Finding joy
I wouldn’t say I have a lot of friends, but I am blessed to have a few remarkable women in my life (they know who they are). While Taryn and I haven’t known each other long (and we met through our mutual friend, Heather), I feel like we are becoming closer.[1] She also lets me go on and on about BTS - so there’s that!💜 So much so, that she is becoming a Baby Army!
We met up for a morning coffee, our first together since I returned from Egypt. On the spur of the moment, we decided to enjoy the fall weather and go for a walk at the zoo. We chose to try to see the lemurs at the Destination Africa zone.
We were greeted by a peacock on the way inside, and then some Hartmann’s Mountain Zebras in their outdoor enclosure they share with some giraffe. These Zebra are a vulnerable species under the IUCN Red List.[2]
Zebra art
A stunning piece of art at the entrance to the Calgary Zoo.
I guess it was a bit cold for the lemurs as they had decided to stay inside. In the aviary, we got to see many beautiful birds though, like the Spur-Winged Lapwings, the Taveta Golden Weavers and the Hadada Ibis.
I also wanted to see the Egyptian tortoises to see how the babies had grown since 2024. [3] As you can see (below) they’ve grown quite a bit, not as large as the adults, but still a fair amount.
We were even lucky to see some of the Humboldt Penguins up close on our way out of the zoo. [4]
Humboldt Penguins
Easily identifiable by the pink on their beaks, and the black spots on their bellies.
As we walked about, Taryn filled me in with her latest camping adventure and I talked about my trip to Egypt and the BTS concert I attended in August. This, of course, led me to my latest story of attempting to collect the new BT21 toys from McDonald’s.[5] We decided to go there for a coffee and a Happy Meal to see if we could get a new toy. She got ‘Cooky’ and I got ‘RJ’. I guess I still need to go back until I find the elusive ‘Koya’.
Cooky and RJ
Joy doesn’t have to be something big. It can be found in the quiet moments during a walk, appreciating art and wildlife, or in finding a BTS toy with a friend. I hope you all find many moments of joy.
[1] Taryn and I also did a road trip to visit Heather earlier this summer: Exploring Blackfoot Crossing; Secret Skies
[2] Hartmann's Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra ssp. hartmannae) accessed under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species on September 29, 2026.
[3] I previously wrote about the Critically Endangered (CR) Egyptian tortoise (Testudo kleinmanni) in: Calgary Staycation - The Zoo.
[4] Humboldt Penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) are Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Accessed September 29, 2026.
[5] BTS designed the characters and I really want to get Koya (the one designed by my bias RM). Sirikul, L. (2026) UPDATED: McDonald’s Reveals More On BT21 X Happy Meal Collaboration. Forbes. Updated only July 7, 2026.
