naptime

Gift of Bishop Monad, 1869
https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/

This peaceful scene is an etching on blue paper from the late-Baroque artist Francesco Londonio (Italian, primarily Milan, 1723-1783).

the fair 2016

Off to the Washington State Fair today!  

Time to stroll around and check out the pygmy goats...

the awesomely curly Sebastopol geese....

fancy baby chicks....

and this super-fancy pigeon's tail (of which there was so much I couldn't see the rest of him!)

More snaps tomorrow.

vintage wednesday, ship edition

LOC, Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/det1994014009/PP/

I look for ship cats and dogs, and yet what I keep finding are....goats.  How many of you have seen this one of "Pitch," the mascot of the the USS New York?  This was taken by photographer Edward H. Hart in the years between 1893-1901.

getting the ship's goat?

Once upon a time, the USS Von Steuben had a goat for a mascot.  Here's what we know, as recorded in a memoir about the ship's part in WWI:

* * *

DON'T GET THE "VONNIE'S" GOAT
The mascot of the crew is a goat, "Billy," who is always eager to stage a mimic fight with his chums, the two dogs, "Tomatoes" and "Commodore," the latter named being the pride of Commander Wilcox. The goat is a source of much enjoyment for the crew; he pulls a varied number of funny stunts. His friends are the "boys." The Commander's dog "Commodore," after which the Hotel Commodore was named, is a favorite in the ward room. When "Commodore" is on duty in the Executive's room no one can go near it. In Panama every man had a parrot, but why mention unpleasant things?

* * *

Have I figured out which Hotel Commodore, by the way?  No.

- Ruggles, L. Elsworth. (1919). The part the U.S.S. Von Steuben played in the great war. Brooklyn, [N.Y.]: Brooklyn Eagle Press. 63.

chauncey gardner, a goat of note

i took this.  lafayette cemetery #1.

I'm still full of joyful thoughts about my New Orleans trip.  Clearly a few days doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of everything you can experience in one of the world's great cities. so I went looking for stories to help me understand what I missed.  The Big Easy did not disappoint.
Let me point you to the story of Chauncey Gardner, the goat that showed up in music videos, as a festival mascot, and not least as the inspiration behind an urban brush-removal company.
Chauncey passed on in February 2015 at the age of 11.  His obituary points out that he was a solid presence in the arts and culture of New Orleans; during the days after Hurricane Katrina, the Village Voice shared his adventures - he'd left the area riding shotgun in his people's car.  Then, as the city started taking itself back, Chauncey was the inspiration for a weed-eating team of unusual landscapers: Y'Herd Me Property Maintenance.  Excellent story about that is here.
A one-of-a-kind town needs a one-of-a-kind hero.  I can't wait to go back to NOLA.

happy new year of the sheep! or goat!

thanks wikimedia commons (pd)

Here's a one-day-late wish for a very happy Year of the Sheep (or Goat)!  And here are some sweetfaced, cuddly sheep by Giotto to bring the Museum's good wishes to you.  They are from the Nativity scene in his fresco series on the Life of Christ in the Scrovegni Chapel.
Would you like to see what the Year of the Sheep holds for you?  Check it out!