My Little Garden Zoo Closes Early

Every Zoo has its rules.  Mine are simple.  Don't touch the animals.  Unfortunately, Raccoons don't find the rules humans concoct very useful to their agenda.  Hence, this has been a year of constant battle.  Every few days, some part of the zoo has been tampered with.  Then an area of habitats gets ravaged!  Animals strewn about "helter skelter".  Plants torn out. Pottery tipped over and on occasion shattered.

It's been so disheartening.  No space is safe.  Two figurines remain missing.  One no longer available for sale.  I've invested too much into this little joy to allow a rambunctious critter to steal away with my little animal figurines.  

Little Garden Zoo Continues to expand

 I think at its height back before the Pandemic, I concocted about 120 different "habitats".  It was MANIC!  It was also the apex of quantity.  I know focus more on what I hope comes across as quality. while accepting the fact that I am only going to display a fraction of the animal figurines in my collection.

With that said, shall we continue this years members by continuing the Alphabet theme introductions?

A Stands For Aardvark

Orycteropus afer

...And AFRICAN LION

Panthera leo 

...And AFRICAN SAVANNAH ELEPHANT

Loxodonta africana

...And AFRICAN PAINTED DOG

Lycaon pictus

...And ALPINE IBEX

Capra ibex

...And AMERICAN ALLIGATOR

Alligator mississippiensis

...And AMUR TIGER

Panthera Tigris altaica

...And ASIAN ELEPHANT

Elephas maximus

B Stands for BACTRIAN CAMEL

Camelus bactrianus

...And BLUE WILDEBEEST

Connochaetes taurinus

C Stands for CRESTED PORCUPINE

Hystrix cristata

F Stands for FENNEC FOX

Vulpes zerda

F Stands for FOSSA

Cryptoprocta ferox

G Stands for GEMSBOK

Oryx gazella

...And GIANT PANDA

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

....And GRAND CAYMAN BLUE IGUANA

Cyclura lewisi

I Stands for INDIAN RHINOCEROS

Rhinoceros unicornis

H Stands for HIPPOPOTAMUS

Hippopotamus amphibius

...And HIROLA

Beatragus hunteri

M Stands for MUSK OX

Ovibos Moschatus

R Stands for RED PANDA

Ailurus Fulgens

...And RETICULATED GIRAFFE

Giraffa reticulata

S Stands for SAIGA ANTELOPE

Saiga tartarica

...And SCARLET IBIS

Eudocimus ruber

...And SNOW LEOPARD

Panthera uncia

...And SPOTTED HYENA

Crocuta crocuta

T Stands for TIBETAN ANTELOPE

Pantholops hodgsonii

W Stands for WARTHOG

Phacochoerus africanaus

...And Western Lowland Gorilla

Gorilla gorilla gorilla

Asiatic Lily Returns for Encore Performance!

 I planted half a dozen of these glowing orange Asiatic Lilies in planters on my deck last year.  This is the only one to survive our atypically harsh winter of sub-freezing temps--if it had not been for the snow cover, I doubt even it would have managed.  Yet, here it is in all of its tangerine glory.  What joy!

My Little Garden Zoo: Memorial Day Weekend...Slow Opening

 Normally, I would have the thing at least 80% up and running.  But this year it's been such a damp and cool spring, I'm just finding I have less time suitable to the task to spend outside.  The good news remains that I am enjoying the process just as much as I always do.  To collect and then select a few to arrange in little worlds across the planters on my back deck, and then to tend them over the course of the summer, has proven a lovely distraction that always yields satisfying results.

A First Peak at My Little Garden Zoo 2026--An Imperfect Alphabet of Small Wonders.

A stands for AMERICAN BISON

Bison bison

B stands for BLACK BEAR

Ursa americana

C stands for CAPE BUFFALO

Syncerus caffer caffer

...And CHEETAH

Acinonyx jubatus

...And CHIMPANZEE

Pan trogladytes

...And CLOUDED LEOPARD

Neofelis nebulosa

E stands for EASTERN BLACK RHINOCEROS

Diceros bicornis michaeli

...And EASTERN GREY KANGAROO

Marcropus giganteus

G stands for GALAPAGOS ISLAND GIANT TORTOISE

Chelonoidis niger

...And GRAY WOLF

Canis lupos

I stands for INDIAN PANGOLIN

Manis crassacaudata

K stands for KOMODO DRAGON

Varanus komodoensis

M stands for MALAYAN TAPIR

Tapirus indicus

...And MOOSE

Acer acer

O stands for OKAPI

Okapi johnstoni

P stands for PACIFIC WALRUS

Odobenus rosmarus divergens

...And PLAINS ZEBRA

Equus quagga burchellii

...And PLATYPUS

Ornithorhynchus anatinus

S stands for SLOTH BEARS

Melursus ursinus

...And SQUIRREL MONKEYS

Saimiri cassiquirarensis

...And SUMATRAN ORANGUTANS

Pongo abelii

W stands for WHITE & BLACK RUFFED LEMURS

Varecia variegata

...And WHITE-HANDED GIBBONS

Hylobates lars

...And WOLVERINES

Gulo gulo

...And WOMBATS

Vombatus ursinus