It's Oscar Wilde's birthday!

In honor of the excellent writer and wit, I give you one of my favorite of his quotes:

"Only the shallow know themselves."

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}

A Break from Labor

This Labor Day I hope you can learn from the examples of the following animals who know how to enjoy some time to themselves.

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}

Seal Snouts

The National Zoo has introduced several new individuals into its pinniped exhibit, so now both harbor and grey seals glide with languorous strokes through the water and perform twirls and underwater spins for our and their amusement.

Among the many photos of these guys that I took this weekend are several that illustrate one of the main differences between grey and harbor seals. In short: grey seals have long noses, and harbor seals have snubbed ones.

For example, this is a grey seal:

And this is a harbor seal:

Grey seal:

Harbor seal:

See? Now you can tell them apart if you’re ever at a cocktail party with them.

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}

Two Seal Pictures and Some Shameless Self-Promotion

These photos don't really tell a story, although they do continue to illustrate the adage "Animals don't pose." Note how seals are able to seal (if you will) their nostrils shut while swimming, a talent I envy a great deal (especially when I'm swimming in the ocean and get a couple ounces of salt water up my nose).

What animal talents do you most envy?

...And while you ponder that question, a word from our sponsors:

As the holidays approach, why not branch out from the familiar and predictable presents and instead buy an animal photo, pun-ny card, or button for your loved ones?

After all, who wouldn't want to receive this:

Ask Me About Satellite Males Pinback Buttons by O_Ambrogio

Or this card:

Appy Owlidays Card by O_Ambrogio

Or this lovely image:

[available here, at the Gallery site]

No need to thank me; I'm just doing my part to encourage slightly more unconventional consumerism.

A Measure of Relief

I finally saw a couple of the National Zoo’s beavers, and they seemed to be entirely un-rabid!

Instead they displayed a very healthy and entirely appropriate interest in sticks.

Incidentally, the mystery photo last week was of this:

—Which might not tell you anything, but is basically an image of the zoo’s grey seal rubbing her nose with her flipper while underwater. All those little rippling wavelets produced a very different sort of image.

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}

It’s Scandalous!

…How little I’ve been posting lately, but I’ve been somewhat distracted by first the anticipation of and then my visits to the zoo’s newest exhibit.

More on that soon.

{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}