The Zoo

Yesterday at the Zoo, in addition to visiting the koalas and the gorillas and orangutans, all our usual haunts, and greeting familiar friends, we also paid attention to some of the creatures we usually do not spend much time with.
After visiting the hippos (dwarf and regular), standing in awe of their gigantic maws and diminutive ears, we stopped at the nearby turtles, who, beneath the water, lose that air of clumsy, bow-legged hesitation that they have above it. We watched them swim in a cloud of guppy fry, effortlessly paddling along or hoovering the bottom of the tank looking for food. The various shapes, sizes, configurations, and colors of turtle were wonderful, and I was glad that I was sporting my favorite turtle earrings for the day.
We also watched a dromedary dreaming. He was on his side, a position I didn't even know was natural for a sleeping camel, front legs folded up like a kangeroo's tight to his chest, while the back legs stretched out, jerking occasionally as he no doubt dreamed of running through the dunes in some sleep Sahara. In the next enclosure over, a zebra also slept on its side.
A cold, crisp day, good for sleeping, I suppose.