February 12, 2020 Penguin Post

I think it’s time for the Penguin Post. As you may recall, I decided to try to learn how to draw animals by looking at photos of them in library books and endeavoring to copy them. It’s time consuming, but then I’ve got time to be consumed. Plus it’s educational. I’m going to have to draw the line at assigning myself a five-paragraph essay, though – that’s a perfect way to take the fun out of something.

Penguins recently enjoyed a surge of popularity when Benedict Cumberbatch narrated a documentary about them but didn’t actually know how to pronounce the word “penguin.” Nobody bothered to correct him as he improvised with “peng-wing.” Check it out on YouTube – hilarious!

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be the Emperor penguin, which cradles its young upon its feet until the little fluff balls are ready to go out on their own. But the adelies are awfully cute, too.

Penguin wings are designed to make them “fly through the water.” There’s something very poetic about that phrase. Also, I was stunned to read that they rarely come ashore except to breed. What a pelagic life they lead! (Ha ha – just trying out a new word which I’d never heard before until I read this book.)

I’ll probably delete this in the morning while being decidedly un-pelagic.