David's Shutter Bug Club

[Kerry]

Since you mention koala cuddling, here I am cuddling one.   

Awwww, so cute! 

Happiness is a cuddlesome koala! 

[Kerry]

Susie, I love the picture of you with the koala!! I've always wanted to hold, pet and cuddle a koala. They look like they are very soft and snuggley!!

Koalas are VERY snuggley, David. And even though they do have somewhat formidable looking claws, they are not sharp, like a cat. A koala's claws are used to grab hold of branches, rather than for ripping open flesh (they only eat eucalyptus leaves). They are very placid, sleepy little sweeties, with gorgeous soft fluffy fur (ideal for snuggling haha!).

[Kerry]

Kerry, I really like that little cartoon in your sig line. It's so cute!! Where do you find all these cute animated cartoons? I still remember the cartoon of the puppy. Remember that one? The puppy ran back and forth across the bottom of the screen and "barked".

I think I found my cute little mad scientist at PhotoBucket, David. I do, indeed, remember the barking puppy and still have him stored away in a safe place somewhere. He may get a re-airing one of these days!     

[Kerry]

Those Tasmanian devils are very cute too. I was watching Animal Planet the other day and they had a Crocodile Hunter rerun on, about the devils. Steve Irwin said devils can be very friendly and affectionate to humans if they are tamed when babies.

Tasmanian Devils are generally very bad tempered, aggressive little animals, David. The ones I've seen were not at all cuddlesome (not unless you wanted to part company with a finger or two, that is, gulp!)

[Kerry]

Another rainy Sydney morning. This snap was taken at approx 6.30 a.m. on Wed 23 April.

[Kerry]

I think the eucalypus keeps them in something of a drunken stupor ... they have the life!!   

Where in Australia did you visit, Susie? When were you here? 

[Kerry]

I was there for about 6 weeks in late 2006.  We started in Darwin and traveled the coast, down through Tasmania and Dunedin, NZ.  Sydney is one of my husband's favorite cities in the world.  He worked there for several months before we met.  He would love to have a home there and spend part of the year, but it is such a long trip.  We spent 6 days in Sydney when we visited in 2006, and I have to concur it is truly a lovely city.

A few of my favorite Sydney photos ...

Sounds like you had a lovely holiday, Susie. You've seen more of Australia than I have! Certainly, I've not been to Darwin or Tasmania (which probably has something to do with my flying phobia). I was born in Sydney and have lived here all my life. I love Sydney. It is a beautiful place to live. I'm so glad you and your hubby love Sydney too. 

[injest]

Another rainy Sydney morning. This snap was taken at approx 6.30 a.m. on Wed 23 April.

OOOOOOOOHHH!! How pretty! I like the shy moon!

[Kerry]

OOOOOOOOHHH!! How pretty! I like the shy moon!

The moon was just about to set in the west when I took that photo, Jess; headed on it's long journey over the Australian continent, the Indian Ocean, Africa, the Atlantic Ocean and ever onward to Texas, before it returned again, across the Pacific Ocean, to Sydney Towne.   

[David In Indy]

Lion Country is west of West Palm Beach, a stone's throw from where I live.  I also first went as a child, and it was about a two hour drive from where I grew up in Miami.  I will never forget my first visit to Lion Country.  I was play fighting with a friend in the back seat of the car, and she kicked out my tooth, a baby tooth luckily.  At Lion Country you actually just drive around in your car.  You are supposed to keep the windows rolled up, but I cheated a little (except for the lion photo).  It is unusual to see the lions up and about.  They are usually sleeping midday.  There is a similar attraction I have visited in southern Texas, I think called Natural Bridge, or somthing like that.  The main difference there was that they sell feed and encourage you to roll down your windows and feed the animals.  The animals are, of course, expecting to be fed, and within seconds of rolling down the driver's side window, a zebra had its entire head in our car, reaching across my hsuband's lap for the food bag in the center console.  He had to grab the zebra and shove it out to be able to continue.  We quickly learned to roll the window down only a smidgen as opposed to all the way.  A big horned sheep also rammed our side view mirror.  I guess it saw itself in the reflection.  The rental car company must really have wondered.

Even though I have lived in Florida all my life, I have yet to visit Parrot Jungle or Monkey Jungle.

I must be getting my memory of it mixed up with something else then. We visited Lion Country Safari when I was 7 or 8, I think. That was a looooooooong time ago! LOL  I never did make it back to either of those places when I lived in Plantation.