The snow is melting, the rattle-y noise the car was making in the frigid temps has ceased and (gasp!) we opened our windows yesterday to let some fresh air into the house.
Spring cleaning is underway at home and the clocks have leaped forward. But the surest sign of spring for us? We visited the zoo on Friday.
We are year-round zoo-goers, mind; though certainly we don't get there much in winter. But we do go. When my son and I visited on Friday, the small crowd made it clear that most folks still think it's too wintry to visit the Milwaukee County Zoo.
And maybe the zoo thinks so, too, as it seemed a few things were still closed for winter or for off-season fixes. And, perhaps most telling of all, there was snow on the train tracks.
But the zoo is slowly coming alive for spring.
We spent much of our time inside the aviary, the small mammals and giraffe buildings and in the primate house watching the spider monkeys frolic and Mahal lick the window.
In the fish and reptile building we asked a zookeeper how many fish are in that large tank with the small fish (another large tank nearby has huge specimens). I guessed 300, my son picked 500, but we weren't even close. The keeper told us that the most recent estimate was 1,000.
But there was a bit of action outside, too.
The penguins were already drawing a small crowd and the monkeys sat atop the peaks on Monkey Island, breezing off in the coolness, as my son so quotably noted.
And at least one boy and his dad didn't think it too soon to indulge in a little ice cream.
As best as I can tell, spring, my friends, is on the way.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
