Zoo

I love going to the zoo. I like walking around taking photos of all the animals.

We don't go to the zoo very often. I only remember going twice. A family as big as mine can't go too often because it is way too expensive.

It is always fun to try and take a photo of an animal in a tank. It is so hard not to have a reflection in the glass.

I like watching the bird and seal shows at the zoo. The seals are very well trained and often do funny tricks. The birds are very interesting.

One of the highlights of the zoo is the elephants. They are so big and strong. I love elephants.

When we go to the zoo it is always a whole day trip. We get up early and get home late. That means we have lunch at the zoo. We have a special picnic of ham and potato salad and rolls. Somehow the rolls taste best there, eaten outside.

I like the giraffes with their long and beautiful necks. They suit long necks perfectly. I think I would look ridiculous with such a long neck.

Last time we went to the zoo we saw three almost grown tigers. One of them was trying to eat a flower pot. He was so cute.

It was at the zoo I learnt a very interesting fact about koalas: They are bouncy in the morning and sleepy in the afternoon. I have only seen koalas bouncing about once. It was very hard to take a photo of them.

There was a fishing cat at the zoo, but it was hiding so we couldn't see it last time. It was a big pity because I really wanted to see it.

There are three Tasmanian devils at our zoo. They are so cute. They run around playing with each other. They were also hard to take photos of.

I love going to the zoo. I hope we get to go again soon.

Lyrebirds

I love lyrebirds. They are so funny.

I was watching a documentary on birds once and I saw a lyrebird imitating a chainsaw. I wonder how they do it. I also heard the bird make the noise of two different kinds of cameras. 

Sometimes, lyrebirds imitate other birds like kookaburras or magpies. I wonder if there is a limit to how many things they can imitate. There seems to be no end to the noises they can make.

I think my favourite noise they make has to be either a camera or the chainsaw. Which is yours?

I love male lyrebirds' tails. They are so beautiful.  It looks a bit like an umbrella when they sit under it. Lady lyrebirds don't have half such beautiful tails. The female birds never seem to be as pretty as the male ones. They always seem to be the plainest. I wonder why?

Lyrebirds are one of my favourite birds. I bet you know why. Which is your favourite bird?

Kitten Excitement

We were all eating lunch. Well all of us except Callum, he was at work, but Dad was home.

"I wish we had a cat," said someone. I don't remember who.

"I saw a sign outside the pet shop in town saying they are selling Abyssinian cats," said Imogen.

The next thing I knew we were going out the door to see the cats, and maybe buy one.

"Don't get your hopes up too high.We might not get a cat," said Dad. We could not help but be excited though.

All of us girls hopped into the van. Duncan was staying home. I think he was as excited as we were, but he had things to do.

All the way to the pet shop I could hardly sit still. I bounced around. I had never owned a cat. I had always wanted one though.

"I'm sorry we have sold all the Abyssinian cats," a lady told us as we entered the pet shop. My heart sank. It seemed we would not get to take a kitten home with us. "We do have a Himalayan-Persian  kitten," she added.

"We will see her then," Dad said. He had not driven all that way for nothing. My heart rose again.

The lady went over to a cage and brought out a cute little kitten. She had big brown eyes, a bit like an owl's. We all fell in love with her.

Everyone took it in turns to hold the cat. We all sighed over her nice soft fur and loud purr.

"Does she have a name?" we asked.

"Oh no! We leave that for the owners to do," The pet shop lady said.

It was soon decided that we would take the cat home.

The next job was to chose our cat a collar. It took a lot of thought, but in the end we bought her a nice purple one, the collar I had wanted the cat to have.

It was a long and exciting trip home. It was not long in distance, but for Dad it must have seemed like miles and miles.

The cat was scared stiff and tried to climb everywhere. Imogen got a lot of scratches from trying to hold her down.

At last our van turned into the driveway and we all hopped out with all the cat's stuff and the cat herself.

Our cat went straight to the job of exploring. I could not help but wonder if she was a little scared to be in a new place with a lot of strange people staring at her.

"She needs a name," Mum said. She went over to the computer and went to a cat name site.

After a lot of thought and shouts of no and yes we got ourselves down to two names, Poppy and Princess.

"Why don't we call her Princess Poppy?" Mum asked. We all agreed. I am glad we did not call her Pumpkin as that was one of the names we found.

"Poppy for short," Mum said.

Poppy did not seem to notice that she had just been given a name. She just continued looking around. I have to wonder how a cat can miss such an important event in their lives. I guess I didn't really notice when I was named either though.

"Let's not tell Callum. Imagine how surprised he will be to come home tonight and find we have a cat," Imogen said. We all giggled.

When Callum rang to say he was on his way home we all hoped he couldn't hear the big purrs coming from someone's lap.

Mum didn't tell Callum about Poppy. She just told him there was a surprise waiting at home. He had no idea what it was. He was very surprised when he saw her.

"A cat!" Callum said and picked Poppy up. I still could not believe she was really ours.

I love Poppy. We have had her for a few years now, but she is as cute as ever. Do you own a cat?

Jaguars

Jaguars are wonderful cats! They are so big and powerful looking. I don't know much about about them, but I always wished that I could see a real one.

Jaguars have wonderful fur. All orange and black. I wish I could have a coat like that, but it might be hot in summer, now I come to think of it, it would be very hot indeed.

What always amazed me about the big cats, is that the women are the hunters, while the men sleep and laze about. What a life. I think it is unfair for the women as they have to do all the work.

I can imagine running through the trees as a jaguar. It would be very exciting. I would be one of the fastest things around and everyone would know it and know to get out of my way.

The only problem if I was a jaguar is that I would have to do all the work because I am a girl, and that does not sound fun at all!

Would you like to be a jaguar?

An Animal Collage

I was at an animal sanctuary last week and there were all sorts of animals there but I forgot to bring my camera and so when I got home I looked up some of the animals on Morgue file and then I made them into a collage on Picnik.

Which kind of animal do you like best? I like the dingos and the koalas.