Getting sick over New Year’s is apparently now a tradition. I’ve had a cold (and colds make me act like a man…poor little bunny!) since Tuesday. So I’ve been drinking orange juice and catching up on “How I Met Your Mother” on streaming video even more quickly than my retired mother (not that it’s a race or anything). Hopefully I’ll feel better and will be back to my non-regularly scheduled posting soon.
Dave’s last day off was Tuesday and even though I was already feeling a little off and the wind chill was 17 degrees, our plan to visit the red panda babies at the National Zoo was too important to blow off. In retrospect, standing outside cooing over the red panda family (Mom, Dad and the two babies, Pili and Damini) for 30 to 45 minutes in the bitter cold was probably a bad idea. But look!
Red panda’s too sexy for this branch.
The pandas were all basically napping when we first arrived, but then the keeper came out with food. They seemed to listen to him, check it out–so adorable! Dude has my dream job.
It kind of looked like they were eating cut up hot dogs.
The keeper and the volunteer we talked to said that Dad is still not used to sharing his enclosure with the two babies. Here’s a baby adorably trying to hold his/her ground when Dad approaches. Dad had the right of way.
Baby red panda!
The babies were born in June. Next time we need to get to the zoo sooner. They were still adorable, but getting pretty big. Even the keeper said he had trouble telling the members of the family apart.
This is my first attempt at watermarking my photos. I kind of hate it. It’s a pain in the ass and I don’t like the way it looks. I’m also baffled as to why it looks different depending on photo orientation. But I’d hate having one of my pictures stolen too. Ironically, I’m pretty sure Dave took most of these since I prefer to focus on enjoying red pandas without a camera in front of my eyes. I took some photos, but it’s impossible to know for sure which, if any, of these I snapped.
Congrats on the watermark and I hope you feel better soon. I got a cold this NYE, too – though I don’t have a pattern established. I have to get on top of the copyrighting, too. I liked it better when a copyright was assumed. Damn our litigious society!
I’m fundamentally lazy. I recently read a great post about the topic on one of the blogs I follow (http://rebeccalatsonphotography.me/2011/12/26/copyrighting-your-photography-its-so-important/) and it freaked me out, quite frankly. Photography is one of the things on my pie-in-the-sky, possible short list for a second career, so the idea of just putting stuff out there without protection seems dumb. But have I mentioned I’m lazy?
It was 60 degrees here today, so I went for a short run. It felt pretty good, so I think I’m on the mend. I took this whole week off and am just a little annoyed I had to be sick for some of it.
Very cute! and nice pictures! I’ve never heard of a red panda before, so these are neat to see. Hope you feel better soon!
Red pandas are my favorite (don’t tell my dog). I first saw them at the Buffalo Zoo with my husband, then boyfriend, probably 15 years ago. I can stare at them for a long time–and usually someone has to drag me away from staring at them even if they are just sleeping up in the trees (which is what they are usually doing, which is why it was so exciting to happen to get there around feeding time!).
My favorite shot is the one with the keeper pointing to the ground, like a dog owner calling his dog to come over and sit.
I know, right?!? And they listened! They are so cute it breaks my heart into a million pieces.
Dude has my dream job too! How cool is that!?!?! They are really cute and I’m glad you were able to make it – even with the cold.
I almost asked him how he ended up in the job, but then decided that was obnoxious. I’m sure I would’ve gotten a cold even without the 17 degree wind chill, and even if not, it was still worth it. So cute!
ADORABLE!!! I’m so jealous of you right now. Not of the cold….I had strep and a sinus infection over New Years weekend, so I totally feel you there…BUT THE RED PANDAS! *squeee* And I don’t typically “squee,” but dang, they’re cute!!
Thanks! You win on the illness. Colds suck, but sore throats mean eating is painful and that’s just wrong. Hope you’re on the mend!
I went to the Central Park zoo last week and thought of you when I saw this cutie pie!
https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=64e9799211&view=att&th=1368302112e2461a&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_DbIP3UM0g4_WpRW-IhvsA&sadet=1334880401241&sads=ynrgIOJ8f1qvyyDH8uKmWHDLff4&sadssc=1
I’m getting an error when I click the link–must see cute animal!!!
oh no I’ll try again.