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Caplin Rous and Capybara

Me with the band Capybara

Me with the band Capybara

Believe it or don’t, there is a band called Capybara! I admit, Capybara is a great name for just about anything but still I was surprised when I learned that. Surprised and excited! I thought, this is going to be great! It will be just the kind of music I like. I won’t have to thrumm in displeasure like I do at Johnny Cash. Or just close my ears (one of the big perks of being a capybara is that we can literally close our ears) when my owner plays classical or The Cars. I do like The Killers and, of course Mountain Kids Fantasy, but how would they compare to a band named Capybara? Surely Capybara’s music would consist of just the kinds of noises I make all the time. I don’t like to brag but people often compare my voice to the songs of birds.

Anyway, Capybara the band came to Austin last month and I got to meet them one day at Austin Java! They are all really, really super nice guys. They pet me and fed me blueberries and I even took a little walk with them. I also did some of my best eeping just to show them that I know a bit about music myself.

Well, they must have been impressed because they came back the next weekend and met me in Garrison Park in South Austin where we shot a music video together! We recorded a song called Magpies, which was perfect for me even though the band really does not sound like capybaras at all and not even that much like magpies. I am 100% positive that this is their best video ever because I added a bunch of my eeps to it. I think I really got the rhythm of the music and inserted my voice at just the right times. Plus I insisted that we walk around a little which makes the video so much more interesting. Well, you just need to watch and listen and judge for yourselves.

Thanks guys! That was sooo much fun. Let me know if you want me to go on tour with you!

What a Weekend!

Me with Alex (aka Rezoner)

Me with Alex (aka Rezoner)

Did anyone ever tell you never to meet someone you know from the internet in person? Gosh, I blew that warning to shreds this weekend! Do you see that photo above? That is me sitting on the couch with my friend Alex, aka Rezoner. Rezoner and I “met” when I was just a baby ‘bara and only had a MySpace page to my name. In fact, Rezoner found me through my owner’s old blog, possibly from the very first reference to me on the internet EVER.

I call Rezoner my Russian stalker. He’s not really a stalker though, he’s just a fanatic–I mean fan. And he lives in Boston, not in Russia. And I have lots of Russian fans when it comes down to it. But since he was my very first Russian fan, he gets to keep the title, caveats aside.

Anyway, Rezoner had to come to San Antonio this weekend for a conference and so we finally got to meet in person! You can see by the photo above that we really hit it off. The photo below shows why.

Rezoner offering me a bowl of blueberry yogurt.

Rezoner offering me a bowl of blueberry yogurt.

Let it never be said that my affection cannot be bought by treats! Plus, look at this, he brought a stuffed capybara named Carpincho with him.

Me with Carpincho

Me with Carpincho

You may remember Carpincho from my post about capybaras at Moscow zoo. You can imagine how surprised I was to see Carpincho. That toy capybara is a serious world traveler!

You might think that was enough excitement, and it sure would have been, but there was even more in store for me. Two new admirers showed up. Shruti from my owner’s work and Shruti’s husband Vikram came over to my house too! We had a serious party going on.

Me, Carpincho, Rezoner, Shruti & Vikram

Me, Carpincho, Rezoner, Shruti & Vikram

You can see the party was (naturally) centered on me.  I loved that. Everyone was petting me and giving me treats. This is the life.  I really thought it couldn’t get any better…but it did!

My owner and Sheldon, who was also there for the party, put my harness on me and the whole lot of us went out to the creek. It rained again and the creek was full to the brim.

The water in Capybara Creek was cold so I had to ease myself in

The water in Capybara Creek was cold so I had to ease myself in

It was actually deep enough for a serious swim.

Me swimming in Capybara Creek

Me swimming in Capybara Creek

Look how much room I had to roam around in.

Me in Capybara Creek--and this isn't even the deep part

Me in Capybara Creek--and this isn't even the deep part

If it hadn’t been so cold, they never would have gotten me out!

These little plants are quite tasty

These little plants are quite tasty

The plants on the bank were almost irresistable. They weren’t there a couple of weeks ago. This rain stuff is pretty amazing. It fills the creek with water to swim in and the ground with food to eat. Wow!

So you’d think that would be it, wouldn’t you? What a day I’d had already. But it was getting to be lunch time and we all piled into cars and headed to Austin Java for a quick bite.

You’ll never guess but I met two more friends there. Bob Cooksey is someone I’d been trying to meet up with for a while. He was at work downtown and managed to spend his lunch hour with us.

Me with Bob Cooksey at Austin Java

Me with Bob Cooksey at Austin Java

It was great meeting him! Of course, he loved me. Maybe someday someone will be disappointed when they meet me but it hasn’t happened yet.

And my friend @FabiolaThrasher (aka Etienne) whom I’d met at my birthday party was there too. Wow. My owner didn’t get any photos of me with her so I’m kind-of mad about that.

Of course, I met lots of new friends too.

Me and my owner at Austin Java

Me and my owner at Austin Java

I even did a few tricks for them. Can you see that I am standing in the photo above? It’s not a big stand, I’ll only do that for yogurt. But I will do a trick in public for a pear. I also shook hands but only with my owner.

So what a weekend! I hope every one of my readers had as good a time as I did. And maybe someday I’ll get to meet you all. What a party we could have!

\@FabiolaThrasher