Edgar Allan ... er Pug?

I know most of you don't go to Deviant Art, but I spend quite a bit of time on that glorious website. There are a few artists there who I have a watch on, and any time they upload more pictures on to the website I am notified and can go look at them.

There is one particular artist called monaux who draws some quite amazing vignettes which can be in turn very funny or sad in a melancholy way. He creates other pieces as well and I strongly encourage you to view his gallery.

Here's something he gave me permission to put up here on the 'blog. I hope you love it as much as I do!!

Original found here.

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Hairy Maclarey

I grew up with these books, read to me so excitingly by my wonderful Mum, and as I've grown I've enjoyed being able to read them to other youngsters. I can't wait to read this and many more to all my nieces and nephews. Check out Hairy Maclarey on Wikipedia to see all the books. Apparently there have been over 5 million books sold, so I am guessing they're not just sold in NZ! I think I always liked Hairy Maclarey's Bone the best. (Don't say it Doug. I'm watching you.)

Now that you've seen the book, please vote on my poll. Tell your friends and get them voting too! Let's see what people are out there in the world!!

Mop!

The title here is a little strange, I know.  But it's reference to a family joke.

Anyway, while hanging around waiting for our flight out of Australia we came across a mutant moth.  I say mutuant because surely a moth that large can't fly?  Maybe that's why it died.

Richie took a photo of me holding it.  So when I get that off him I'll put that picture up too!

Steampunk Spidey

Look at this little guy I found on Deviant Art, isn't it fantastic?

Ferdinand

When my sisters and I were still children we read or had read to us many many books.  One of these books was The Story of Ferdinand - the Spanish bull who would rather smell the flowers than butt heads, snort and pant and generally succumb to the social norm.

One thing we found distinctive about Ferdinand, is that he was often drawn sitting back on his haunches under a tree:

Although neither Ju nor myself have spent the majority of our lives on farms or farming, Mel has.  Farming and livestock are her bread and butter.  She has worked extensively with sheep, deer and cattle yet has never in her life seen anything like Ferdinand.  She always assumed it was a quirk of the children's tale - an image which illustrated how very different Ferdinand is to all the other bulls.

And then... one day, while I was staying with Mel and her fiance Al, we were driving back from town and we saw a real-life Ferdinand.  Al turned the car around and we went back for another look - and photographic evidence.

What a pity there were no roses there for him to smell.

Fearless Eggbert’s Lion Drome

Stolen from Cracked.com article: The 5 Most Badass Things Ever Done By Jungle Cats (#1)

The Chickens are Unusual

Where I come from, chickens act in a particular way.

But my sister has chickens that don't.  I was looking out the kitchen window onto the chicken run when I saw one of the two writhing in slow morbid death-throws.  She was squatted close to the ground but not completely upright - slighty rolled over to her right side.  Her left leg/foot was spasmodically kicking out in a desperate bid for... something.  Life?
In my concern for the poor dying chook I pointed out her pight to my sister only to learn 'that's what she does...from time to time.'

Huh?
Most chicken's have a dust bath.  These chooks have mud spa/wallow/death thing.

More to this, both these chickens frequent the glass doors to the lounge whenever they are let out of the run and into the garden.  They stand, one at each window panel and peer in as though someone might be in there to grant them entrance.  The strange part being there's no one in the lounge when they do it.

Slightly less strange is their need to stand aboslutely still and on one leg.