a day late: happy mother's day!

snoop holds up a wall

And does it with style, too. Some equal-time graffiti appreciation after Monsieur Chat, this dapper pup is "Cork Graffiti, Snoop by Cuf2." I believe the Cork referred to is (thanks Michael - Corrected from city!) in Ireland.

more andalusian beauties

Yesterday, when I wrote of El Cid's horse Babieca, I found myself quite frustrated at having so little to offer on what was clearly a special and exemplary breed of horse. Today I went looking for more on the Andalusian horse. . .
. . . and hit the jackpot.

I have found the website for the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, or Fundacion Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre, in Cadiz, Spain. Established in 1973, the School is dedicated to the Spanish horse, its training and the history and art in which the horse played a major part. This all originated with a show called "How the Andalusian Horses Dance," which is still available to see today, but there is so, so much more. You cannot take this site all in even in 2 or 3 sittings. There is a page detailing the Museum of Equestrian Art, and another for the Horse Carriage Museum. You can learn about the gardens. And if you can get to Spain, you can take courses. Perhaps you would like to watch these elegant, slender, tender-eyed horses train, or tour their shining clean tiled stables.

What a trip you'd have! Have a look.

a stupid horse? hardly

Perhaps that really is what happened - young Lord Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar looked over all the horses his godfather had, and chose a white Andalusian that looked spindly. Exasperated, his godfather yelled "Stupid!" Babieca! And in a bit of reverse psychology, the horse and the boy grow up to become the greatest warrior team in Spain's history.

Or maybe the horse was actually named Bavieca and the name got warped. Which isn't anywhere near as good a story.

But the tale of who Rodrigo became with the help of his mighty horse still makes for a great story. He grew up to beome The Cid (c 1040 - 1099), the warrior who conquered Valencia and made it his own fiefdom. Smart and strong, the white horse Babieca was his loyal friend and fellow fighter during these adventures; El Cid's enemies were frightened of him.

The story of El Cid and Babieca - the two are pretty intertwined - can only be flirted with in a little post. Lean more by going to this article on The Cid at Wikipedia, and this essay on Babieca.
Here's a Flickr image of their sculpture in Balboa Park, San Diego. And here is their monument in Burgos, Spain.

wanda gag

Today I must admit I am disappointed. I had planned to bring you all a post on Wanda Gag (1893-1946), the author and illustrator best known for Millions of Cats and The Funny Thing. (I loved that last one when I was a kid - boy, was that foreshadowing.)

As this informative page on Gag tells me, she stood up to a number of struggles early on in life, including being orphaned and responsible for siblings at a young age. Yet she made it to the Art Students' League in New York in 1917. Bearing in mind the strong "folk" woodcuts being explored over in Europe at that time, it doesn't surprise me now that her work had a simple, playful quality. And here is where I get disappointed. I wanted to send you directly to good looks at her work, but such does not seem to be readily available online.

All I could find to show you was part of The ABC Bunny and The Funny Thing (without The Funny Thing!).

sure. a zebra cart. why not.

Walter Rothschild (1868-1937) was a baron and a member of the Rothschild family, and therefore in a position to do pretty much whatever he wanted, as the folks were not hurting for cash flow.


What did he want to do? To create an animal museum. He ended up working in the family bank, but his wealth enabled him to spend his off time establishing and working with the zoological museum he founded at the family estate in Tring, Britain. (You may see their appealing website here, and don't miss the pages on Rothschild, who seems to have been a nice man.)

Walter had a particular fondness for zebras, and betook upon himself their training and an interbreeding program with horses. (You can see a Flickr photo of the museum's taxidermied zebroid foal - a zebra/horse mix - here.) He would drive carriages powered by one to six (so I've seen noted) zebras, preferring the Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii) for the purpose, as you may see in this copy of an 1895 bulletin. But for a fun photo of that, go here.

I wish we had more people like him kicking around today. He sounds marvelous.

the "staff" takes the air

I thought it would be fun to take this short movie with my phonecam. The quality is imperfect, but you can see Elizabeth, Bac and The Sally ankling around.

Minutes later the skies clouded over and we were treated to a deluge.

a text book for teaching kindness to animals, 1897

San Francisco, 1897 - Emma E. Page, "Organizer and Lecturer for the National Department of Mercy," publishes a school textbook through The Whitaker & Ray Co. Titled "Heart Culture: A Text Book for Teaching Kindness to Animals, Arranged for Use in Public and Private Schools," it offers several chapters on beasts wild and tame, with a list of thought-provoking questions to conclude each lesson.

For example, here's a few that follow Chapter XXVI, on The Dog:
What kind of a friend is the dog?
Will he like you better if you are rich?
Will he desert you if you become very poor?
Are dogs common?
Is it needful then for everybody to understand their rightful care?
Do dogs need to be kept clean, and how?
Do dogs need exercise?
If they are kept in close quarters, how often should they be taken out for a run?
Does confinement tend to make a dog cross?

And a little text from Chapter XXV, on The Cat: ". . . if you are ever tempted to lose a cat or little kitten away from home, think of it. Do not wrong so much devotion, and do not harden your own heart by so cruel a deed. It is far better that a cat should be killed humanely than that it should be driven out to pine and starve, a homeless tramp. When we have reached the highest civilization, no family will go off for a summer vacation and leave a cat unprovided for. Such a thing is shamefully cruel."

How about this shining treat from the chapter on The Hog?

The young of many wild animals are unattractive, not to say ugly. Many birds that are remarkable for grace and beauty have clumsy, naked baby birds that can be pretty only in their fond mother's eyes; but the young of our domestic animals are irresistibly winsome and beautiful, as a rule, and the baby pig is no exception. Shapely, active, knowing, affectionate, and clean, they captivate any unprejudiced observer.
Compte says, "The animals about us become partakers of our humanity." Let us look to it that we do not make them partakers of our degradation. "The noble and unselfish mind makes better and happier every living life it touches."

This is a most lovable book and I wish such things were taught in schools today. Why not have a look at it through Google Books?