I just have to show you this!

Last Saturday, we were visiting our daughter and family in Ohio. We went to Jack Hanna's Columbus Zoo which is a very beautiful place. It is like walking through a very private park, everything in its place.

We saw the typical monkeys, fish in the aquarium, etc., but there was one animal I had never seen before and actually, I did not know this creature existed. It is called an Okapi (O copy). They are found in NE Zaire and were first discovered in 1900. I just can't believe I have never heard of this animal. Because it is so strange looking, I know I would have remembered seeing photos of it before. You form your own opinion. I just had to stare and stare. My son-in-law summed it up when he remarked that it looked like God had some left-overs to use up when he designed the Okapi.

Be sure to double-click on the photos to get a close-up look. They weren't very cooperative in posing for me.

Our animal friends

As we start preparing for our long trip home next week, we want to remember some of the great animal friends we have made. What a beautiful world we live in!

All the pretty horses

Right near where we live, there are stables where people can board their horses and take riding lessons. I pass this way several times a week when I am going out our back gate. The horses are beautiful and the other day I saw something I had never seen before.

This horse looked so beautiful, but I loved his tail. It has got to be the best fly swatter a horse could ever own.

I wish I was fonder of horses. I think it has to do something with my unreasonable fear of heights. When you sit on a horse, you are really so high that falling might be a dangerous situation. I remember as a Camp Fire Girl back in the 50's. I would go to Camp Hitaga in Iowa for a week or two for several summers in a row. These are some of my happiest memories and I still remember most of the camp songs we learned. Horseback riding was the one thing that I wasn't sure of. I remember being on a horse that wouldn't move for me. That is almost worse than one going too fast; almost. My brother-in-law has raised horses for a long time and I always thought they were so beautiful, but never had a desire to ride one again.