Turtles, Australia Zoo and The Grateful Dead?

TURTLE SYMBOLISM & MEANING

My Grateful Dead turtle and badge on a bookshelf

The Grateful Dead sticker on my windscreen

A real lizard and fake turtle at Australia Zoo

I wrote a post about my visit to Australia Zoo recently and featured the irony of being in an almost empty zoo and seeing two frogs jumping onto a STREETS ice-cream cone across an empty street, and I included the song 'Dancing in the Street', because Mick Jagger was dressed in a green shirt and was jumping around in empty streets with the late David Bowie -
No More Dancing in the Streets ... for a While?

Then Jack Heart sent me a link to a Grateful Dead cover version of 'Dancing in the Street', which I had forgotten about to be honest.

"The rock band Grateful Dead began performing
"Dancing in the Street" live in 1966, and through 1971 played the song about 40 times, with Bob Weir singing lead before the song was shelved for several years.

The song returned to their rotation in 1976 with Bob Weir taking the lead vocal, and was played about 80 more times before being retired in 1987.

Live recordings from both periods have been released.

In that second period, the group recorded a cover version of the song in the studio, and released it as a single taken from their 1977 album Terrapin Station.

This version is credited to Stevenson, Gaye, and Hunter, but is titled "Dancin' in the Streets" rather than "Dancing in the Street".
Bassist Phil Lesh has described "Dancing in the Street" as the first song the band stretched out in the live setting from a short pop song into drawn out improvisational jam piece, a practice that would become a Grateful Dead signature."

Instant Syncs and the Spider-verse?

Driving along Steve Irwin Way on my way home
 from Australia Zoo, March 25, 2020

It wasn't until I read Jack Heart's comment about the Grateful Dead cover version, that I remembered that my car was parked in the Australia Zoo carpark nearly all day on the day Bindi Irwin got married there at the zoo.
Of course, I had no idea that Bindi had got married there that day until I got home and saw it on the TV news programs.
Guess Where I Was Today?

The elephant in the room at Australia Zoo?

It's very hard post September 2006 to walk around Australia Zoo and not realize that the zoo is pretty much a shrine to the late Croc Hunter.

I never realized before that Terri is only two months older than me, so I guess that makes us both Dragons ... as in we were both born in the Year of the Dragon.
No wonder I kept seeing lizards on my path around the zoo all day;-)

I really thought Bindi was planning on a Steve Irwin Day wedding at the zoo, which would have made it a November wedding, but what a surprise I got in hindsight to see that I was there the day Bindi did get married. 

It's kind of sad knowing that the day I went to the zoo on March 25th is the last time it was open to the public and not knowing when the zoo will open again in this 50th year anniversary of the zoo.

Doesn't matter what you wear, as long as you are there?

The real deals running around at Australia Zoo:-)

Australia's Heron Island is home to the
breeding grounds of green sea turtles

The strange thing after my visit to the zoo and spending time around the turtles there is that I kept seeing turtles popping up in the news while I was now at home in my shell in semi-lock down and knowing the zoo was now closed indefinitely.
The I Ching, Carl Jung and 'The Red Book'?

The Force is strong with this one:-)

Looking at Mount Tibrogargan from a park off Steve Irwin Way

I stopped to look at Mount Tibrogargan before I got to Australia Zoo and that brought back a few memories of being on top for me -
Climb Every Mountian?

"Turtle & Tortoise Medicine reminds us that strength and determination are the keys to overcoming our obstacles.
Take your time before you move – don’t go jumping out of your shell right into danger."
Precursor to the I Ching: Cracks in a Turtle Shell?

I'm grateful that I got to spend a day at Australia Zoo before the great lock-down of 2020 began and I'm grateful for Jack Heart sending me a link to the Grateful Dead's cover of 'Dancing in the Street'.
Eyes of the World: A New Mouse Pad in the Year of the Rat?

Cheers Jack, you're all Heart;-)