Your Backyard Is Wild Read Online Free PDF Page B

lights and the crowds were still there—all that was missing was the confetti. It was like every day was a celebration in New York.
    Uncle Peter drove up the west side of Central Park, past a majestic building with tall columns and another crowd out front. “That’s the museum! There are dinosaur bones and models of huge ocean creatures and a planetarium in there. You guys will love it!” Gabe told Benjamin and Lucy as Uncle Peter parked the car.
    But Benjamin was already having some doubts. The line to get in was long. And it was a beautiful day—the kind of day when his family would usually be outdoors. He didn’t want to be rude, but he just had to ask . . . “Could we go to Central Park instead?” he suggested. “It’s so nice out, and I’d rather see nature alive than nature in a museum!”
    His mom winked at him, and he wondered if she’d been thinking the same thing. She added, “I’ve been dying to visit the park since we saw it from the top of the Empire State Building.”
    That quickly, it was decided.
    The families entered Central Park just as a pair of horses trotted by, pulling an old-fashioned carriage behind them. There were pathways full of runners and bikers. And between them all were patches of grass, some small and some massive, with people reading books or playing ball. It was the busiest park Benjamin had ever seen.
    As usual, the kids ran ahead while the parents strolled slowly behind. And soon they were standing in front of the last thing Benjamin ever expected to see in the middle of the city: a lake! People were paddling around on rowboats, taking pictures of the famous buildings that were reflected in the water.
    “Oh, we have to rent a boat!” Gabe said. “It’s the only way we’ll be able to see what this lake is really like.” It was as if, after a few days with his cousins, he was starting to think like them.
    Each family went rowing in one boat. Across the water, Benjamin could hear his uncle telling Gabe about the history of the park. But Benjamin’s parents, as usual, were focused on the wildlife.
    “Benjamin—look,” his mom said. She pointed to a pile of rocks near shore. Benjamin couldn’t see what made them special until they rowed a little closer. That’s when he realized they weren’t rocks at all but a bunch of turtles basking in the sun! “Eastern painted turtles,” his mom said before he had a chance to ask. She knew by the pattern on their shells. “They’re sitting in the sun because they’re cold-blooded and can’t regulate their own body temperature. A good sunbath will keep them warm for a while, though.”

    The Baxters rowed up to Gabe’s boat, then pointed their oars so his family could see the turtles. “I just read online that a thirty-pound snapping turtle lives in this lake, too!” Aunt Lily said cheerfully. “He was discovered when some workers had to drain a portion of the lake.”
    Benjamin was curious about that one! Snapping turtles were a little more ferocious than other turtles, and thirty pounds was pretty big! He looked for it as he paddled, but there was no sign of it. He did notice a group of mallard ducks and a flock of Canada geese, though. He also saw frogs leaping through in the greenery around the shoreline, though they moved too quickly for him to tell what kind they were. He knew they were frogs, not toads, since they had long legs for hopping and smooth, greenish skin. The skin of toads tended to be browner and drier, and their legs were short and stubby.
    When their arms were tired from rowing, the families walked across the park to the East Side and the Central Park Zoo. Benjamin, Lucy, and Gabe spent a long time watching the sea lions at feeding time. They leaped out of the water and snatched fish from their trainers’ hands.
    One sea lion even hopped on the rocks and walked on his flippers for the crowd. The trainer smiled proudly at his student, and Benjamin knew how he felt. It was the way he felt, back home,