Herb Wells of Alpaugh CA, for all California’s problems still the field HQ of coursing, is perhaps the best photographer of running dogs EVER. A small sampler.The second reminds me of an old coursing print.
Month: March 2011
Separated at Birth?
I finally figured out who the Roman- nosed Chinese “Xigou” hounds reminded me of: the late Edward Gorey’s Doubtful Guest. Look at those profiles!
Flock Flight
I never tire of watching the great winter flocks of birds like starlings, moving with eerie grace like some superorganism, supposedly by obeying very simple rules. (Photo, sent anonymously a year or two ago, by Manuel Presti; thanks, PD!) This is most obvious when birds are under attack.Bill Kessler sent this amazing YouTube filmed in …
Aunt Eudora
Our friend Marilyn Taylor is the poet laureate of Wisconsin as well as mostly a formalist, a so- called “New Traditionalist”. Though hardly stuffy, as this excerpt from an old favorite about a retired midwestern lady totally in command of the situation, demonstrates. From “Aunt Eudora in Paris”: Somewhere in this vast and graceful city …
Mongol Tazis?
I never saw a tazi in Mongolia but there is evidence they exist, as in this folk painting. It is a common genre but this is the only one I ever saw that had tazis, never mind a Kazakh eagler.Andrew brought me back this wonderful little study in another modern style– I have a horse …
Quick Updates with Historical Musings
Libby found a link to Tom Russell’s paintings, mentioned below, at Rainbow Man gallery in Santa Fe. Good bio too. Asian art seems a continuing interest to readers here. Eric Wilcox sent this Edo white gos. (The screens below are also Edo).On the Edo era: David Zincavage links to an Economist piece by one Henry …
Commonplace Book
A not- so- obvious one from the samurai- artist Musashi, one of painter Tom Quinn’s idols: “Do not need too many weapons.” Not.. too many…
Gallo…
… de Cielo!This whimsical portrait of Tom Russell’s celestial fighting rooster came to live at Casa Q for my 61st birthday, as Tom and Libby conspired. Or as he put it, “…that was one we kept in our private collection but it wanted to move to Magdalena near the other wild birds.” (In addition to …
Riches
Yumm. On Friday, husband Jim had to make a run to Farson for some small hay bales to use to make a den for a pregnant livestock guardian dog (we feed big bales to the sheep). Our friend and beekeeper Jim Hodder made us a great trade – one of my wolf books for a …
Beauty, and its opposite
Many of the most pleasant parts of my day involve encounters lasting only a few seconds, and sometimes as long as a few minutes, but they all involve beauty found in nature. The snowy grouse (Greater Sage Grouse) were out nibbling on sage along the Wind River Front near Boulder while we were hauling hay. …