Pruned to Perfection and all set for Spring

This pruned garden is not just any rose garden. It was only a few years ago that this rose garden in San Jose was under AARS* probation. In 2007, however it was revived and two years later this rose garden became the coveted "America's Best Rose Garden."

The recognition also came from AARS - All-America Rose Selection, an association of rose growers dedicated to promoting and testing roses.

San Jose's Rose Garden with all of its 3500 shrubs spread over 5 acres of land is also known for a pruning session that saw the whole of the garden pruned in about an hour's time. This happened last year when 900 odd volunteers -- young and old -- from the bay area came together to transform the garden.

January 2010 also saw the volunteers unite and do the job again. The pictures you see here are a result of that: San Jose's Heritage Rose Garden- pruned to perfection.

Pruned and all set, America's (newest) Best Rose Garden is ready for the spring. Come back here to see how it looks at its flowery best.

*AARS - All-America Rose Selection,

San Jose Rose Garden; more than just roses

                                                                                                                                                                                                  If it is winter, it means it is time for pruning. With the roses gone, a rose garden may not be the best place to hang out. But if it is San Jose's Rose Garden,  it is a different story.

Since it does not snow here, the pruning process is done in January itself. The pruned garden itself is a sight to see. This rose garden, which is maintained by volunteers, is now America's Best Rose Garden (awarded in 2010).

Last week we took a stroll in this Rose Garden and thought it a beautiful and well-kept place. Located off Taylor  (Street), this rose garden has an enchanting fountain and several stone benches (and wooden ones too) to sit back and enjoy the environment.

Beside this rose garden is just the place you could take your children to on a sunny holiday morning. Our toddler had a great time running on the manicured lawn and watching some older kids cycle through the bike paths here.

There was a mother teaching her kids how to do some somersaults. There were families sitting and having snacks. There were daddies photographing playtime.

This is a fine place for little ones to play ball or for a game of Frisbee. Do I have to say that this is also a scenic option for adults to take a walk in?

There are picnic tables and restrooms. This seems like a good place for a picnic, I think we should visit again, maybe in the spring.

A garden of sculptures in San Francisco

Sculpture Garden in San Francisco's De Young Museum - a few pictures

A crocodile that ate dinosaurs?

Have you heard of a crocodile that preyed on dinosaurs? I don't think I had, until I saw a cast of a fossil* at the Oakland Zoo.

Called the SuperCroc -- what else could you possibly call a crocodile that could eat a dinosaur -- this prehistoric member of the crocodile family was about 42 feet long. Studies say that this creature lived in Africa 110 million years ago. The zoological name of the SuperCroc is Sarcosuchus imperator. This is a must-see.

Some SuperCroc facts that I found:
Fact sheet: All about SuperCrocs
Wikipedia: Sarcosuchus

*The fossil is said to have been found in the Sahara and unearthed by paleontologist Paul Sereno.

A sky-ride safari at Oakland

Oakland Zoo has been shifted from one place to another since the time it first opened. Now settled in Knowland Park, this zoo has its animals in 45 acres of the 500-acre park. Spread across several hills, this zoo can be seen on foot, or on wheels as the zoo is stroller friendly and is also accessible to the physically challenged in wheel chairs and power scooters. Now, which zoo isn't, right? Well, there's another way you can see the animals that live here -- just take the Safari Sky Ride.

The Safari Sky Ride is a unique feature at the Oakland Zoo so we just had to give it a try. When we were done with lunch and done with all the walking around that we could do, we made a dash for the Sky Ride booth and bought the tickets. Whatever happened in the next few moments happened all too quick. We got into the boarding area and jumped into the next car that came by. These little sky ride cars do not stop for you to board it. You just have to hop into it when an empty one comes. Thankfully there's a person to raise bar in front of the seat and secure it for you as you sit; it all happens in a jiffy.

It is when the ride starts that you discover that the sky ride is quite slow after all. Once you are out in the open, all you have to do is feel the mountain air and watch the animals down below. If it is in early January that you choose to go (like we did) be aware: It might be really cold up there. What you see, however is really cool. Look down and you see that you are on a higher level than the-really-tall-giraffes. That, I thought was an amazing feeling.

A while later we were just above the African Lions and this was when I actually got to see the cat-with-the-mane properly. Earlier that day, the lion and the lioness were partly hidden by tall grass and since we were all on land the view wasn't really good. Oh the aerial view!

People, hark! There are some sights that are exclusive to the adventurous on the sky ride. It is only when you are here that you get to see the Tula Elk and the Bison. Watching the elk was really interesting. There was a herd of those elk and they seemed to be really active; we saw the whole herd run uphill a little and run down again. What a sight!

When the skyride begins it was goes uphill for about 10 minutes. Then you reach the other end and make a U-turn and then its a downhill ride for the next 10.

It was on our way back down that I noticed the bison on the hill on the left. On the way up, I guess I was just too engaged with the elk. The bisons seemed to rightly belong there; way up there and all by themselves.

I wish I had taken some pictures while I was up on the sky ride. My hands were arrested with some bags and hubby had to take care of the toddler who is on his way to the 'terrible two' (And we were all metres above the ground. Luckily the little one was good on the ride).

Residents c/o Oakland Zoo

Emerald Tree Boa seen at the Oakland Zoo's Reptile and Amphibian house inside the 'Wayne & Gladys Valley Children's zoo.'

American Aligator, also in the Children's Zoo area.

River Otters, also in the same area. My visit to the zoo taught me that these animals can swim six hours straight and can hold their breath for up to 4 minutes.

This little creature is called the Squirrel monkey and can be described as small and agile. 

Poser: This Chimpanzee actually came to close to glass wall and posed for the picture. 

A very active Gibbon. He's very entertaining too. The kids will surely love him.

Blue and Yellow Macaw

The Flamingos near the entrance. Check out this fact file below:

Oakland Zoo is said to have over 440 animals in its 45 acres. It has areas exclusively for exotic animals of the African Savanna, Australian Wild and Rainforests among other sections.

Previous post - Oakland's Little Africa

Oakland's own little Africa

Oakland, CA has a little piece of Africa just off highway 580. If Oakland is closer to where you live, than Africa is, you might as well visit Oakland Zoo to experience a bit of the continent, in the zoo's 'African Savanna'  and 'African Veldt.'

Proud of its African Savannah, Oakland Zoo calls it the focal point of the zoo. This part that is a re-creation of the African grassland, is a haven for animals such as the little Meerkat to the mighty African elephant. It also has within it a few Zebra and Lions. The African Veldt boasts of the Warthog, Giraffe and Eland among others creatures.

Our first stop at this little Africa was where the Warthog was. There we learnt that this grey beast is a herbivorous animal that feeds on grass, herbs and roots. The name boards at this zoo go on to say much more than the common and zoological names of the animals. In it are other tid bits like the animal's habitat, life span, diet and social behavior.

We then moved on to see the Giraffe. What surprised me was that there were more than just one or two Giraffes there and what more: they shared this space with Elands, Gazelles and some geese in a pool of water that is made available there. Just watching how gracefully they all moved and how well they all got along in this flatland area is something I think, I could watch for hours together.

Since we still had more to see, we went to the meticulously created African Village in the zoo. There we found a couple of huts designed to look like houses in an African village. One of these houses has been transformed into cafe (African Savanna Cafe). The other, apart from looking like an house in the village, also serves as a model of the interior of a home in the African Savanna. The house with the thatched roof has a goat area,  sleeping spaces and a store room. Also exhibited were utensils used in these households; leaving me like I had a first hand experience of a house in the African grasslands. Now if only there were real people in there too. However there was a statue to make do with.

On the way to the African village and back we saw the Meerkat, several birds and a few other animals that belonged to the African wilderness.

We then walked up the hill to a quiet but huge enclosure labelled the Mahali Pa Tembo or the Place of the elephant. The African elephant are sometimes the first animal that comes to mind when you think of an African Safari and there they were doing their own thing.  There were three elephants in sight and this space also had some huge rocks allowing the elephants to be camouflaged in the dusty surrounding. There were some big toys put in there for the big animals -- a few rubber tyres.

Our next big stop was where the African Lions were. Oakland zoo proudly owns a pair of lion and lioness. When we went to have a look at them, the royal duo was behind some tall grasses soaking up the January sun. The board beside these big cats said they were generally found in Southern Sahara to South Africa excluding the Congo rain forest belt. Now aren't we lucky to have the majestic couple at the Oakland zoo?

Then there are the camels and the Hyenas and all. However, these animals do not complete the African experience. Just before we left the zoo we walked into the gift shop and what should we see there: African crafts... and some African music playing in there.  Little Africa, indeed!