Aside from it being an incredibly beautiful day today, the Santa Barbara Zoo was just the place to go and get away for some sunshine and inspiration.

The animals were all in attendance (except for the snow leopards, who were hiding in their cave and taking a nap).  The giraffes, gorillas, penguins, and black swans were out to impress and obviously loving the attention they were getting from the spectators.

Ever see a pachyderm smile?  I think they were at this zoo today.  The reason why is because they got an extra special treat in the early afternoon.  In the winter they don’t usually get baths, but since it was nice and warm outside, the zoo keepers brought out the hoses and watered them down.  I don’t know who enjoyed it more, the elephants or the kids watching all the action.

The real entertainers of the day were the otters.  Even though I like the photos I took of them in color, the one below looked better in black and white; I’m thinking probably because the otters themselves seemed to have the most playful and colorful attitudes out of all the animals, so color itself wasn’t necessary in the photo.

Have a great week everyone!