the website of Mark S Bailen. . . writer, illustrator, and lousy photographer
It was over 100 degrees at the Tuscon Zoo, and many of the animals, including the brown bear, anteater, sloth, jaguar, and lots of others, were hiding “inside” where they had air conditioning.
I didn’t mind though. The enclosures, although empty, had fantastic fake rocks!
maybe the heat was getting to me, but looking back at my photos from the Tucson Zoo, I found a lot like this. . . I call this, “a study of canopies.”
I was obsessed with this lovely fake rock, and didn’t notice the rhino photobombing. . .
also in the background, a nice theme-park cabana, with a slide. . . Score!
Nature guide at the Tucson Zoo tells people about leaving animals in wild places, inappropriate pets, and the illegal trade of exotic animals. Luckily we don’t have to worry about these problems today.
I love fake-tree cell towers. They symbolize so much about our hang-ups about “nature.” Apparently they’re crazy expensive, yet for some reason they always look cheap, like plastic Christmas trees from Target. The towers often appear completely out of place. The ones above are fake magnolia? and fir? trees, which of course don’t grow in Tucson. Next to the fir is a real com tower with zero camouflage. What are we doing here? Do we actually believe that our urban centers still resemble some idealized form of nature? Are we embarrassed about our cell towers? Scared of 5G? Why try so hard to create fake nature?
More on fake-tree cell towers . . .
At PLANET SCIENCE, you can take a photo with an alien, play with robotic dinosaurs, buy NASA shwag, and enjoy healthy snacks and refreshments. Believe the science!
