not the holiday we had planned (picture heavy!!)

So, today we were due to head up north (proper into the highlands) to spend the Easter weekend in a wigwam. Not a teepee (there's a difference - a wigwam is wooden, not canvas, and while ours hasn't running water or plumbing, it has Sky telly and wi-fi!!) but sorta gentle camping. Only there was heavy snowfalls up there earlier in the week and the roads are blocked and the activities we had planned are all closed since they're under 2ft of the white stuff. We had not a flake round our way! So. Plan B. Staying at home and lots of days out.


This is Auchengarrich Wildlife Park in the heart of Perthshire (on the opposite side of our Ochil hills) and the Spouse and I hadn't been. Chookie had (school trip last year) but was excited about another visit.


Here we are - captured by Chook - at the very top of the whole site. It was beautiful and sunny but very cold! As you'd imagine from somewhere with a farm as a base there were loads of farm animals roaming around.

Like this chap crowing his lungs out! Despite the fact it was 11am and sunrise is at about 6am! Dunderheid!!

She found a pony! What a surprise. He was very friendly trying to get into the bag of feed we'd bought at the shop.

I was snapping away at these ducks trying to get a good shot of them splashing when I noticed this poor wee fella getting shoved right under the water by this other chap. I stood and watched for a few minutes until I realised that the noise he was making was excited and the chap getting dunked was actually a girl. I had been photographing ducks making baby ducks. Ooops. I hurried away after that!!

Isn't this guy magnificent? There was another three or four over the park (one with his plumes right out looking for a ladyfriend) but this one was happy catching some rays.

This is my special people on a deer track heading up to that very high viewpoint in the photo above. I loved how the park was still really natural and hadn't been concreted over - I love traipsing through bracken. Reminds me of my Daddy taking me up the hills on rambles when I was a wee girl.

And it being Easter? There were golden eggs hidden all over the farm. Find one and get entered into a draw for a prize - her smile makes me equal parts laugh and cringe. Her staged grin is SO like her Daddy's!!

Anyways, as well as the regular animals, there were a lot of more exotic chaps.

Hello? *clap clap* Monkey boy? (Gotta love Aladdin!) This chap was teeny! Like, fit in the palm of your hand weeny. His sign had all weathered off so I've no idea what he was. Apart from monkey and very cute.

Porcupines!! I loved them! I hadn't seen any IRL before and hadn't realised how cute they are - like a big guinea pig with jaggy bits. And they snuffle!!

The prairie dogs were something else, too. Their burrow was out in the open next to the kids play area. Which meant if you were careful you could get....

...this close! Isn't it cool! Although, bless her, she's trying to hand feed him and he was NOT interested. "You are in my sun, do you mind?!?"

I think this chap was my favourite, though. Another animal I had never seen in the fur, this wee skunk was too, TOO cute. He was behind a fence but I hunkered down next to it and prepared to get a lovely shot of him as he watched me. Only, you'll notice the photo's a bit fuzzy? That's cause he started to run towards me and did his whole arse-in-the-air display and I was frantically backpedalling out of the way just incase he was serious and turned that nasty posterior on me! I know nothing about them so have no idea how likely this was but, y'know, skunk stink was not on my to-do list today! He was adorable, though, I loved that wee nose!!!

And I had also never seen an albino wallaby!! There was a couple of them about the place so we reckon there's a recessive gene somewhere in their pack. Group. Herd. Er......anyone know what a bunch of wallabies is called? A pouch? *snort* There were also reindeer, meerkats, otters, llamas, foreign deer, a falconry centre and birds of all varieties. I was really impressed!

And last photo taken on the way home (aren't you glad!) Well done if you got this far....no prizes, just the knowledge that you're either stubborn or have nothing better to do! I forget what a beautiful country I am bred to AND just how in the boonies I really live. I love Scotland and will never move (actually, Spouse got an opportunity for a job in Canada last week - no, we're not going!), some things are just to the bone.