I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, yesterday! Mine was filled with Christmas music…
“Christmas Shoes” gets me every time!
And animals at Sun City Stables…
Can’t believe Christmas is over already, but only 364 days until Christmas 2014! Too soon to start a countdown? nah… So who’s having a bonfire for New Years? And where’s my invite?
I love looking through old pictures, and my last trip to Switzerland will always be one of my favorites. We were staying in a small town called Wengen, “perfect” or “picturesque” doesn’t even begin to describe it. I know climbing the Männlichen doesn’t exactly make me a mountaineer, but we did it… and it was beautiful…
So many cows… and I had to visit with all of them…
The Eiger North Face… Aka what the North face traveling gear is named after…
Sigh… Is it time to go back yet?
You’re driving through the the Everglades and you see a sign that says, “Skunk Ape Research Facility.” Do you stop, or do you keep going thinking, “What kind of person goes there?” The answer to that question is, “I do!!!” You are missing out if you don’t. The research facility is on hwy 41 in the middle of the Everglades. If you’re road-tripping down to the Keys, it’s the perfect place to stop for some leg stretching.
For those that don’t know, which is most of us, the Skunk Ape is the Everglades version of Bigfoot. It’s a large primate type thing, that allegedly lives up in the trees, feasting on deer liver and beans. I can promise you that I’m not advising you to stop to see a bunch of hazy pictures of grown men running around in ape suits. What you will see, though, is a lot of really cool animals and exceptionally helpful staff.
That nice gentleman is the main caretaker for all of the animals. He will happily stand there and tell you about each individual creature’s personalities, quirks and preferences. He will also feed many of those large birds dozens of cashews right out of his mouth. His immune system must be impressive.
We went through the whole animal tour without even a slight mention of the Skunk Ape. That was until I walked outside and asked a group of locals, “So who knows about the Skunk Ape?” Apparently, the world’s leading skunk ape expert was one of the men standing there when I asked. I got the full skunk ape tour complete with YouTube video clips, a book, personal stories of encounters from the man himself and more information than I could have ever wanted about a creature that almost certainly doesn’t exist. It was an adventure. I would recommend the stop 100%. Admission is only $5 and it’s worth every penny!
Happy Wednesday! You’re half way through the week!
I’ve been a little silent recently because I’ve had a monumental amount of school work. Recently though, I was able to make a trip to Ikea (love that place!) to buy some mattresses. Their mattresses come in impossibly tight rolls covered in plastic. I ended up with four pieces of plastic and a large blue tarp, from the box spring, all in one big pile. For most people, that’s just a big pile of garbage. For Kitten, that is heaven. Crazy, Cross-eyed Heaven. So to apologize for my absence, I give you a few pictures of my immensely adorable Kitten…
Just. Tired.
Forget “Happy as a pig in mud.” Now it’s “Happy as a Kitten with plastic.”
Having a dog around is a lot like being around a little kid, you end up doing a lot of spelling. C-a-r. B-o-n-e. C-a-t. W-a-l-k. B-a-t-h. Those are words that can only be said, instead of spelled, if you are trying to elicit some response from the dog. Almost all of those words are met with jubilant responses, apart from b-a-t-h and c-a-t. “Bath” makes him run to the farthest corner of our backyard and bark awkwardly. He never barks so it sounds very silly and unnatural.
Rides in the c-a-r are normally his favorite thing, so if you are wondering why he is making such a ridiculous face… There is a perfectly good explanation..
If he only knew getting in the c-a-r is the last thing the c-a-t wants to do…
I spent my Memorial Day at Sun City Stables and I have the sunburn to prove it! They have horseback riding or a petting zoo if riding isn’t really your thing. Time is of the essence though, because right now they have the CUTEST little baby horse! Meet Milo…
He has absolutely no fears and will happily walk over and chew on your arm, face, camera… whatever. He’s not picky. The sheep are shameless as well.
In their defense, I did enter the pen with a bag of chips. If you are around sheep, or goats for that matter, with a bag of chips they really can’t be held responsible for their actions.
On top of the goats, sheep and horses, there are also llamas, an alpaca, an ostrich and a couple guinea pigs… and maybe some other things that I have forgotten. It’s only $5 for the petting zoo, which is nothing, so go check it out! The riding trails are lovely, the people are friendly and the animals are great. 🙂
OK so he was not so much singing as he was complaining at the ring tone that Skype was making, but you get the point. He can be so opinionated about things!
Happy Caturday, Everyone. I just wanted to point out how absolutely ridiculous cats can be. These two can’t stand each other, and yet they insist on always being together. For example, sitting together on the back patio..
Catching bugs… together…
One sleeps on my shoe..
The other watches from a few feet away…
All this bonding time but if they both try to walk through the doorway at the same time, there will be an all out war. It would probably be complete with flying fur and those bizarre noises only cats can make… They are so strange… but I love them…
I am in the middle of studying for my Spanish final and Kitten jumps on my desk, lies down and proceeds to use my hand as a pillow. How am I supposed to move my hand and keep working when he is this cute? Apparently, it was all an act of love and sympathy, because when I did move my hand and attempt to adjust the keyboard, I was met with some resistance…
Was he saying, “No. Go take a nap!” ? I think so. Sweet, thoughtful Cat.
Two Thumbs 