Have you ever seen something so out of place....

[sparkle&shine]

First some background:
I live in a semi rural area - new homes have started popping up on the outskirts. Lots of people own horse property and there are dairy farms. It isn't strange to see a coyote or a tumbleweed on the way to work.

So last week I am driving to work and I pass a family farm. They usually have their cattle or horses out to pasture but on this particular day I see a very strange horse. I kind of blinked and thought to myself that it must have been painted horse that I saw incorrectly. That evening on the way home I look more carefully and what I thought I saw that morning was correct there was a ZEBRA in the pasture with their horses! So I get home and I tell DH about there being a Zebra and he tells me that when he and my DS drove by earlier DS kept telling him to look at the zebra but of course DH thought he must have been talking about a book or a toy or something!

The next day I took a pic to show everyone:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2184/2182463791_f300f651d1.jpg?v=0

So have you ever seen anything that made you do a double take because it was just so out of place?

[ginad724]

On a similiar note...

I live in an inner-ring suburb of a very large city. My town is walkable with shops and dense living, etc. We also have a large park closeby along a creek with a walking path. While driving through the park one day, I saw a family walking 2 goats ...on leashes none-the-less.

DH still doesn't believe me.

[salysaturn]

TOO COOL!

Not really out of place, but there was/is this deer (we are partial country) and it was just hanging out in the field by our house. It took us about 3 hours to realize its a huge plastic one (we are a good 50/100 ft+ away).

[ysolde]

Not totoally out of place, but I saw this woman walking her cat on a leash recently. The cat was totally poised and loving it, I might add.

[Chimichanga]

We used to live in a Chicago suburb when I was growing up. One day we were driving down North Avenue, and we saw some buffalo. They were fenced in, and I guess it's a refuge of some sort, but that's definitely NOT something you expect to see in the Chicago area.

[mayiko]

Someone driving a H2 Hummer in San Francisco.

[karlatta]

My parents' house is near this (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/sights/sightstory.php?tip_AttrId=%3D13033).

For size reference, the statue of Bo under the pavilion is life-sized, so the giant head is HUGE! Not only that but it sits in the middle of nowhere, in a field. :)

And corrections on the article I linked to: The restaurant the hat used to sit on was not "The Hat" - it was Pilgrim's Place. And I've never heard anyone call Bo Pilgrim's house "Clickingham Palace." It's just Bo's house.

[Lucy Van Pelt]

We live in the suburbs of San Jose. It is not a rural area by any means. My dog ran out into the back yard barking like a maniac. I went outside to see what the problem was and there were SHEEP in the neighbors back yard. I think I counted 5 or 6 of them. I went to their house to see what the deal was and they had "hired" the sheep from the owner to eat down the weeds in their back yard. They were there for about 10 days or so.

[Lucy Van Pelt]

Here's pics of the sheep!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/chellichik/sheep6.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v476/chellichik/sheep3.jpg

[BeakersTrio]

We used to live in a Chicago suburb when I was growing up. One day we were driving down North Avenue, and we saw some buffalo. They were fenced in, and I guess it's a refuge of some sort, but that's definitely NOT something you expect to see in the Chicago area.

Chimichanga - here is something even funnier. I grew up in the Chicago burbs too and actually lived down the street from that place off of North Avenue! It was called Morton Manor and I'd been inside there once. I believe the original owner was the man who started the Morton salt business. The entrance to the home was on Morton Road (off off North Ave). There was a huge house there and all kinds of buildings for the animals (which there were several different exotic animals that lived there too!). The guest house on that property was muuuuchhh larger than the house I grew up in. Sadly I believe it is all gone now and a church as been (or is being?) built in its place. In any case, I loved seeing all the different animals every day as a kid. It was awesome!

[Jenyfer9]

We live 10 miles from downtown Chicago in a heavily suburban area... but not too far from a forest preserve. One morning dh was coming home from walking the dogs and there was a BUCK in our front yard. Huge antlers and everything. He wasn't sure what to do (both dh and the deer) so they kinda just stood there looking at each other for a few moments and then the deer crossed the street and walked on his merry way.

[Scooter]

I went to their house to see what the deal was and they had "hired" the sheep from the owner to eat down the weeds in their back yard. They were there for about 10 days or so.
That must be getting more popular in this area in the last couple of years. The first time I was driving down the street and noticed an enormous herd of goats standing along a hill on the side of the road, it really shocked me! Not something you expect to see in the suburbs/city! :eek: I've seen them all over the hills around here since then, so it seems more normal now. I mean, there must have been 150 of them, easily!

[MrsBeckyLP]

I don't get the sheep thing ... why not just MOW weeds??

[bug]

mrs.beckylp I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I seem to remember seeing on TV several years ago a story about the surge in popularity of being a sheperd and having roving bands of sheep to eat the weeds because after a few rounds of being eaten by sheep, the weeds just don't grow back. The focus of the segment was on kudzu, which in my part of the country is practically everywhere and virtually impossible to kill. After 2 sessions (I think they were each a year apart?) of the sheep eating the kudzu, it simply didn't grow back.

Now, again, I'm not 100% sure on my memory but that story has stayed with me for a while now (because of the kudzu reference). Maybe it's just more popular because sheep are more environmentally friendly than a mower?

[Smillow]

If I drive to work a certain way I can pass both ostriches and a zebra (two different places). I always feel like it a good omen to catch the zebra grazing:)

[December27JJB]

When I was working at an insurance company in downtown someone brought in a doe (a baby deer.) Apparently, its mother was hit by a car and a co-worker was taking care of it. It was weird seeing a deer in an office building!

[Photobug]

When I was about 12 or so, I heard a commotion in the backyard and looked out to see a bull had fallen into our well! (not all the way in, he stepped through the well-cover and his foot was caught.) Although I guess this wasn't too weird, cause we used to have cows in our yard quite often from the pasture behind us. The guy who owned them wasn't too good at repairing fences, apparently.

[Photobug]

Oh, I just thought of another one. My brother and his wife used to do wildlife rehab, so you never knew what you'd find there. I went to use the bathroom while visiting once and found a (very annoyed) swan hissing at me from the bathtub! I also have shared a couch with a baby skunk.

[jmvan74]

We live in the suburbs of San Jose. It is not a rural area by any means. My dog ran out into the back yard barking like a maniac. I went outside to see what the problem was and there were SHEEP in the neighbors back yard. I think I counted 5 or 6 of them. I went to their house to see what the deal was and they had "hired" the sheep from the owner to eat down the weeds in their back yard. They were there for about 10 days or so.

That is so funny! It's actually pretty cool, though. In addition to getting your grass mowed, you help save the environment just a little bit. :D Not that I'm getting sheep anytime soon.

[Brandles]

There is a farm around here that routinely has strange animals with their horses. I've seen a zebra, reindeer (around Christmas), and buffalo!

[bciob22]

I had a large moose in my backyard last year.

[NotDesperate]

Someone in my town has a zebra too! They bought it because the wife loved zebras and it is just in the pasture with the horses!

[petdoc08]

I live in on of the most urban sections of Des Moines. I was taking a walk with my neighbor when she and I noticed a new 'beware of dog' sign on another neighbors fence. The neighbor was out weeding so we asked her about her dog. It wasn't a dog at all! It was two miniature ponies that came up to my waist! She bought them as therapy horses for her husband. The sign was to prevent the city from snooping. They had little rubber shoes on and could come and go freely from the house. So weird!

[NotDesperate]

So if you hire sheep to graze your backyard, are you responsible for shoveling the poo??

[rubyredslippers]

That is fertilizer--no shoveling required!

I regularly pass by a farm that has a camel and a KANGAROO.

[BumbleB]

I love the sheep - That is too great!

I was driving through Main Stree one day with DH and there was a man riding a bicycle with his dog on his back. I swear! DH still doesn't believe me. :rolleyes:

[mamax2]

Nothing to do with animals but...

Today as I was waiting to pick up my DD from the bus stop, I saw a man drive by with a glass of RED WINE in his hand. Besides driving and drinking, who carries stemware w/RED wine. I can't even eat a chicken sandwich without spilling something in my lap!!

BTW, it was also 11:45 am! :eek:

[zhannushka]

We live in a pretty urban area of New Jersey (only about 1 hour away from NYC). About a 5-10 min drive from our home is Rutgers University - the largest university in the state. There are also a bunch of office buildings, shopping plazas, malls, etc. Anyway - one day I was driving on a major highway here and all of a sudden I realized that there's a pasture, right alongside the highway, with about 20-30 cows hanging out and chewing on the grass. Now, I realize that seeing cows somewhere in a rural area won't be a big surprise, but seeing them where I did was quite out of place...

[Lucy Van Pelt]

That must be getting more popular in this area in the last couple of years. The first time I was driving down the street and noticed an enormous herd of goats standing along a hill on the side of the road, it really shocked me! Not something you expect to see in the suburbs/city! :eek: I've seen them all over the hills around here since then, so it seems more normal now. I mean, there must have been 150 of them, easily!


I know around here (Northern California) they often use goats to eat down the weeds around the freeways and stuff. It's much easier than mowing and it's safer for the environment. Unfortunately, earlier this year some asshole decided to take a gun and killed like 30 - 40 of the goats while they were penned up on a hillside. I don't know if they ever caught who did it.

I have gotten used to seeing the goats on the hills...I was not used to seeing sheep in the backyard! I enjoyed them while they were here. I wish we lived in a more rural area.

[Amy_6405]

Once while at a lake I saw a guy and his dog on a jetski!

[SiValleySteph]

Driving down the main drag of our town within a large urban area, there is a fancy house with a giant window in the front. When it's dark and they have their lights on, you can see right inside.

They have heads everywhere in there! Not your run of the mill deer heads, a zerbra head, a giraffe head (complete with long neck), gazelle heads, water buffalo heads, even a lion head! There's at least 20 some heads mounted on the walls.

It's shocking every time we drive by. Especially since we are in the SF Bay area, like aren't we anti-hunting here? Of course, they also have a Hummer. :D

DS always looks forward to the "head house" as we call it.

[maplekitty]

we were driving on the highway when a big group of black leather clad bikers started passing us. Then the next one to pass was this older guy, loooong grey beard - just the perfect stereotypical biker on his harley ...and on the back of his bike was a little white poodle with a tiny dog helmet and doggie bike goggles, in his own black leather harness thing that strapped him to the seat. I almost peed myself laughing so hard!

[shopaholic]

We used to live in a Chicago suburb when I was growing up. One day we were driving down North Avenue, and we saw some buffalo. They were fenced in, and I guess it's a refuge of some sort, but that's definitely NOT something you expect to see in the Chicago area.

Elk grove (Golf rd) currently has elk in a fenced in area. Right by Busse Woods area.

[rileyandfredsmom]

One day, I was eating dinner on a restaurant patio and looked to the corner of the patio and there was a woman, her husband and a friend of theirs eating dinner and the woman was holding a baby Chimpanzee!!! In the middle of Dallas, TX! She was a certified rehabilitation specialist and baby monkeys stay attached to their mother 24/7 during the first year or so of life so this little monkey had to be with her wherever she went. It was pretty cool actually.

[Myra]

My pasty whiteness living amongst the normals in San Diego. And dogs in purses.

[phoenics]

Someone driving a H2 Hummer in San Francisco.

Way more common than you might think.

[spps]

We live in a pretty urban area of New Jersey (only about 1 hour away from NYC). About a 5-10 min drive from our home is Rutgers University - the largest university in the state. There are also a bunch of office buildings, shopping plazas, malls, etc. Anyway - one day I was driving on a major highway here and all of a sudden I realized that there's a pasture, right alongside the highway, with about 20-30 cows hanging out and chewing on the grass. Now, I realize that seeing cows somewhere in a rural area won't be a big surprise, but seeing them where I did was quite out of place...

Zhannushka - that is the campus of Cook College, the argicultural school of Rutgers. I grew up in the area so seeing it never phased me.

[docoNY]

we have a large and I mean large black pig living in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. The pig gets walked on a leash! :D

[Oakley]

At a restaurant in Bonita Springs, FL a guy came into the bar with his small pet alligator.

[kari]

One day I was pulling onto the on-ramp of the freeway and there was a guy laying on a mattress in nothing but tighty -whities on the side of the road. This was my face: :eek: and :confused:

[imagirliegirl]

Not totoally out of place, but I saw this woman walking her cat on a leash recently. The cat was totally poised and loving it, I might add.

Hehe. I used to walk Princess. Oh the looks I got from people!

[Annette]

We went hiking at a preserve yesterday and someone actually put Christmas decorations on a cedar tree.
SIL had a bear in her backyard.

[bciob22]

One day I was pulling onto the on-ramp of the freeway and there was a guy laying on a mattress in nothing but tighty -whities on the side of the road. This was my face: :eek: and :confused:






Oh that reminds me, once I was on a city bus going to work.There is a 24 hour newsstand/bookstore and outside of it I saw an African American man talking to a security guard wear a sweater, shoes and socks:eek: To make it worse The old (80 years old at least) African American woman sitting next to me started cracking up,poked me in the side and said "see it's true what they say about black men":o

[kalogrias]

we have a large and I mean large black pig living in my neighborhood in Brooklyn. The pig gets walked on a leash! :D


My friend has one of those -- a Vietnamese Pot Bellied pig -- and she walks it all the time! In the middle of a suburb of Boston...