Day 6

Blog: A photo of an animal you'd love to keep as a pet.

This is Boo. He's a Pomeranian with a really good groomer :) I love that he kinda looks like a bear or a stuffed toy - freakin cute! I'd love to have a pet exactly like Boo someday... Now, I wonder if we can get Jake to look that way...

Dog Portraits

It's been a while since I've taken pictures of the family pet. Dogs in particular are very hard to photograph because they move around a lot. Jake is an exceptionally hyperactive dog but with a really happy disposition - I swear, this dog smiles...

He likes to ride in the car with us when we go places and stick his head out of the window.
My brother kinda butchered his hair though, he cut it really uneven...
Jakey brings so much joy to our family, he likes being showered with affection and food. He doesn't really enjoy dog food that much but he loves watermelon, bananas, milk and carrots :)
Sometimes I swear he even thinks he's human and is especially fond of my mom. He follows her everywhere, gets excited whenever she's around and whimpers when he gets tied onto a leash.
Having a dog really takes the stress out of everyday life, I find that a few minutes of petting him lifts my mood.

Snapshots From Baluarte

Are we in the lost world?

Not quite. It's just a big fake dinosaur at Baluarte.

Scary-looking reptile.

Butterfly garden.

Butterfly perched on Ella's hand.
Big cat taking a nap.
Miniature horses.
Friendly ostrich strutting her stuff.
Feeding baby goats.
Multi-colored birds. 

Bird-feeding.
They like sunflower seeds.
Greedy bird.
Whoops! Didn't catch the moment...
That was a lot of fun. And it was free :)

PhotoHunt: Protect[ion]

Thanks to utotmopink for inspiring me to join PhotoHunt. It's quite fun, I'll try my best to do a post every week. Here's my contribution...

I was browsing my archives for an appropriate photo for this week's topic - protect[ion] - when I came across this one that I took in Piazza San Marco, Venice a couple of years ago.* I nicknamed it "Attack of the Birds." 

So the touristy thing to do it buy a bag of seed and throw it in the air for the birds. But instead this stupid sucker had the bright idea to throw the seed on himself hence the murderous horde of hungry pigeons attacking him. Totally his fault but entertaining to watch nonetheless. The poor guy is trying to protect himself from getting mauled by birds while his girlfriend is laughing and taking a souvenir cellphone pic of his stupidness.

*Note: A ban was imposed last year and it is now illegal to feed pigeons in St Mark's Square. The vendors who lost their jobs are not very happy about it since bird feeding has been a tradition and a tourist attraction for centuries. But on the other hand, I am happy coz next time I'm in Venice I won't have to dodge pigeon poop as much!

Discovering Davao

We were only in Davao for a couple of days so we weren't able to do a comprehensive tour. But we did see a little bit of the sights in that short period of time. Here's a mini recap of our trip...

I heard about Eden Nature Park through Virtual Tourist. It's an eco-friendly farm resort for nature lovers - a welcome alternative if you're in Davao and want to see something else other than a beach. It was quite a long way from the city proper though so make sure you have enough time if you're including this in your itinerary. 

There is a guided shuttle tour for visitors, hiking and horseback-riding trails, fruit and vegetable farms, flower gardens... everything nature friendly. 

It's a well-developed piece of property and it's a good thing that a lot of people still frequent this place despite the distance. 
We took so many pictures here, it's so beautiful and peaceful in this place. 
They even have a falls.
This is called Lola's Garden. 
They have a wishing well that they decorate with fresh flowers. Nice touch. 
Don't you just feel the fresh air and the cool breeze?
Sweet smelling sampaguita. 

It would be nice to have a family reunion in Eden Nature Resort. We all need a nice, relaxing break from the city once in a while...

Then we were off to the Philippine Eagle Center - home of the endangered Monkey-eating Eagle - which we all know as the country's national bird. 
Other than the dozens of eagles and fowls, there are also a handful of reptile species that can be found. Like this one below who might turn into a bag or some shoes after it lives out its term as an educational exhibit. Just kidding. 

We also passed by the Japanese Tunnel just to compare it with the one from Corregidor. 

Depicting what life was like in the tunnel. Creepy. 

We had an awesome view of Davao City at Jack's Ridge. I heard that the place is livelier at night. 

There are so many shopping opportunities in Davao and I had trouble looking away from souvenir stalls...

Mount Apo in the distance. 
All in all, I enjoyed the short time I spent in Davao. I don't mind another trip to explore it more...

Meeting The Smallest Primates On Earth

I finally saw a real live Philippine Tarsier on my trip to Bohol. They are cute little creatures but already endangered species due to them not being able to breed well in captivity. There are only a handful of Philippine tarsiers left in the wild because their natural habitat is threatened by illegal logging and deforestation. 

Among the things that surprised me with these animals were that their eyes are humongous compared to their body... Imagine a human with watermelon-sized eyes, now that's a scary thought. And I never thought they would be so small, you can fit them in your hand! 

Such cuties, huh? I was able to feed them with some insects, it was a cool Bohol experience. :)

jakob eskimo

jakob is my brother M's dog. he's a pomeranian/japanese spitz mix i think. anyway, we took pictures last night...

jakob smiling for the camera [and me looking like an idiot]

he's so big and fluffy...

and extremely photogenic