sorry folks - managed to catch a bad flu just past christmas which then turned to pneumonia so i was out of commission from boxing day until mid february...
but still have a few things to say and show :)
THE CHRISTMAS TREE
as you all know by now - one of my favourite places to hang out, is the natur- & tierpark goldau
on 24th December, they always have a number of fun activities for kids, families and everyone else as well. one of my favourites is the Bears' Christmas Tree. in the early afternoon the two brothers, takis & arko, are locked into the bearhouse where they normally only spend the night. a few rangers and animal caretakers then bring a pine tree into the enclosure, hang special baubles in the shape of fresh apples, and pineapple slices onto the tree and then douse the lot in raspberry syrup. once everything is ready and they are safely out of the enclosure again, the takis and arko are invited to come out and play :)
first they waited in front of the house and "discussed" why they had been brought inside during the day - hmmmmmm something seems to be different in the enclosure - oh look - there are lots of people down by the lake - hmmmmmm - maybe they have some goodies for us - or something else interesting might be happening down there. arkos - being getting straight to the point as is his wont - took the shortest route down the hill - galloping down the sidepath and the grass hill - heading straight for us and the tree. takis, as usual prefering to get more facts to a longer more detoured route, "hey maybe there are some goodies in the upper hole for me", he probably thought. but when he got closer he realized that arko had found something new - and seemed to be getting a head start on some treats. can you see the speed he has as he is running towards the tree? a half hour of exploring, munching, climbing to get at a special goodie and general shaking and munching commenced. when the boys decided to have a break the wolves came down - well there might be something good for them too. but the boys soon returned. after a while arko decided to have another go at taking that tree down - well it's so much easier to lick the branches and get that last bit of sweet goo out of the nooks and crannies - and then of course also out of their fur.
oh these two boys love their christmas tree!!!
WASHINGTON DC - for the ACC - Exhibition alongside the Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology
a quick visit to the US - Washington DC this year. after the scare of the Blizzard to end all Blizzards, I'm quite surprised at the nice and calm flight. the airport is practically empty - I believe that only four overseas flights arrived - all other flights have been cancelled. we were lucky - the main blizzard took place further north - not much snow - but cold and very windy during the next few days. after a stop at the exhibition center to get the badges - check out everything in order and make plans for the afternoon's set-up job once the boys get here I head outside. of course my first visit is to Abe Lincoln followed by a nice but windy walk up to the washington monument - after that into the city to purchase a wall mount for our large monitor. back to the hotel just in time to pick up the boys - and off to work we go. by thursday night we're all done - everything is ready. a good show and good work all round - thank you to all - we have a great team! before going home - another visit to Abe to say Good Bye
