A walk in the park
Last night I had a dream that I was back home and all the footy teams had changed. Like they'd gone through all these new mergers and changed their colours and stuff, and I didn't recognise any of them anymore. I mean, I don't even really follow the AFL but I think the point was how far removed I am, over here, and how things do change but I'm not there to see them. I felt a profound sense of loss. I hope the teams don't change too much. Not that so many mergers would really work - the Hawks and the Magpies? Just can't see it.
***
I went for a long walk yesterday. Too many days of inactivity, sitting hunched over in front of the computer, made me really restless. So I did a long walk through High Park and went to their little zoo - I felt a real need to smell animals, familiar animal smells. Like manure and raw animal. Having grown up on a farm, I find it comforting.
They have bison, yaks, llamas, emus, wallabies, a white deer forget what it's called, peacocks, Scottish cows, two ancient breeds of sheep (the breeds are ancient, not the sheep), and yeah, I took some photos, couldn't help myself. (This is the third time I'm writing this post and uploading these photos - don't know what went wrong but every time I'd finish and click on the "preview", everything after the first photo would disappear. Grrr.)
A path through the wilderness part of the park.
Mouflon sheep. Found on the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus, they're believed to be one of two ancient breeds that founded all of today's sheep. Aren't they handsome? Though it's strange to see sheep with hair rather than wool - and moulting to boot! Still, I think they're lovely. C'mon, am I the only person who thinks sheep are beautiful animals?
A Barbury ram. I think it's a ram, anyway. I don't remember much about these ones. Another old wool-less breed of sheep that look more like an antelope crossed with a goat.
Bison. Huge smelly beast. Their heads alone are enormous. I was thinking more of the yummy sheep smell than stinky bison.
A Yak. Much smaller than bison and even regular cows, but they seemed a tad more threatening. Maybe it's all the hair.
Llamas! Aren't they pretty? I just want to kiss their pretty velvety noses! They share an enclosure with a bunch of ducks and it must have been feeding time when I got there, because a man went in and the ducks all swarmed for the barn door. It was so comical, I was just standing by the fence laughing my head off. He had to go and fetch a few slackers and herded them back, and when he finally opened the barn door they went crazy. One of the llamas followed him around with its head practically in his back pocket. It was so funny!
I didn't bother taking any photos of the peacocks. My grandparents had them on the farm - I think there's one male left? The hens used to go off to other farms when they had chicks, and after a while there were only the boys left. My cousins' stupid Dalmatian used to go after them. They must live quite a long time.
***
Is it just me or is every book a "New York Times Bestseller"? Or, I should say, a "New York Times Bestselling Author". Seems like every book I read these days has that splashed across the cover. It can't be very hard to become one then. Has anyone even seen this authoritative list? How did it become such a pinnacle of success? Surely it only covers America?
***
Well, the elephant arrived safely! I kinda wish I'd gone with something more colourful than the grey, but oh well.
Luckily it's not heavy enough to actually trample Tamsyn!
***
I went for a long walk yesterday. Too many days of inactivity, sitting hunched over in front of the computer, made me really restless. So I did a long walk through High Park and went to their little zoo - I felt a real need to smell animals, familiar animal smells. Like manure and raw animal. Having grown up on a farm, I find it comforting.
They have bison, yaks, llamas, emus, wallabies, a white deer forget what it's called, peacocks, Scottish cows, two ancient breeds of sheep (the breeds are ancient, not the sheep), and yeah, I took some photos, couldn't help myself. (This is the third time I'm writing this post and uploading these photos - don't know what went wrong but every time I'd finish and click on the "preview", everything after the first photo would disappear. Grrr.)
A path through the wilderness part of the park.
Mouflon sheep. Found on the islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Cyprus, they're believed to be one of two ancient breeds that founded all of today's sheep. Aren't they handsome? Though it's strange to see sheep with hair rather than wool - and moulting to boot! Still, I think they're lovely. C'mon, am I the only person who thinks sheep are beautiful animals?
A Barbury ram. I think it's a ram, anyway. I don't remember much about these ones. Another old wool-less breed of sheep that look more like an antelope crossed with a goat.
Bison. Huge smelly beast. Their heads alone are enormous. I was thinking more of the yummy sheep smell than stinky bison.
A Yak. Much smaller than bison and even regular cows, but they seemed a tad more threatening. Maybe it's all the hair.
Llamas! Aren't they pretty? I just want to kiss their pretty velvety noses! They share an enclosure with a bunch of ducks and it must have been feeding time when I got there, because a man went in and the ducks all swarmed for the barn door. It was so comical, I was just standing by the fence laughing my head off. He had to go and fetch a few slackers and herded them back, and when he finally opened the barn door they went crazy. One of the llamas followed him around with its head practically in his back pocket. It was so funny!
I didn't bother taking any photos of the peacocks. My grandparents had them on the farm - I think there's one male left? The hens used to go off to other farms when they had chicks, and after a while there were only the boys left. My cousins' stupid Dalmatian used to go after them. They must live quite a long time.
***
Is it just me or is every book a "New York Times Bestseller"? Or, I should say, a "New York Times Bestselling Author". Seems like every book I read these days has that splashed across the cover. It can't be very hard to become one then. Has anyone even seen this authoritative list? How did it become such a pinnacle of success? Surely it only covers America?
***
Well, the elephant arrived safely! I kinda wish I'd gone with something more colourful than the grey, but oh well.
Luckily it's not heavy enough to actually trample Tamsyn!