits were added.

In 1968, the City of Cleveland transferred ownership of the Zoo to the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District, and the Cleveland Zoological Society transferred management of the Zoo to Cleveland Metroparks in 1975.

Also in 1975, construction began on The Primate & Cat Building, and it was during this time the Zoo's original building, the Wade Park Deer Barn, was moved from Wade Park and placed on Zoo grounds.

Did you know... Wade Memorial Hall, located next to Waterfowl Lake, is the old Wade Park Deer Barn? Today it is a Victorian-styled ice cream parlor.

In 1982, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo received accreditation from the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). In 1985, a portion of the Cat and Primate Building was renovated after the Cleveland Aquarium in Gordon Park announced it was closing permanently, and its collection of fishes and invertebrates was moved to the Zoo.

Since 1989, many themed exhibits have opened under the leadership of Zoo Director Emeritus Steve Taylor. In 1992, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo welcomed The RainForest, followed by Wolf Wilderness in 1997, Australian Adventure in 2000, and The Sarah Allison Steffee Center for Zoological Medicine in 2004.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's newest exhibit, African Elephant Crossing, opened on May 5, 2011. Spread over five acres of lightly wooded grasslands, African Elephant Crossing features two large yards for roaming, ponds for swimming, expanded sleeping quarters and a heated outdoor range. The naturalistic habitat is capable of housing up to 10 elephants at a time, including at least one bull and eventually calves. African Elephant Crossing is also home to meerkats, naked mole rats, an African rock python and a spectacular collection of colorful birds.

After 24 years, several multi-million dollar exhibits and countless animal encounters, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Director Steve Taylor retired at the end of 2012. Cleveland Metroparks named Christopher Kuhar, Ph.D. the new director of the Zoo. He becomes the tenth director in Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's 130-year history.

Did you know... When The RainForest opened in 1992, it featured the Zoo's first permanent reptile collection since the flood of 1959?

Did you know...Willy, the first adult male elephant in Cleveland since 1962, has one tusk and is also the largest animal ever on exhibit at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo at 11-feet tall at the shoulder and 13,000 pounds.
The Cleveland Zoo and Rainforest are a great  place to spend the day.  Mondays are free admission!


This was NOT written by me, however the prayer Korin Sutherland prayed was so uplifting to me.
Feeling so heavyhearted this morning. All around and throughout my circle of friends there is suffering, there is pain, there is sickness, there is heartache, there is death. I am determined to look for all the good things in these tragedies and times of suffering. They are there---God's protection and provision, His love and strength, precious new life, the coming together of friends and family, the spreading of the gospel, love and compassion for others, prayer spreading like wildfire, the hope of a new day, salvation in Jesus, laughter to lighten us, silence for prayer and reflection, precious memories, miracles...
Lord, I pray for each of the needs on my heart today....too many to even mention, but you know each one in detail, every hurt and heartache, every tear and heart's cry, every doubt and fear. Wrap your loving arms around each of these lives and make Your presence powerfully known. May they rest peacefully in the shadow of Your wings. God, you are good....even when sickness hits, even when sadness overwhelms, even when fear defeats, even when things just don't go the way we planned or hoped, EVEN when life ceases....YOU ARE GOOD. Help us to trust YOU and only You. Help us to pick ourselves up, and keep running the race. Give us the strength to press on for Your glory. Thank you, Father, for all You will do in and through our hurting hearts. In Jesus name, Amen.


         Today has been a long, day.  I was so exhausted that when I came home I made some pizza, ate, and tried to stay up, but couldn't so I went to sleep. I sat in the lounge chair
Tim came home about 7 and kept checking me every hour to see how I was.  It was a sweet thing to do. But I was sleeping and he'd wake me to ask me how I was.  I finally got up about 9:30.

It's Saturday now:
I got up early to stamp at Jane's.  I did the best thing for going to someone else's house.  I took cards that were done but needed stamping inside or outside. I didn't have to haul a lot of things and I could use different stamps for my cards.  It was fun to get so much done.  Now I can put them away and they are ready to use.

Tim's making dinner with my help tonight.  Of course it's pasta.  He went to Heinens and got pasta, bread and salad fixins.  Should make for a great dinner.  He shows me he loves my by bringing home two bags of Skinny Pop popcorn. awwwww..........

Today would have been Kristina's 40th birthday.  It's been a sad day. Lord I need you, was the perfect song for today. I didn't just use it. I went to youtube and searched christian music and this came up.
Not a coincidence for sure.
Blessing of the Day: Tim and I had a great dinner and got to talk about lots of things.
It seems that absence made the hearts grow fonder. Now that Tim's home things may be changing a bit.
Thank you for checking out my blog.
It warms my heart to know that someone reads this and hopefully someone will be helped by it. It would be help through God, not me.  I am a vessel that He uses.  Just a mere human who makes lots of mistakes and needs lots of help from God.

I wonder if I ever talked about my decision to follow Christ.  I'll have to look through all of this and find out.
Did you know that as we age, we recieve fewer hugs which really affects our behavior?

         Neuroeconomist Paul Zak, also known as "Dr. Love," recommends at least eight hugs a day to be happier and enjoy better relationships. Psychotherapist Virginia Satir also famously said:
"We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth."  If you want more information check this out.

Hugs and Blessings to you,

1 comment:

Unknown said...

What an awesome post today!!
The prayer is lovely and timely. thank you so much for sharing it.
ohmygoodness...i had forgotten about those zoo keys! they were so cool. i didn't know a lot of the history of the zoo. thanks for the information and the memories!
oh! Kristina's birthday! she was only 40. how very sad.
my mom died a few months before turning 40. she had just given birth to my brother, the tenth child. i was 13; it was terrible but it sure made me strong. our father was an alcoholic and never ever recovered. i remember turning 40 and thinking how my mom never made it there. sorry for the sad memories, but i have a lot of very happy memories of my mom and all my siblings turned out kind of normal (ha!). we all think we have a special hotline to heaven through our mom, so much needed!
it seems you do not show your comments on your blog, and i find i say more than i would if they were published.
thank you!
and i'm sending you a hug!
O ;)
lots of hugs....OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Museum, Flowers and Cards

 The Cleveland Children's Museum Friday, my son and I took his daughter to this incredible Children's Museum on Euclid Ave. at 40th....