All animal photos taken at Longleat Animal Safari.
In a bit of animal life mirroring human life: We stopped to watch this camel family for a bit because the mom was being constantly hounded by her baby, who was continually trying to get between her legs to nurse, she kept walking away or pushing its head away with her hoof.... to which the baby (who really wasn't much of a baby) started biting it's mother's leg! All I could think of was when my kids were smaller and would creep around the floor where ever I stood, follow me when I moved, and then try to attach themselves to my leg and not let go.
Well, this is awkward.
Grandma's gift just about made his head explode. Good thing there are 30 extra Lego heads contained in that box. :)
Making the cake almost broke me. Even though I know the higher fat content of butter over here can affect almost everything, I still get caught off-guard by some recipes. Like the recipe for the cake frosting, which ended up kind of separating once the cream was added (top left photo). It tasted delicious, but looked like a broken meringue only greasier. Ew. I ended up splitting the sheet cake into two layers and putting raspberry jam and the broken frosting there. Sadly, I had to just throw away the rest... I started over with another recipe that called for a bit of shortening, usually a great stabilizer; again, the frosting consistency was too soft, but at least looked palatable. So, instead of drawing in frosting, I melted some chocolate to make a bit of ganache and used that for the writing and used actual legos (built by CC and Destructo) to decorate the STAR WARS cake of his dreams. Oddly enough, I think this was the tastiest birthday cake I've ever made. The kids fought me for the last piece and I couldn't've been happier about that!
And one more thing, just in case you're not sure why there are all those signs in the drive-through safari lion & tiger enclosures.... you know, the ones that say keep your doors closed and windows up? This ought to clear things up for you:
All photos shot with Nikon D300.
Mmmmmm cake!!
ReplyDeleteLove those regal tigers. And I guess a long neck helps with reaching things up in trees, but if your legs are really long, not so much for stuff on the ground! Cute giraffe.
ReplyDeleteAnd cake... ohhhh, cake....
The camel family is hilarious! I guess moms of all kinds have to deal with kids pestering them.
ReplyDeleteThe cake looks delicious! Chocolate and cream...ymmmm!
My favorite shot is of the giraffe. So graceful!
ReplyDeleteWow, now THAT'S a warning!! LOL! I love that you made the birthday cake yourself! My mom always made ours, and it was so much more special! It looked GREAT!! Happy Birthday, little guy!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a fun group of pictures!! Cake and crazy animals...fun week!
ReplyDeleteZoos are the greatest, and your photography is excellent.
ReplyDeleteLove the lion attacking sign. Very clear. Happy birthday to your boy. Love the pick of him opening the legos.
ReplyDeleteThe giraffe is adorable. They are my favorites. And the camels - ha! The little ankle biter!
ReplyDeletegreat shots....Love the last one, well....just because...
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat for photos! The camels story made me laugh!! Who says we're all that different from animals?
ReplyDeleteWe went to a one of those safari places in Arizona a couple of years ago. In part of it, there were enclosed exhibits where you walked along sidewalks and viewed the animals much like in a regular zoo. Well, a couple of teenagers had climbed over the retaining fence and were reaching through the cage PETTING a lion. A LION. I was gearing myself up to submit those dolts for the Darwin Awards, but sadly the lions had just been fed and there was no bloodshed. Seriously, though, they were petting a f*ing lion. I still can't believe it.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there was more fat in British butter. Charming accents AND lush, delicious butter? I'm moving next week.
I didn't know about the butter!
ReplyDeletePearl