Spring into Summer ~ Little Farmer Petting Zoo ~ McArthur Park

We are slowly seeing the signs and reaping rewards of warmer weather.  The typical trials and tribulations of rising water from winter run-off is still reminding us that summer has not arrived yet but our May long weekend was a great one for weather.

Canada Geese couple and their new chicks

We’d made an early May visit to McArthur Park and were able to see some very young and fuzzy chicks with their vigilante mother and father watching over them on the beach by the boat launch.  I doubt these chicks were very old.  I stayed a great distance away so as not to disturb them, I use my favorite lenses that allows me to get photos like this.

McArthur Park Marmots

These little fellows are fun to watch.  They are yellow-bellied marmots which are one of 14 recognized species of marmots.  The others include woodchucks and groundhogs, which are the same.  They are all a rodent related to ground squirrels and prairie dogs….. do I have you confused yet??  and the yellow-bellied are considered the king of these rodents, if I haven’t confused myself too much.  On our next visit with higher waters, we saw none of them, their river bank caves must have been flooded and chased them away, but they will return.

Little Farmer Petting Zoo in Westsyde

An early May visit to Little Farmers Petting Zoo at Westsyde Centennial Park with our grandson was a fun one.  I love to see the faces of these two.  The Emu is very interested in having a close-up look, although I am on the other side of the fence with the long lenses again.  There are two of them and they are quite tall with a lot of oily feeling feathers.  The Llama, which I believe this one to be fairly new to the park was interested for only a moment, I had to be quick with the camera.  I would have liked to brush that straw out of his ‘hair’ but thought better not to try, he was more interested in grazing for lunch.

Pigs, Goats and Kids

The little ‘kids' are definitely a big draw here at the Little Farmers.  We are able to buy some food for them at a vending machine there and feed them through the fence.  Our little grandson loves to feed them all, young and old, they are excited but amazingly gentle when they take the food.  One very pregnant goat was happy to just rest while a friendly Vietnamese potbellied pig (I believe) gave her snuggles.

Three Little Pigs

I just had to take a picture of these “3 little pigs” as they slept side by side in their house made of wood.  An old nursery rhyme comes to mind! How they managed to get in there in this position would be quite a sight to see, I am sure it could take awhile.  Afternoon naps are always a good thing.  See more at the new webpage that the Little Farmer Petting Zoo is developing, it is a work in progress but tells you more:  click here.

Quail

Golden Pheasant

The feathers of these two birds are absolutely beautiful.  They are so perfectly marked, they move so quickly it is hard to get a full photo but they both have very long tails.  The breed of the one in the top photo may be a quail and I took a guess that the bottom was a pheasant and by doing some research was able to learn it is a Golden Pheasant from New Zealand.  He’s been here quite a long while now if it is the same one we’ve seen over the years.

Turkey displays his beauty

This turkey just could not be outdone after seeing our reaction to the beautiful birds in the nearby pen.  He was showing off his feathers, too.  We’d seen the white turkeys on an earlier visit but remember a Bronze Turkey from our visits over the years.  One of those was quite a friendly fella and made the attempt to be sociable with me.  To see him, click here.

Soccer at McArthur Park

We are back at McArthur Park on the Victoria Day weekend in May and what wonderful weather it is for all the sport tournaments that are filling the park with all these athletes and their fans.  There were several baseball games going on at the same time.  The park was full and enjoyed by many.

Boating on the Thompson River

I am not sure a boat ride on the Thompson River is the best thing to do during high water times due to all the debris in there, but this boat was heading upriver at a good speed and seemed to be oblivious to anything but having fun.  I am guessing it was too hard to resist the temptation on such a great sunny day.

The signs of summer are happening and after what seemed like a long and very chilly wet springtime, we hope to get a summer full of great weather and enjoy the many treasures of our home town of Kamloops, B.C.