I'll just entertain myself

The people around here call them strip centers. Clusters of business spaces on a strip along the street.

I came to the same conclusion as Ragman.

This one's next to a school. The kind of stripping you guys are dreaming of is illegal on that property.

I'm not dreaming of it.

I live in a fairly big city and we only have three such establishments, so I was taken aback when you said you had seven.

Just joking. I don't know what you dream of, natcherly.

Speaking of strip malls, I live in so FL which has been overrun by strip malls. It’s bad now but is getting worse as the retiring and mobile Baby-boom generation moves out of wherever and swarms this part of FL. Wonderful wildlife spots where nature gets to frolic are being driven out of there centuries-old habitat.

Anyone remember the famous public service ad from the 60s where the Native American has a tear running down his cheek? He’d be doing a lot more bawling here as stip mall and condominiums sprout up like wild flowers.

When I moved here the area could be described as suburban/country. For twenty years I complained the main road should be widened. Bad thinking. There were a couple of minor businesses here and there. About the time they were finalizing the widening Walmarts and Sam's Clubs and what-all began popping up. Then the strip centers. Widening the road causes traffic to expand exponentially. People use that road to bypass the freeway between The Woodlands and a section of I-45. I can't get out of the neighborhood when we go to walk except when the traffic stops for a light down the way. Then it depends on the drivers being courteous and letting us go.

That was my first thought, too.

Why don't people ride zebras?

I have followed Monty Roberts' observations regarding the social structure of horse herds. A mare is at the top of the hierarchy of a horse herd and enforces the rules of the herd. Any other horse that acts out contrary to the safety and order of the herd is punished by temporary exile from that herd. This is a very scary and dangerous position for a horse to be in because they are prey animals and are very vulnerable on their own.

Monty Roberts has shown that a human can replace the mare as the top of the hierarchy. If there is just a single horse and a single person, the pair constitutes the herd, and the horse wants to comply to the wishes of the person for its own safety and security.
Therefore, training a horse does not have to involve force and brutality because the horse wishes to comply.

Zebras, apparently, don't form social hierarchical herds as horses do

Truly fascinating. I always wondered why zebras were not used like we use horses.

What’s strangely not been mentioned is the fact that zebras make lousy referees and lines judges.

Apparently, zebras don't give a **** what humans think. I always had thought of them as docile animals, too timorous or too fragile to serve humans. I didn't realize how little it takes for one to decide it wants to kill you.

The problem is as well with all those stripes you can't see them, you look away for a second and they just disappear.

I recently saw a photo of one born with spots.

From what I remember the zebra and giraffe enclosure was the only place you were allowed out of your car at Longleat safari Park.

They tended to stay away, they didn't approach anybody.

Don't know if it's still the case.

The rhinos at Marwell zoo are incredibly placid.

From what I recall in past reading, hippos are the ones you want to be extra wary of.

I've heard the same. Marwell has pygmy hippos and they really stink. They **** where they swim and turn fresh water shitty straight away. There were two pools alternating each day. That wasn't the only place ghe hippos could go, they had access to a large lake, this was where they slept, were fed and had shelter. It's also where they did all their shitting.

I noticed on safari in Kruger National park, SA, that hippos will charge anything. They do it early and often and the most dangerous time is early in the morning when they migrate from the water to land or vice versa. So we didn’t got to fetch water early in the morning by the riverside (drinkable water). Shocking but they cannot swim but spend 16 hours per day in water to keep cool and keep their skin safe.

They’re herbivores but, they will ram you or your vehicle thus making them the most dangerous land animal in SA.

They’ve a nasty disposition but they look calm. Great vision, hearing and intensely good sense of smell. Furthermore, they’re massively built like a Sherman tank…surprisingly sized, like a shorter-legged elephant (except for the rare Pygmy hippos).

And they look so innocent in the johnny Weismuller Tarzan films.

I still have many tree limbs and branches out back. They've been there long enough to be overgrown with weeds. Lately I've taken to moving and sorting them. Frankly I don't mind if they stay there until they rot into the ground. But I can't keep at it with weights and such. I simply lose interest. So working like this in the yard gives much needed exercise.