Baby, it's hot outside

It's Friday! Yay! But hasn't this week really flown by? Hectic! It started off on a good note, heading off to Maynardville to watch some Shakespeare in the park. I really enjoyed the play ('As you like it') but sheesh, those plastic chairs are NOT butt-friendly! Ouch! On Wednesday night I headed off to the Cape Quarter for another eve of good wine and munchies, courtesy of Fiesta and the Nose Bar, but I'm sorry to say I woke up with a rather unpleasant hangover on Thursday. Quite surprising as I didn't go large at all. In between I've been trying to drag myself to the gym but have been failing miserably every time. I blame the heat. It's been up there in the thirties since the weekend and it's actually quite unpleasant - especially considering my car doesn't have aircon. Still, I shouldn't complain. The guys in England have been hit by really heavy snowfalls, never mind the Aussies who have been taking some serious strain. Horrifying to think of all those people who have been killed by those fires!!! And of course, I can't help but think of all the animals too. All those baby birds and little squirrels and hedgehogs and snakes and tortoises... I remember a few years back when we had a particularly bad fire here in Cape Town there was a high toll on animal life and the animals that survived struggled to find food for quite a while after the fires because their natural habitat had been completely destroyed. The biggest shocker though is that these fires are often the result of arson. I mean c'mon - what the hell? You need to be a special type of nasty to pull that off! Grrrr...

So it's nice to hear the heart-warming stories that come out of those tragedies, like that koala that appeared all over the world. You know, the one pictured with the firefighter? Here it is:

Shame, it got quite burnt but apparently she's mending well and has found love in the process (no, not with the fireman but with another koala!) And a friend e-mailed this little story earlier today - pics of a koala in Maude, Australia taking a little dip in a bucket of cool water supplied by a local. It just goes to show how hot it is - these little guys are incredibly people-shy!

And while on the path of cute animal pics, here's another one: It's a baby badger and I'm not sure if there's a story around it. I just thought it was an incredibly cute pic and worth sharing!

Anyway, I hope wherever you are the weather isn't too hot and if it is, I hope you have a swimming pool. As for me, I'll definitely be inflating my blow-up pool this weekend. You know where to find me...