Otter Delight

Earlier this week, Virginia and LG went to Richmond to visit a friend and her daughter. I drove down to join them, and I met them after their lunch. We all went over to the Maymont Nature Center to see the various exhibits inside. It was a perfect activity for the cold winter day we had. Of course, Virginia and I had been here before, but it was LG's first time to see all the animals that are housed in the center. The theme is to interpret the local James River through exhibit of animals and information about the watershed. The animals at the center include a number of varieties of fish, turtles, owls, and the main attraction--the river otters. These otters never seem to tire of swimming in the glass enclosed area to the excitement of all the children who visit. LG was no exception. She enjoyed their flips and turns through the water. She would say, "Up. Down. Up. Down," as they moved from the top to the bottom of their swimming area. After seeing the otters, she became more interested in the fish which had not made much of an impression when she first saw them. She also saw the owls. Although she loves owls primarily based on a stuffed owl given to her by her grandfather, she was not keen on the owl exhibit. I think it was a little too dark, and the constant owl hooting sound track scared her a bit.