Randuwa II: October 2020

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Tracking Covid-19 in the DMV

It's been three weeks since I shared my weekly graph. This past week all 10 municipalities saw an appreciable rise in new cases. The total of 6,128 was the most since the week of July 26 - August 01, during our mid-summer bump. It was also the first time in eleven weeks that any single municipality registered more than 1,000 cases. Worrisome...

0482.Art Rocks: Victor Valdez: 1897

Friday, October 30, 2020

Meat and Potato (and Spinach, Mushrooms, and Candied Jalapenos!)

0481.Art Rocks: Maria Izquierdo: 1904

0480.Art Rocks: Angelica Kaufman: 1741

The Last Blooms of the Year

And perhaps the perfect way to celebrate Halloween, too! These are Wolf's Bane: a.k.a Mousebane, Women's Bane, Leopard's Bane, Queen of Poisons, Monkshood, etc. There are just over 120 species of Aconitum. This one is Aconitum napellus and more often than not is referred to as Monkshood. It is native to forests of central Europe and Alps. I purchased it from the now liquidated Benke's Nursery of Beltsville, Maryland and had a very long and detailed conversation about it and this specific cultivar which is I why I still remember the detail of it's origin. This was back in 2010, and I can safely say it's not invasive in the least! The fact that it has held on and remained hearty is a wonder. And the last thing she said to me, with a little twinkle in her eyes, as I wheeled my plant laden cart to the checkout was, "Oh, you should also know that they are toxic." Toxic. Toxic?

In what might be one of the grand understatements ever tossed off by a plant-loving customer assistant at a boutique nursery... They are notoriously poisonous! Deadly appears all the time in the literature and it's not just the roots or sap or petals...it the whole package. Even contact with the skin of a casual nature can result in rashes! Mine have been very well behaved, and I always wash immediately after having any contact with them.

So why do I keep them around? Hmmm...well, you never know when an obscure toxin will come in handy... Happy Halloween!

Thursday, October 29, 2020

My Master Plan: The Salisbury Zoo, Salisbury, Maryland

I'm at it again. This time with the Salisbury Zoo in Salisbury, Maryland. It's a lovely little zoo with a reasonable focus (species of the America's and Australia) that sits on 12 acres of land in a neighborhood park in the largest community in Maryland on the eastern shore. Largest isn't saying much. Salisbury was founded in 1732 by Lord Baltimore himself as an outpost at the headwaters of the Wicomico River; however, it didn't incorporate as a city until 1854. Today, it is home to about 30,000 people with an annual influx of students to Salisbury State University. It sits in the center of Maryland's poultry industrial complex under the anchorage of Perdue Farm Industries, and sports a handful of other tech and pharmaceutical related factories/facilities. I mention this, because while in my fantasy zoo renovation world, I underwrite the majority of costs, it's important to identify other players who can step in and continue to support the institution into the future. As well as, academic partnerships. Salisbury state might establish a degree in zoo husbandry or zoo administration in partnership with the zoo to both institution's mutual benefit.

Another reason for selecting the Salisbury Zoo was it's recent suspension of its coveted AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accreditation. A girl's got to have standards, but she can also be a bitch sometimes. This zoo has given a lot to the mission of the AZA, and in no aspect more than its Species Survival Program for the Andean Speckled Bear. Now, I'm not saying that the place doesn't need up-grades. So in this the AZA and I are in agreement. But when dealing with a small zoo with limited means, it disappoints me a little that they don't provide at least grants to help these members meet standard. My redesign addresses the issues ensuring a return to accreditation.

Without further ado -- My Plan!

You can see from this drawing how the zoo in situated in a neighborhood. In conceiving of my plan, I maintained most of the zoo's current species and focused on expanding and up-grading their habitats. To accomplish this I pushed more the exhibits to the edge of the Beaverdam Creek to the north and push the perimeter of the zoo closer to the edge of the South Park Drive to the south. Further, I have defined the perimeter with a barrier. In this case a fence made up of a stone wall base to an average height of 30 inches topped with wrought iron vertical bars to an average height of 8 feet.

The look is classical and the effect is to limit access to the zoo to predetermined entrances. Specifically, the East Gate and West Gate public entrances, the Admin Complex driveway and the ESBA Educational building exterior entrance. Creating a secure perimeter is part of the AZA accreditation protocols.

Additionally, I applied my criterion of "wonder" to the design. While animal welfare and habitat authenticity are both primary considerations, so is creating a sense of wonder. To accomplish this, the design holds several key access to wonder experiences. For instance:

The West Gate's multiple aviaries. Guests are greeted by five amazing habitats and a plethora of birdsong and wonder.
The new Jaguar habitat with it's expanded size, natural rock formations, and below water observation area.
The new North American River Otter habitat with its expanded stream and deep water pond. A path goes under the exhibit to allow guests an underwater view of the otters at play.

In all, the renovated areas of the zoo are divided into seven zones. I hope to expand on my thoughts and share more about the designs and reasons behind each in latter posts.