Cockapoos and Tigers and Giraffes. Oh My!

It occurs to me that I'm writing an awful lot about animals, mostly of the food variety. So, of course, I'll add more!

My friend, Patrick, whose blog, The Reverberate Hills (link on the left), is both beautifully written and really funny, kindly linked to me yesterday, promising his readers cockapoo pictures. So, here goes:

That's Madeline on the left and Marcel on the right. I'm crazy about them in a way that is really embarrassing to me. I had not owned a dog since childhood, and after an entire year of researching dog breeds, I settled on cockapoos because they are friendly, long-lived, and good walkers. I pictured that I would have a loyal dog by my side. I did not picture that I would feel so maternal, and I definitely did not picture that my adoration would be amusing to everyone I know. But there you have it. Even I can't always be sensible.

Speaking of sensible, the SF Zoo tiger case is absolutely fascinating to me. Not the tragedy itself, but the reaction to it. I just listened to 90 minutes about it on The Ronn Owens Show and, well, let's put it this way--the lawyer for the young men had better settle out of court. The callers were unanimously sympathetic to the zoo and the tiger. Personally, I think there's plenty of blame to go around, but public opinion is very much against people old enough to know better who possibly visited the zoo with the purpose of taunting a caged animal, possibly with slingshots.

In November, I took our school's ecology club on an overnight trip to the zoo. We had a wonderful time, and I hope those trips can continue after the improvements are made. It does kind of give me the creeps to remember our night walk with very, very dim overhead lights and no flashlights.

As for giraffes, my Winter Break was full of excellent, memorable moments. One was M's annual Christmas cookie exchange, where she makes dozens and dozens of sugar cookies and pastry bags full of icings in beautiful colors. She invites friends and family over and we get to eat, meet, and decorate cookies. I'm not sure how long this party has been going on, but I know it's at least a decade and something I always look forward to. This year, my son Cameron was able to join us, and charmed us all with his beautiful giraffe cookies. I, on the other hand, am incapable of making a giraffe cookie or any animal cookie in anything but its natural colors. Too sensible. I'm glad that my children and friends are not like me.

Excuse me while I return to talking baby talk to my fluffy dogs.