Zen and the Art of Breastfeeding in Public

We went to the zoo. Mom and H-man walked around while I found a quiet bench near the mountain lions. I whipped out the boob and the baby chowed down. It was as simple as that. Until the people came. Lots of people, most who avoided my general bench area. Many who did not notice me, and several who commented on what I was doing (all positive).
It's getting easier every day. The mountain lions seemed to enjoy watching us, or they were eying the delicious morsel I had cradled in my arms.

A Moment of Sweetness

Two little girls and their daddy were in the petting zoo this afternoon. Joy the pig was lounging and oinking in the sun as the girls pet her.
"Hey look, there are eyelashes on this piggy!" One of the little girl said to the other.
"That's how you can tell she's a girl" the other one said.

Rabbits

One of my many glamorous tasks at work is to groom an English Angora rabbit named Hufflepuff. This picture is not her, but you get the idea. I tried to get around it for about a year by saying I was allergic to her, which I very mildly am, but was called out on this and it is now a daily task. As you might imagine this includes brushing out her fur and clipping her nails, but what you might not want to imagine is me having to wash out her vulva also.
Without getting too graphic, a rabbits vulva has two deep pockets on either side of her external lady bits that collect a great amount of smegma almost daily. I'm getting a little queasy just typing this. Hopefully, you are too, because it's a disgusting job and I should not have to suffer alone.
The worst part? The smell. Sour and cheesy.

So I haven't been to work in two weeks due to an "unpaid furlough" if you will and therefore haven't had to wash rabbit vagina for two whole weeks. Today I ate bagels and cream cheese. Then I went to my OB/GYN appointment this afternoon where I was biting my fingernails and caught a wiff of something familiar, and horrific. My fingers smell like rabbit vagina. I blamed the cream cheese and went and washed my hands. It didn't work very well.
Somewhere, Hufflepuff is laughing.

One Pissed Off Llama

Inca, the llama at the zoo, is very distrusting and wary of humans. Only three people I know of are able to touch her, myself included.
She got a shot last week.

I don't think she'll be letting anyone touch her anytime soon.

Springtime in Humboldt, or, Busy at Work, Busy at Play

Springtime in Humboldt County is one of my favorite times of year. The rainy season has, for the most part, ended so I can walk to work without getting my pants and socks wet. It also means that we are busy at the zoo as many of the schools in the area are on Spring Break which results in tons of visitors.
I think I must be especially lucky to work where I do; not only do I get to work with animals and meet a lot of interesting people every day AND get paid for it, but the zoo is in a beautiful old-growth redwood forest where I retreat for my hour long break, geocaching and meditating.
Every month we get a little pamphlet on how to keep us city employees healthy and motivated. This month the topic was stress reduction. Some tips included:
---Having at least an half-hour exercise session
---Having a place to yourself to meditate and reflect
---A few others that I can't remember at the moment, but also apply to my daily life.

Today, a couple of good friends came to visit me (another perk! having a job where I can socialize and laugh). One is a mommy and brought her adorable son who I got to play with during my break.
I can't see how things could get much better than this. Well, maybe if this was all taking place in New Zealand, I suppose.

Staycation Part Deux

After a few days of reflection, and cleaning, Husbandman and I drove up to the snow and then down to the dunes for some plant watching, if that is even a real thing, and bird watching. Yes, that's right, not only do we live on the ocean but we live close enough to an area that it snows every year that we can visit both on the same day.
Check out the hot dune restoration action taking place.
Funny Story: Friends of the Dunes has been attempting a full scale re-establishment of native species to the dunes, which requires the removal of invasive European Beach Grass. However, FOTD has been hampered in their efforts by a lawsuit from a nearby resident who believes that the removal of said grass will expose his home to tsunami dangers. I guess I should mention here that the Manila Peninsula where this is taking place is a quarter-mile wide strip of sand in between Humboldt Bay and the Pacific Ocean, if this man thinks that some beach grass will protect his home from tsunami, well, that's just something special right there.
And now back to the daily grind. Another nice thing about working with animals is that they actually are happy to see you when you've been gone for a while.

A Little Kitteh Tenderness

Ah Clyde. If you come to my work you will see a lot of animals, Clyde is not one of these. A reclusive, un-trusting, gangly, mangly tom cat, Clyde never comes out when public is nearby, having suffered some mysterious but lasting slight in his pre-zoo life, Clyde stalks rodents and hides in bushes or outbuildings during the day. After knowing him for 5 years he now lets me pick him up, often bursting from a bush where he has been snoozing or stalking, greeting me with "meh!" "Meh" Meh". Love this guy.

Friday

Often when I'm talking to friends who I haven't seen in a while, and that generally means all my friends, I explain that I have been out of touch because I'm always at work. Actually that's not true. I wake up in the morning, catch the bus, walk up to work, work all day, walk down to the bus, ride the bus home, clean up around the house a little, eat, read, watch a movie, fall asleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. So a more truthful answer would be "well, I haven't been around because I'm either on the bus, walking, at work, or hanging out with Husbandman for the few precious hours before I have to wake up and do it all again." But then I would just sound like I'm wining, which I happen to be very good at thankyouverymuch, but try not to do too often.
A Bonus: Husbandman and I have the same job for the most part so we can switch shifts if the need arises. Today we had a conversation that went a little something like this:
Me: "So are you going to work tonight or do you want me to?"
Him: "What do you want?"
Me: "It doesn't matter to me, I can work or you can"
Him: "Do you want me to work for you?"
Me: "I don't mind working, really, but if you want to, that's cool."
Him: "Okay, I'll work, because you want me to."
Me: "If you don't want to work I'll do it, really I don't mind"
Him: "You want me to work so I'll do it"
Me, slightly agitated: "No! That's not what I'm saying! I'm perfectly cool with working today, I was expecting to!
All I was asking is if you wanted to work or not!"
Him: "Ha Ha Ha, I love messing with you, sorry, it's just so easy"
Me: "So are you working or am I?"
Him: "Yeah, I'll work, no problem"

It's a miracle we can get anything done without a minor stroke on my part.

Zaftig

I know how you feel, buddy.

The shorter, hairier love of my life.

Meet Jerry.
Jerry, a crossbreed goat with a droopy lip and a propensity to cause trouble lives at the zoo. I love this goat, not in the way that would get me fired, but in the affection someone feels towards a leeward uncle or Jackie Gleason as a child. And when I say Jackie Gleason, I of course mean Jackie Coogan.