Yup. I pet an ostrich today. I didn’t even have to go to the zoo!
This adventure began when I went to Hemet today for work. Now, Hemet is a…. nice….little town. Population around 66K, nestled up near the mountains, with very… affordable living.
Anyways, so I had a session there, and somewhere in that little town, someone has like, 3 ostriches in their yard (or so it seems). I first saw them a few months ago while driving around the neighborhood. It kind of took me by surprise and I thought “Wow. That’s…. interesting.” So today, the kids wanted to go see the ostriches. So we did.
Now, I’ve never had a fear of birds, but when they are twice as big as you, you have to feel a little intimidated. And all that separated us was a simple, chest-high chain-link fence. I guess these ostriches were used to having visitors and being fed, because they came right up to us. Bravely, I reached over and pet its wing. Then I kind of freaked out and backed away a little bit. Then one of the kids that was with me was like “pick me up so I can pet it!!” And all I could think was Umm…. How about NOT. I swore that one of these birds was going to bite someone’s nose off… I did NOT want to be responsible for that! But he asked again very nicely, so I quickly lifted him up a bit so he could reach. But as soon as he touched the feathers, I put him back down.
It was kind of cool, but a fairly terrifying experience. I was nervous, and I KNEW those birds could tell…. I could see it in their eyes…. Those huge eyes, and that long beak, and their face…. *shivers* It was exciting, but I was very happy when we walked away.