Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Neither Hogs Nor Dogs

The Okanagans was positively beautiful but after being away from the coast for five days, I sure am glad to be home.
The trip was very pleasant, filled with good food and comforting company so I'm glad I was there. While I enjoyed my entire stay in Summerland, the highlight of the week for me was actually the trip back, when we stopped at Manning Park and I got to feed the prairie dogs! Don't be mislead by their name, these little creatures are not at all dogs. They're like squirrels except they live in underground burrows. We pulled into the park briefly for a bathroom break and there they were, running amongst people not at all frightened. Of course, me being the overzealous animal lover was overwhelmingly ecstatic at the sight of these cute little rodents and I couldn't wait to get closer to them. One of the girls there, who I assume was also enamored with the delightful animals was kind enough to give me the rest of her rodent-feed. And as I reached my hand out, five of them came towards me and nabbed the bits of bread straight out of my hand and started nibbling away right in front of me. It was like nothing I've ever experienced before (except for that time tried to feed a duck and got too scared as soon as it started to peck at my palm) because at that point, I felt "removed from my human ego". I was not part of a species capable of killing, destroying and polluting, instead, I was just another earth dweller. This may sound silly, but the fact that they had so much trust in humans made me feel so at one with nature! I mean, one can immerse herself in nature by doing woodsy activities like camping and hiking, but when you're up close and personal with a timid, wild creature like that eating out of your hand, it's like the distinction between "man and animal" no longer mattered.

I pretty much didn't care about coordinating my outfits on the trip so I didn't bother taking any pictures of them. But this is something I wore and was quite fond of last week, before the trip. The see-through blouse totally makes it!.

Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom.....

9 comments:

the 90s will never die said...

hmm, I'm not sure how "wild" they are though if people are feeding them all the time, kind of like squirrels/pigeons in cities. That would probably impede their ability to survive in the wild since they might not run away as readily from a potential threat. It's still adorable though that they've come to trust people so much.

I love that outfit! 90s much?

Stephanie said...

Aww, the prairie dog is cute...that's so awesome that they let you feed them!

SC said...

awweh adorable!!!
i'm glad you had fun (:
oh and welcomes back.

i got scared trying to feed a duck too.. and then it actually bit me. darn ducks :/ jks i love animals too. i'm not going to begrudge that one duck for biting me. i moved on. i'm more of a goose person now.

SC said...

oops rambling on about ducks made me forget to comment on your outfit

LOVE IT.
did i say how much i liked florals?
and colourful prints popping out of sheer fabric?

cuz i do.

oh and your hair's getting more fabulous every day :O

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE said...

ducks are just cute at a certain point, but i mean feeding them can be a lil tacky. hmmmm i got scared of them at times.

ANDWHATELSEISTHERE

SHOP

Marlena said...

I tried feeding ducks once and it just didn't work. I'm a total wuss around animals @.@

I'm really loving that outfit too!
The neon colors showing through the sheer top has a neat effect *.*

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Michelle said...

Aww bless. I love animals but I tend to scare the wild ones away by cooing too loudly, lol.

And your outdoorsy outfit is still super steezy.