White Silk

Whoever used to make white parachute silk has slid into a new and profitable line. At Brookfield Zoo, there are a lot of areas where permanent buildings might be contemplated (or not) and for now, they've put up gorgeous white silk tents.

When butterflies began to be a popular exhibit, they were housed in various filmy extravaganzas, white or netted white, in Seattle and then here in Brookfield. But these tents I was looking at this year are solid, shiny, -- people go outside in the morning and slide down solid insertions to reveal mesh screening for air. No Renaissance-type pennants flying, no domes or peaks -- the tents are so large, their roofs are more like gently domed?

Brookfield has got a lot of land; the tent solution is great.