Doce Animales

For those of you who don't speak Spanish, that would be said DOE-SAY AH-NEE-MAH-LAYS.

It fit the necessary cadence better than twelve animals or twelve favorite animals. So there we have it... my favorite animales!!!

Note: this list, in several cases has been influenced by zoo experiences, though I should note, I love many OTHER animals... I pretty much think all of them are cool.

Meerkats: These guys I like so well because they sit and look at you like little old men... or stand up and look around... but they have those faces... no fear, just curiosity—they have a way of making you feel like YOU are the zoo display.

Lemurs: I might think these were just another cute animal if not for a particular zoo experience. When I was in college my best friend asked me up to Portland for the weekend to help take her grandpa to the zoo. She and I, and her brother took it in turns to push the wheelchair through the Portland Zoo (which is technically Washington Park Zoo, but nobody ever calls it that). We got to the Lemur cage and looked and looked... nothing... all of a sudden there was a loud noise and 20 heads popped out of this... gray ROCK. It was hysterical... they'd all just been clustered together sleeping. I've been enchanted ever since.

Orangutan: I've told my orangutan story here before... It's at the bottom of this post. I always liked them before... had one play peek-a-boo with me... but that kiss at Thing 2 won me over forever...

Hippos: This is TOTALLY because of the Toledo Zoo. They have the best Hippo display EVER. There is a viewing area where you can see the hippos underwater, doing their hippo ballet thing, but the first time we went, there was a mama hippo laying on her side, half in the water, and her baby bobbing there in the water nursing. It was WAY cool...

Giant Anteater: Is this the coolest looking animal you ever saw, or what? In all my years of zoo-visits, I had never seen a real one until about six or seven years ago when we went to the Detroit Zoo. The Detroit Zoo is a MARATHON... it's huge and inefficiently set up (say, compared to the Toledo Zoo which is about the same distance from us if measured in hours instead of miles—one, in each case), but the giant anteater made it worth the miles and miles we had to walk to see everything.

Giraffe/Elephant/Penguin: These are animals I always loved, but I love them even more because I have good friends who are somewhat obsessed. Giraffes and elephants are just cool and penguins are amazing to watch, because they are so playful.

Cat: I love cats. I like dogs too, but I like dogs more like I like children... I love them if they are cute, well behaved, clever, and especially when they are MINE (or belong to someone I love) but if they are annoying or out of control, I lose patience quickly. Yappy, in-your-face ones in particular make me want to smack the adult responsible. Cats on the other hand, I ADORE. I love them unconditionally... cute, ugly, cuddly, bitchy. I've been called a cat whisperer... even mean cats like me, given enough time. If I lived alone, I'd probably have three cats. More strains what I am willing to do litter-box wise, but one seems lonely when I'm gone, and two, they end up liking each other better than me (at least if they are litter mates). Whatever the case, I will always have at least one, and if our money situation were better, I'd probably argue for a second (but at the moment we've put a moratorium on new pets)

Hedgehog: Have you ever SEEN anything so cute? Seriously. Have you? I dare you to find something and declare it impossible! I watched a video on a bookstore owner by Boston who had a Hedgehog named Stanley that she sometimes brought to work—she says she sells more Hedgehog centered kids books than any other store... not surprising!

Otter: Not just otters... River otters... they are so playful and fun. I was once a white water rafting guide and on one of my training trips we woke up one morning to CRAZY splashing and came out to find river otters doing this hysterical chase game. They do it at the zoo, too, but I was delighted to find it in nature. And look at those faces!

Wombat: You know... I wasn't even entirely sure what a wombat looked like until I first met my Aussie friends and got edjumaketed. But they've become a symbol of my honorary Aussieism, which I love. They look so cuddly! (though I hear their claws are pretty brutal). I actually love all the marsupials and could have put Wallaby here, but the wombat is sort of symbolic...

The dolphin would be my patronus... erm... if I were a witch and powerful enough to MAKE a patronus, I mean... I love the playful, helpful all rolled into one thing... In fact it MIGHT even be my animagus form, though there are pretty serious limits to only being able to transform in the water...

And of course, you all already know THIS... LLAMA!!!

So there we have it...

I was terribly productive yesterday, but need to be today, too... editing fool... card sending maniac (I think I am only going to manage family at this late date)... and the endless laundry...