Before 2020 comes to a close, I wanted to make a memorial post for my guinea pig Tilly who passed away on December 22 and send a message to everyone who has experienced loss this year.
This is for everyone who lost a loved one, human or animal baby, due to COVID-19 or something unrelated. This is to everyone who experienced loss in other parts of live such as your sense of security and safety physically, emotionally, and mentally. I am so sorry for your loss. COVID-19 and how it has affected your life regardless of how directly or indirectly, major or seemingly minor, is hard. Death never gets easier and the threat of sickness and death to ourselves and loved ones is exhausting. Your pain and hurt is legitimate. I hope you can all grieve in the ways you need to and reach out to others for help if you need it. I hope you can take comfort in the good memories and grow from the bad. I hope you can take this new you and find hope in the prospect of making new memories with new and future loved ones. I hope you stay safe and well. I will see you next year!
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My Saint Nicholas's Reindeer for Instagram @wildlifewednesdaychallenge @ecowarrior8888, @lizzywatercolor #wildlifewednedaychallenge Instead of looking at the Reindeer animal (which I will definitely come back to in the future), I decided to look into the lore behind Santa’s Reindeer. The first publicly written account of Santa's Reindeer was in the "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" in the Troy Sentinel in Troy, New York on Dec. 23, 1823. It is better known today as "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and it's writer, although anonymous at first, was later revealed to be either Clement Clark Moore or Henry Livingston, Jr. On a side note, this had a fun court case in 2013 called Livingston vs Moore in Troy, NY. This court had actors for Moore and Livingston, used real lawyers, and chose jurors from the audience. Back to my reindeer, I focused on bits of the original "Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas" for inspiration such as the descriptions of the reindeers' flying as "More rapid than eagles" and "like the down of a thistle". I also enjoyed watching Animalogic "Reindeer are Ridiculously Cute" video on Youtube and their explanation of how Santa's Reindeer are probably all female or young males.
I hope you are all well and have a safe fun Holiday Season! References https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUgANOoMW00 : Animalogic “Reindeer are Ridiculously Cute” Youtube https://www.brownstoner.com/history/walkabout-a-visit-from-st-nichols-a-troy-story/ : “Walkabout: A Visit From St. Nicholas, a Troy Story” by Suzanne Spellen http://www.henrylivingston.com/xmas/poemvariants/troysentinel1823.htm Original print of ACCOUNT OF A VISIT FROM ST. NICHOLAS
During Irish wakes, people would light pipes and smoke to help confuse evil spirits. They would also light candles by the head and foot of the bed of the deceased. I wish I could find more information on their Cait Sidhe’s interesting lore. If you would like to learn more check out my links below. Cait Sidhe
https://www.scotclans.com/cat-sith-celtic-mythology/ https://www.timberbush-tours.co.uk/news-offers/scottish-folklore-cat-sith-cu-sith Irish Wakes https://www.connollycove.com/insight-irish-wake-superstitions-associated/ https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/the-truth-about-the-irish-wake-lewd-songs-pranks-were-part-of-the-tradition-174087771-237533321.amp https://andersonfuneralservices.com/blogs/blog-entries/1/Articles/35/The-History-of-a-Traditional-Irish-Wake.html Scottish Wakes http://userhome.brooklyn.cuny.edu/anthro/jbeatty/Scotia/issue57/issue57b.html Happy Friday the 13th!
This is my Cat Sìth Scottish Wildcat for the Instagram @UndyingTales #UndyingTalesProject. https://shadowscapes.com/undyingtales_2020_oct.php The Scottish wildcat are critically endangered and there may be only 35 or so left in the world. They are only found in the United Kingdom. The tale within my Scottish Wildcat design is of the Cat Sìth, aka Cait Sidhe or Celtic Fairy Cat. More details of this cat’s tale on my close up post. I've only done one other animal mythology piece (my Chinese Zodiac Rat for 2020) but the descriptions for the Instagram #UndyingTalesProject inspired me to consider creating more!
This is my Qilin with the deer parts of the body based off of Eld's Deer. Below is the description and if you are interested in the project check out this website: www.undyingtales.com I’m probably going to do many more of these. Do you like my version of a qilin? Do you think I should do more animal folklore? My Snowy Owl for the Instagram @wildlifewednesdaychallenge
With reference photos from Paul Bannick's photography and book “Owl: A Year in the Life of North American Owls” Some interesting fun facts I enjoyed learning in Bannick’s “Owl: A Year in the Life of North American Owls” book: The Snowy Owl male hunts for the food (mostly lemmings) and the female delivers the food to the babies. Sometimes, the female and nestlings get too hungry and the female must leave the nest to hunt. When this happens and the male returns to the nest, he seems unsure of how to feed them. According to Bannick's book, “... the male seems ill prepared, walking toward the youngsters and swinging the lemming back and forth. The young try to follow the prey with their heads but are unable to grab it. The female, upon seeing the male at the nest, emits a more desperate scream-whistle. She then flies aggressively toward the male and rips the prey from his bill before successfully delivering the lemming to the nestlings.” A bird irruption is a large number of birds migrating to areas where they are not commonly found. Experts believe snowy owl irruptions to not be because of lack of prey (especially lemmings) but more due to a lemming population spike during the last breeding season. More lemmings allow for more young owls to be successfully born and raised to adulthood. All these new snowy owls need a place to go. This is supported by the observation that most of the snowy owls in an irruption are relatively young. There are many other factors that could cause these irruptions too. Researchers are using bird banding and satellite tracking of these birds to learn more. Hope you enjoyed my close ups and fun facts! I’d love to hear your questions or comments about my Snowy Owl design in the comments below. A post for National Honey Bee Day that was on August 15!
This is my Spring Honey Bee inspired by https://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/ articles on Planting a bee Garden and Grassroots Gardening: 21 Flowers that Attract Bees (links below). There are so many different domesticated sub varieties of honey bees with their own origins and characteristics. With my Spring Honey Bee, I have only scratched the surface by just focusing on Spring blooming flowers. Spring blooming flowers found in my design to consider adding to your garden are Borage, Calendula, Crocus, Hyacinth, Pansy, Pussy Willow, Siberian Squill, and Wild Lilacs (my drawing is a close up picture of the flower). When creating a bee garden, the bee conservation's articles encourage planting flowers that bloom during different seasons for continuous sources of food for bees. You can also create a Bee Bath by putting fresh water in a shallow container with rocks and sticks for the bees to land on. If you are interested in making your own bee friendly garden, check out their articles: Planting a bee Garden: https://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/plant-a-bee-garden/ Grassroots Gardening: 21 Flowers that Attract Bees: https://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/2017/03/27/21-flowers-that-attract-bees/ Build a Bee Friendly Garden: https://thehoneybeeconservancy.org/2015/08/29/build-a-bee-friendly-garden/ 7 day challenge Day 7: Blanford’s Fox for @etherealwhisper89 on Instagram.
This final fox is a "true" vulpes genus fox. Only a few inches larger than the length of a fennec fox, Blanford’s fox is found in altitudes up to 2000 meters in the mountains, steppes, and semiarid areas of Israel, Afghanistan, and most other middle eastern countries. They have hairless feet and curved claws that help with climbing and jumping in the rocky steep slopes. They are omnivores but have been reported to eat more fruits (like grapes and melons) than other foxes. 7 day challenge Day 6: Ruppell’s Fox for @etherealwhisper89 on instagram.
A “true” vulpes genus fox, Ruppell’s fox, aka Ruppell’s sand fox, is found from northern Africa to the Arabian Peninsula to Pakistan and lives in deserts of sand and stone. Like the Fennec fox, the Ruppell’s fox has fur on its feet to help protect it from sand and its ears emit the heat from its body. They compete for resources with the red fox. They are omnivores and depending on where they live, their diet can vary from eating mostly insects to small mammals, birds, and lizards. Grass, desert succulents, dates and other fruit. 7 day challenge: Day 5 Bat-eared Fox for @etherealwhisper89
Like the gray fox, the Bat-eared Fox is not a “true” vulpes genus fox and is instead in the genus Octocyon (it is also the sole member of this genus). It lives in Africa and, like the fennec fox, its ears help emit heat from its body. Those big ears also help the Bat-eared fox find its favorite food termites that make up 70% of its diet! It is mostly an insectivore eating dung beetles, their larvae, and grasshoppers. They also eat scorpions, spiders, millipedes, rodents, lizards, fruits, and eggs. |
Artist and Blogger
I'm just a doodling artist. My current style started in a lecture class at MCLA where I began doodling in my notebooks. Now I've started a new series focusing on animals. Archives
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