South of the James Display & Metro Zoo

3/4 of The Boltz

Prairie Dogs

Lily and the Tiger

Dan Springs Collection – Items for sale

Dan Springs Demos

Friday Julia scooped me up and we were headed to the playground, then I mentioned I would like to visit the Richmond Metro Zoo sometime, about which they’ve been so effusive.  So a brief 20 minutes later, compliments of improved south Richmond roadways, we were with the animals!  In the 10 or 15 years since I first heard of this local, independent zoo I’ve pictured more of a roadside attraction, with anchor hocking fencing and dirt lots.  I have been disabused.  The Richmond Metro Zoo houses in attractive comfort 450+ animals on 30 some acres.  I was assured that we saw only a small portion.  No wonder The Boltz have season passes!  Not only does the Metro have a lively prairie dog colony and flock of flamingos, but my primary requirement for a zoo: tigers!  You can just see the white one stretched out in the photo above with Lily watching thru the glass smudged by multitudes of children, many of whom were still in the park.  I learned that porcupines are large animals, much bigger than my concept, which was more along the lines of a hedgehog.  Check it out – I highly recommend a visit.

Then on Saturday, yesterday, I had my second vending experience at South of the James Market – again a very positive one, made even more so by the presence of the UMBRELLA, mentioned in an earlier post!!  This time out I had signs, after my commission from last week was trying to figure out how her husband could find me for the pickup.  I used t-shirt transfer sheets for inkjet from Avery and muslin - worked like a charm.  Set up the type in Word, flipped it in PhotoShop, and printed from Powerpoint.  Numerous power kids opted for the project of the day: rice bags.  And I even sold a few items.  But most helpful is the contact and discussions – they’re clarifying for me how best to further the efforts of the Traditional Arts Preservation Program.

Tomorrow I’m off to the mountains of North Carolina for a week – updates when I get back!