LIFE: Butterfly Gardens Around the Detroit Zoo

Scattered around the Detroit Zoo you'll come across a number of Monarch Waystations between and around the animal exhibits. Certified by Monarch Watch, such waystations provide food and shelter for the monarch butterflies through their metamorphosis and during their migration to and from Mexico. On our latest visit to the zoo, the waystations were crammed and bursting with blooms and colour. 

With a backdrop of autumnal shades creeping into the trees, the dusty pinks of sedums, sunshine yellow daisies to grasses and milkweed the gardens are as pretty as they are essential to wildlife. Additionally for me, they give me so much inspiration for working on that butterfly garden I would love to have in my back yard. 

LIFE: 4th of July and a Ribfest

There's probably no better way to celebrate everything 4th of July and American than finding yourself some yummy BBQ food. Because damn, America can do BBQ really well. Luckily enough the holiday weekend also marked RibFest - our local event being down the road in Royal Oak. The thing to do in such events when you're not entirely sure of what to munch on is to add yourself to the longest queue for food. You can't be wrong if it's that popular. So we opted for the Caribbean BBQ stand, BBQ shrimp on a stick and a bowl of delicious mixed seafood goodies. Tasty good. Add some freshly squeezed lemonade into your other hand and you can't really go wrong. It always seems a little odd me being a bit "celebrating" independence day, but i'm more than happy to join in when there's yummy food involved. 

How did you spend your weekend?!

LIFE: A Day of Wolves and Warthogs

In recent weeks the Detroit Zoo opened their new wolf two acre enclosure. The two grey wolves - Waziyata and Kaskapahtew have been making themselves at home, but of course on our visit they were busy napping and keeping cool in the bushes. Luckily though we managed to spot the fives baby Warthogs - all of which are named after Games of Thrones characters, Daenerys, Sansa, Cersei, Tyrion and Hodor. A little over two months old they were delightfully rooting around in the soil and being terribly cute when we visited at the weekend. 

Visiting the summer months, the zoo at this time of year is filled with all the baby animals making an appearance and everyone else trying to cool off. Whether it was the adorable Prairie Dog families to the Grizzly Bears cooling themselves in the pool. 

I'm looking forward to seeing the wolves a bit better next time!

LIFE: Blossom Filled Zoo Trips

Like I mentioned last week, part of Joe's birthday weekend involved a trip back to our local Detroit Zoo. A year late and we finally got our Detroit Zoo membership renewed. Better late then never they say. It's a pretty exciting time to be members again - construction of the new $29.5 million penguin exhibit is well under way (set up to open next year), work is also under way building a biodigestor turning 400 tonnes of manure into a methane rich gas. Not to mention the born of a giraffe last September and the Polar Bear exhibit was voted the second best zoo exhibit in the country by USA Today.

With the Red Panda hiding away in the trees, the big cats sunbathing to the tree kangaroo (second photograph) finally making an appearance it was nice able to walk around the zoo, see all the wildlife, the crowds, all the blossom of the trees to wildflowers. I noticed they even have a butterfly garden I need to poke the next time.

I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of our regular zoo visits that's for sure.

SNAPSHOTS: A Birthday Weekend

All you can eat sushi, The Avengers, zoo trips, an evening at the fun fair and a visit from the nephews and niece was how we spent our weekend celebrating Joe's 30th birthday. Funnel Cake (mmm) coated in a thick confectionery sugar layer with the most deliciously squeezed lemonade with a gorgeous rainbow covering Detroit's sky was how we finished Saturday. A day spent with the kids raiding Uncle Joe's Transformers collection and completing on his video games. After a dinner of Coney Dogs, a trip (our first in over a year) to the zoo to not only renew our membership (more on this to come) but to see the blossom, watch the butterflies fluttering around and try to seek out the Polar Bear. And while it's fun being an auntie, they sure tire you out, that iced tea cocktail in a bath on Sunday night felt very well deserved. 

How was your weekend?

  

FOOD: The Coney Island Dog

Moving to the US has meant having the excuse of trying loads of new foods - both of the national and local delicacy. Living in Michigan I'm spoilt with the Coney Island Hot Dog - one that has nothing to do with Coney Island in New York - the name merely refers to the origin of the hot dog and not the topping. When talking about Coney Island dogs on twitter I often get a lot of questions about it, so I though I'd dedicate a little blog post to everything about it. 

The Coney is a firm fixture and favorite across south east Michigan and a variety of the dog can even be found in Ohio - often known there has the cheese chilli. But what is it? Well it's easily explained as a natural casing beef hot dog topped with an all meat, beanless chilli finished off with diced onions and mustard, and most importantly, Coneys are as messy as they are delicious, they might be cheap but they are mighty fine. 

Left - Coney from Comet Burgers, Royal Oak. Right - Coney and sliders from The Telway, Madison Heights. 

Come to Michigan and you'll be spoilt for choice with where to taste one, Lafayette and American Coney Islands next door to each other in Downtown Detroit always battle it out between themselves for the number one spot, but the region is full of Coney Island chains - Leos to National. But many independent burger places or diners will serve their own variety - the coney's from Telway in Madison Heights being a particular favorite of mine - plus is still has it's 50's decor which is always a win with me.

A trip to Michigan certainly wouldn't be complete until you've tried a coney dog. You can always check out my blog posts on my visit to Detroit's Lafayette Coney Island here.

How do you like your hot dogs?

ZOO TIMES: Baby Red Pandas

There is nothing cuter than seeing a couple of nine month old Red Pandas. For the first time we managed to catch them playing as they were brought back onto the exhibit at the Detroit Zoo on our last visit. Ta-Shi (mum) and Shifu (dad) had their first litter together in June of 2013, they were first announced as male, but in fact they are both girls and are spending their time occasionally outside in their exhibit before they both go off to another zoo for breeding programs.

As Red Pandas are on the vulnerable species list due to deforestation, they are selected into breeding programs as soon as they are born and despite their name, they aren't closely related to the giant Panda. Slightly larger than you domestic kitty, they mainly snack on bamboo but are omnivorous creatures. Typically they are largely sedentary begins and enjoy their own company and normally when we visit in the summer months they are lost high up in the trees so to be able to seeing all four of them out and playing, was a very rare treat indeed. Contrary to the norm, Shifu a first time dad has apparently been a bit of a hands on father with his babies, mother is especially playful as you can see in many of the photographs she actively plays.

Aren't they all just adorable?!

LIFE: Spring Tidings

It's certainly been more spring like here in Michigan the last couple of weeks. About time right?! Thing is, it goes from being 0 degrees to 20 degrees in the space of two weeks, there's barely any transition period, and being British, spring time Michigan weather is pretty much British summer weather. I'm still not fully use to it. Nevertheless it's a very welcome change and has certainly been a great excuse to get out more. Yesterday we took a trip to the zoo and spied my first daffodil sights of the year - a plant that always reminds me of the homeland for whatever reason. Swans, to ducks and geese were building and sitting on nests a handsome red-winged blackbird (bottom photo) was tweeting rather happily and we finally saw the most adorable nine month old red pandas who were out for a play with their parents (which are worthy of having their own post so stay tuned). Sadly any signs of life on the trees, yet alone cherry blossom seems a bit of a stretch away.

What do you love about spring?