Dog Days

We seem to have got our summer early, although next week is supposed to cool down significantly. I am using this time to try not to melt and to gather materials for a few posts – still have the Skopje Aqueduct to present, then some things from Madrid (basically a series on fancy chandeliers), and a couple other things.

For the moment, though, I’m trying to get back into something like a routine after being sick and after the frequent travel – the good news is I have one more trip to Skopje during the second half of June, and then I get to not go anywhere for a couple of months at least. Looking forward to that, because I can’t get anything done in the summer anyway. Which seems to have arrived with a blast of hot air (30 in May, I’m sorry, too much!).

The heat also discourages Ronja from her usual energetic antics, so I got some nice poses, for your enjoyment. She’s a beauty. And she still hasn’t shed all her winter coat, no matter how much we brush her.

© rq, all rights reserved.

© rq, all rights reserved.

© rq, all rights reserved.

© rq, all rights reserved.

© rq, all rights reserved.

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack and I have been avoiding the park for the past few days because the city was hosting a fair to celebrate the May 2-4 long weekend and Jack doesn’t like fairs. He’s too short to see much except a sea of legs and he doesn’t like the blaring noise of the carnival rides or the sudden screams they elicit. The worst part, though, is all the smells of food that no-one offers  him.

The carnival was still packing up when we were there this morning so we wandered through what remained of the midway and Jack had a good chance to safely explore the what of it all. After that we went to visit the tulips and strolled around the duck pond. The lingering smells of fried food made our route a bit circuitous because Jack had to visit every garbage can along the way, but the sun was warm and the birds were singing and I didn’t mind at all.

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Jack’s Walk

The Canopy Cometh ©voyager, all rights reserved

The canopy of the forest is filling in quickly and soon all the light that’s been fueling the growth of spring flowers will turn to shade or bits of dappled sunlight. The trilliums are still blooming madly, though, and we even found a few red trilliums still hanging on. The Jack-in-the-pulpits have sprouted up all over and I can’t recall a year that there have been so many of them. They’re everywhere and some of them are huge. It seemed to take forever for spring to arrive this year, but the woodland flowers are obviously very happy with the conditions.

Open for Business. ©voyager, all rights reserved

A red trillium is a rare sight once the white trilliums bloom. ©voyager, all rights reserved

Jack-in-the-pulpits ©voyager, all rights reserved

The Art of Book Design: The life-history of British serpents and their local distribution in the British Isles

Leighton, Gerald Rowley, The life-history of British serpents and their local distribution in the British Isles. Publisher Edinburgh and London, W. Blackwood and sons, 1901.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m declaring today Snake Sunday. I’ve finally posted the story of my visit to the Reptarium and this vintage book is right on theme.

via: The Internet Archive

The Reptarium

Bella, a very friendly Rhino Iguana, ©voyager, all rights reserved

Sorry to be absent the past few days. My adventure to Michigan put me into a crash cycle and it’s been slow climbing out. I’m feeling closer to normal today, but the brain fog is being stubborn and persistent. I hope I can string together a few sentences that make sense to tell you all about my amazing experience.

Content Warning – There are photos of snakes ahead.  [Read more…]

Nature Imitates Art

Dürer’s young hare is probably one of the best known animal portraits in the world. On our recent trip to the zoo, a rabbit seemed to be imitating the famous drawing pretty well.

See for yourselves:

 

Dürer’s Young Hare.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

©Giliell, all rights reserved

 

Or maybe Dürer was just pretty good at painting hares and bunnies.