After spending four days at International Quilt Market in Houston, I felt like I had been to a zoo. Quilts and fabric were everywhere. Tons to look at, loads of walking, and lots of information to try to absorb. Before heading back to Oregon, Amber and I decided to take a little break and visit a different kind of zoo--The Houston Zoo. And what do you know? Even this sweet little orangutan was holding a quilt!
Speaking of orangutans, did you know that the experts believe that orangutans are so endangered, they will become extinct in the wild over the next ten years? Orangutans are our closest relatives. We share about 97 percent of our DNA with them. Originally, it is estimated that 300,000 orangutans lived throughout Southeast Asia. Today, there are only small pockets of them in the wild on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra. But as the rainforest is destroyed through logging and palm oil production, their numbers are dwindling fast. In the past 20 years, over 80% of their habitat has been destroyed. With information like that, I'd be hugging a quilt too!
Other highlights at this zoo included a brand new baby Asian elephant named Tupelo, a couple of bears named Boomer and Bailey, some Opaki, a lion named Jonathan, and an amazing assortment of all kinds of other animals including a giraffe, an assortment of primates, sea lions, birds, aquarium animals, reptiles, amphibians--you name it. The weather was 88 degrees with 90% humidity. It was an amazingly wonderful diversion from all the strategic planning we're up to for 2011.
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