Monday, July 23, 2007

To the celestial, and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia


MB's parents visited on Saturday to celebrate his mom's birthday, and one of the things she wanted to do was visit the zoo. We saw pretty flowers:



lots of peacocks:




a sneaky sitatunga antelope:



some craggy tortoises:



a wallaby and a very...erm...manly red kangaroo:



and quite a few other animals. It was a really cool day for July, and even the lions and tigers were napping out in the open.

My favorite animal of the day, however, was Ophelia, the prehensile-tailed Brazilian porcupine. We went to a "meet the animals" program in the children's area, and she was one of the ambassador animals.



We got to pet her after the program, since the quills are only dangerous if they're raised or if you run your hand against the hairs. Her quills felt like plastic soda straws. Ophelia may be one of the most adorable animals I've ever seen.



We met up with Ophelia and her keeper again a little while later in the bird building, and I got to pet her a second time. She propped her front paws up on my hand so she could stretch out and up toward a treat, and then I got to feed her a piece of walnut. Sometimes it really is the little things that make life amazing.




Reading:  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Also:



6 comments:

  1. Oh you always have the most lovely outings and the most fabulous pictures. I love it so. (and pet a porcupine? FANTASTIC!!!)

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  2. The last time I was close enough to pet an animal at the old zoo, a Binturong decided that my leg would be fantastic to climb up.

    Thankfully I was wearing long pants.

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  3. I think Binturongs are freaking cute! But then, I've never had one try to scale my extremities.

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  4. Anonymous2:14 AM

    She is the most gorgeous creature I've never seen. That nose! That tail! Gack! Love it. :)

    And also, that LOLcat, cracked me up completely.

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  6. Anonymous5:17 PM

    Those are pretty great zoo photos -- well done!
    Mike

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