On our walk

The Birds!

 Jonathan's sister came to stay with us for a week and we finally got to go to the Tracy Aviary. I've been wanting to go here for over a year. It lived up to my expectations. There were so many amazing birds. We saw owls, eagles, flamingos, vultures, hawks and many more. They have an exhibit for rare birds- many of which there are less of in the world and there is a possibility of them becoming extinct. We saw the birds of the wetlands as well as their Argentina exhibit. The Aviary was amazing. It was neat to see so many birds from so many places across the world. Many of the Utah birds at the aviary are birds that have been injured. I thought it was good they have a place for them. We also got to see a trainer work with some of the birds they train to be in their bird shows. It was fun to see the birds do what they have been taught to do and hear about their different personalities. I would recommend taking a trip to see the birds.

Jonathan and I became birds.

 

Jonathan and his sister Beccah as birds. 

As we were walking through the aviary, we suddenly heard a bird sound that sounded just like Kevin from the movie Up. We looked all over for him. I wanted to find him. We thought maybe it was a bird from the Argentina exhibit, but we didn't find him there. Finally we realized that it was this bird. 

Can you see him on the roof?

Turns out, Kevin makes the sound of a peacock. Who knew?

Jonathan tried to make friends with these birds. They weren't interested.

 Jonathan found a little place to live. 

After the aviary, we went to a little fair that was just next door. We went on some of the rides. It was good times. Side-note: Liberty Park in Salt Lake is super amazing. There are so many cool things there.

Beccah on the Ferris Wheel. 

The two heads are Beccah and Jonathan.

 We all went on the swing ride. It was a lot dizzier for some than for others.

Jonathan got some good pictures considering we were all spinning in a huge circle and our chairs never faced one direction for more than a few seconds. 

This is a good shot of the little fair, and in the background, you can see the Tracy Aviary. You can see Robin and Beccah on the swings. It was a good day. We had a blast, and the rain held off until we were done- and even then, it was just a little sprinkle. 

The Garden as of Late

Remember back when the garden first started showing bits of green and we thought it was tremendous? We thought we were the coolest kids on the block. In case you have forgotten, here are some pictures to remind you.

 

The only thing you can really see are the berry bushes along the fence. 

 

There were ever so small little green pokes, and I felt so successful. It was growing, and it continued to do so. We learned a lot about when we should have harvested certain plants, and we learned that it was cabbage, not lettuce that we planted. The garden was growing nicely. We were proud.

Here is the garden as it began to grow. From left to right- kale, broccoli, in front of them- onions, then beets, cabbage, and behind cabbage is carrots. Then, we took a trip to NC in early July and were there for 10 days. Our neighbors were kind enough to water everything while we were gone. We came home to this....

 Garden Jungle!

 Again, left to right- cantaloupe, cucumber, kale, broccoli, and you can kinda see the cabbage. Behind Jonathan are the berries. Up in the front right corner are the onions. 

 

Also, out of nowhere, we now have some sunflowers that are as tall as Jonathan! We did not plant them, but they are still neat. Also, on the left side are our tomatoes. We had 2 plants and then, on the last day of school, one of my students- Emma- gave me a cherry tomato plant! So we have 3 excellent plants. We also have 4 fruit trees, 3 of which are giving us great fruit this year.

   The peach tree, the peaches are more orange now.

The apples- there are not many, but they are looking good.

Plums! These are getting ripe the fastest.

 

 

Here are some berries we harvested. We pick them every week. Sometimes there are little worms, so now I inspect them carefully. We used the last batch to make fruit popsicles. 

 

The white chicken has taken to perching on top of his home all the time. He is the best flyer out of all of the chicken. Also, if he is outside the coop when you feed them, he half runs-half flies to get inside.