How cool is this?! I met Rudolph and Santa!!! 2 weeks before Christmas, Santa leaves his house in the really cold North Pole to deliver the gifts he's prepared for us :) He comes to Kingston for two weeks. Of course I had to be there to meet him! Even if the only opportunity to do so was the morning before an afternoon examination.
Did you know the Kingston patrol police ride horses? :) I met one during summer. During winter, sights like these are more common though :) I think people can hire the carriage for a ride down princess street:)
Reindeer!! These are such magical creatures to me! I've never seen a real reindeer mainly cos I think they can't survive in Singapore's weather.
Was in the Royal Ontario museum and saw a pair of huge antlers that look really aggressive and was really wide. Deers, Elks, Reindeers, these animals are the pride of Canada's wilderness. It must be stunning to see them wandering freely in the white forests. Didn't get a chance to, but neither am I adventurous enough to see these animals in the wild. Glad the city arranged for Reindeers to be brought to Cityhall for Christmas :)
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| What I saw at the Royal Ontario Museum |
So you may ask, what exactly is a reindeer?
According to Wikipedia, the reindeer is a species of deer called the caribou. The caribou has many other sub-species of which some are already extinct.
So, what's the difference between a deer, an elk, and a moose?
Good question. I didn't know as well! So for you guys I did some brief research.
Good question. I didn't know as well! So for you guys I did some brief research.
The following images are from all over the web:
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| A Deer |
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| A Moose |
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| An Elk |
Antlers:
The antlers of the Elk, Deer and Reindeer look quite similar but the size and span are very different. The moose's antlers are less sharp, look less aggressive and almost look like hands. The reindeer's antlers look grander than that of deers but have less height and span as compared to those on an elk.
Neck:
The neck of an Elk is covered in hair that's of a darker colour than the rest of its body. The hair on the reindeer is of a more uniform colour compared to that of the Elk.
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| Why, hello there! :) |
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| Its staring at you! |
I feel like a little kid at the zoo! So exciting to see these creatures. :) Boy those antlers were sharp. Seen videos of animals with antlers clanking them during the mating season to establish power and its scary. These reindeers were so sweet when I fed them crab apples.
Most of us in Singapore haven't seen crab apples as well. They are tiny apples that grow in temperate regions such as North America. That in my hand is a half bitten crab apple. So tiny and cute!!
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| Reindeer and Crab Apples *Nyam Nyam* |
That's not all! I met santa too! :) He was such a nice old man, bet the children love him! There was this mega huge thick pillow on his right leg for kids to take photos with him but he insisted 'Big kids are kids too!'
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| And so I sat on Santa's lap too :) |
It was such a cold day, negative twenty-two or something. After this, I met a friend for lunch who told me that the coffee he spilt froze on his leather gloves while walking to city hall because it was so so cold. Oh so so cold :( It was so cold I didn't even bring my skates out cos I knew it'd be impossible to skate with my knees half frozen.
Imagine santa who has to be sit still in the cold! His elf, who took this picture for us, and the people who took care of the reindeers. I was cold to the bones. Santa says my coat isn't for winter. Guess I need a new coat! Ah I should have wished for a Canadian Goose Winter Coat hehehe.
Its Christmas Eve, so Blessed Christmas everyone!
