Alpaca Days!

There are many many cool things about alpacas.

They're cute, have very nice, very soft fur, and big eyes (thus lending to their cuteness).  Their fur
is softer (and warmer) than llamas. They make this nice little humming sound that means they are
content and lets other alpacas know they're around. They have one offspring at a time, called a cria. There are a couple alpaca farms in this part of Iowa and this weekend was National Alpaca Farm Days!  Time to show off your wonderful alpacas! Who wouldn't want one of these adorable little alpacas????

random

Today I met someone from Moldova, a country I admittedly know very little about.
I actually asked if she was Russian, based on my perception of her accent.

next reason

Okay, that wasn't hard...

Long-sleeved cotton t-shirt at a local boutique, for $40, with
"Gun totin' America lovin cowgirl" emblazoned on the front, along with red rhinestones
On the back it proclaims "Cowgirl justice".

reasons I wish I had a secret camera in my head

1. bushy bearded cook/prep guy in the open-kitchen restaurant wearing a "hair" net over his
bushy beard

2. sign for "pork pizza' somewhere

3. tiny wiry little dog on a leash at the farmer's market

4. kids playing with hula hoops at a block party

Those are all I'm thinking of right now... will try to list more as they come to me.

Bike rack

or giant puzzle...

universality

Maybe a comment on the universality of things--- kids who are picky eaters--
I was eating dinner with a group of the Nepali ELL students and watching one of
the kids pick apart her samosa-- until she had emptied it of its savory filling (peas and potatoes),
and just ate the outside wrapping of the samosa!  I asked her mom about it and she said, yes, she only
likes the outside of the samosa!  :-)

strange looking fruit

a hedge apple ( a bumpy, hard textured fruit)
found at the Iowa Arboretum