Vintage Chihuahuas

Here are two more vintage photos of chihuahuas from long ago and far, far away. The chihuahua in the first photo doesn't seem to be enjoying his summer beach holiday at all (who ever heard of a chi who didn't like the sun??), while the lady in the second one looks far too unhappy for someone who is holding (and most likely also owning) one of the tiniest and cutest little babies I've seen in a vintage photo in a long time. How could anyone be that depressed who owns a chi? Maybe that's why the little munchkin is gazing off with such a wistful expression on its tiny face. Perhaps it's dreaming of someone who's a bit more fun than this bummer of a human?

Top photo courtesy of carlafrances on flickr.

Bottom photo courtesy of mdchunko on flickr as well.

Glorious Greyhounds

The other day I was talking with a couple of friends about greyhounds and how utterly magnificent they are. There's nothing quite so regal as a long and lean greyhound mincing along (or better still: running like the wind). Years ago, when Griffin was young, we looked into adopting a retired racing greyhound but for reasons I can no longer remember, and despite meeting several lovely canine candidates, we never did adopt one. There's a brindle female who lives in my neighborhood who I secretly covet and there's a pair of tiny silver Italian greyhounds who live on the other side of town that I also am wildly smitten with. I watch for them every time I find myself driving in their area. Were those two ever seen being walked by a tiny, decrepit and very weak-looking old lady, I would be out of my car in a flash and knocking her butt to the sidewalk while I made off with those little darlings. Unfortunately, their owner happens to be one very buff, very burly gym rat who looks like he eats girls my size for a midday snack. Alas, my love of this breed will remain (for now) from afar.

Portrait of Cody courtesy of kimw_01 on flickr.

Photo of Nell at the beach courtesy of bredlo on flickr.

Teasing

Bram is the world's greatest tease and Edison is his usual target of choice (though the poor cat isn't very far behind). The other evening I was working in my office and the boys were snuggled sweetly in their brand new cat beds amongst the piles of wrapped artwork. They looked so adorable that I just had to grab my camera and get some shots of them. My timing proved to be perfect though, as seconds later, the formerly snoozy Bram woke up and began to terrorize poor Edison. The entire sequence of shots is 21 frames which begin with two sleeping chihuahuas and progress through Bram waking up and briefly watching me, Bram discovering Edison sleeping quietly in the bed next to him, Bram poking Edison in the head repeatedly until Edison exploded in a fit of rage and then continuing the teasing until Edison finally (and with a very audible sigh) gave up and allowed Bram to chew his head, wash his ears and slap him in the face five or six times. It was at this point that Bram, once again, sadly realized that there isn't any fun in teasing if the tease-ee just gives up and so he, along with Edison, went back to sleep, each in their own little beds. And while the entire series of shots is a riot when viewed sequentially, I have winnowed it down to three sweet photos of my two boys doing what they do best: amusing the hell out of me no matter what they're doing.

Two Chihuahua Portraits

Two small portraits. The top fellow is Oliver, a cream and tan chihuahua who, in his young life, has been quite the world traveler. This is a very tiny portrait at just 4x6 inches. The bottom boy is Enrique Caruso, otherwise known as Neekie Pete. Neekie is a little tri-color guy who lives in (the often very frigid) upstate New York. This is a fairly recent portrait and at 7x10 inches, slightly larger than Ollie's rendering.

Head Study of Oliver, graphite on paper, 2009

Face Portrait of Neekie Pete, graphite on paper, 2010

I Love Cows!

"Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them; and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures."

-Thomas de Quincey, English author and intellectual (1785-1859)

Photo courtesy of shastadaisy on flickr.

Edison

I was fussing over some work in my front hallway when I noticed Edison watching me rather intently from his little bed, semi-drowsy from the summer sun that was deliciously warming his tiny back. I may be something of a nerd for always having a camera at the ready no matter where I am or what I'm doing (once an artist always an artist), but sometimes it makes for some very sweet shots. These were taken from the furthest end of the hallway with a close up lens so he didn't feel compelled to jump out of the bed and run over to me if I walked into the room he was in.

Watching the Horses

The boys love to visit the horses up the road and are always delighted when they're in one of the fields that we can easily access from the road, thus allowing Edison and Bram to get up close and personal with them. Sometimes, though, the horses are in one of those fields that won't allow one to walk right up to the fence. No matter how much I or my boys love to pet and sniff the horses (respectively, of course) there is no way I'm going to do it in poison ivy that's tall enough to reach my knees, or brambles full of thorns that would rip my legs to shreds from thigh to toe. On those days we sadly take a horse-free walk and then head home. Sometimes, later in the day when we're heading out in the car to run some dog-friendly errands, the horses will have switched fields and be close enough for us to enjoy them once more. But often I've got too little time to pull over, get both of the boys out of the car and carry them over to the fence for an intimate meet and greet, so we have to make do with a few quick moments of horse gazing from the car window. It may not be as good as standing nose to nose with a big beautiful horse, but we love it all the same.

Horse Farm

I love horses and have since I was a little girl (after all, what girl doesn't?) and the horse farm up the road from my house is one of my favorite places to be. All of the horses are beautiful, but I am especially partial to a dark dapple gray with a blonde tail. While there are several dapples on the farm, this one particular stallion is simply gorgeous and makes my heart skip a beat every time I see him grazing in one of the fields. If I was ever going to steal a horse, he'd be the one I abscond with. And while you may think this is just talk, be forewarned: I come from a long line of 18th and 19th century horse thieves, so it's in my blood. If you find me suddenly and inexplicably gone from this blog, you'll know exactly where I've gone: off into hiding with that beautiful, beautiful horse (and my boys) to live happily ever after.

But How Do the Squirrels Feel?

According to a headline article in the Christian Science Monitor:
MONKEYS HATE FLYING SQUIRRELS, REPORT MONKEY-ANNOYANCE EXPERTS

Japanese macaques will completely flip out when presented with flying squirrels, a new study in monkey-antagonism has found. The research could pave the way for advanced methods of enraging monkeys.

Seriously? In my next life (or when I grow up into adulthood in this one, whichever comes first), I'm going to become an expert in some ridiculous field of animal research and I'm going to waste millions of dollars in grant money to study some incredibly dumb behavior that nobody gives a shit about (except in this case maybe the freaked out and clearly unhappy monkeys) and then I'm going to have the results of my exhaustive work plastered as the top headline in newspapers the world over, thereby ensuring that tons more grant money comes my way, thus funding my next absolutely retarded research idea and making sure I am set for life.

African Wild Dog

I'm endlessly fascinated with wild animals that look vaguely like our domesticated versions but still remain untamed and, well, different. In the case of the African Wild Dog, it would be (and I'll give you one guess- quick!) those ears. At a brief glance, this guy looks a lot like a German Shepherd, doesn't it? And that's rather cool given that this dog still roams wild in packs on savannahs and in lightly wooded areas, hunting and eating everything from wild birds up to zebras. But egads! Those ears! If this species was ever domesticated, as has been successfully achieved with some wild varieties of African cats, I don't think I could ever own one because I would be perpetually distracted by the poor animal's Mickey Mouse Club ears. They're mesmerizing in a really funky sort of way. I doubt I'd ever get anything done because I'd find it difficult to ever look away. That and the fact that its hearing has to be off the charts. Edison has really big ears and I swear he can pick up signals from space because he hears things (and summarily goes off on a wild barking tangent to sound the alarm) that no one else can hear. With ears like this, these dogs have to be able to eavesdrop on conversations in other galaxies. Frankly, I don't think I could take anymore nuisance barking in my life. And oh yeah, I would so not be up for cleaning the remnants of meals out of this thing's beard either.

Photo courtesy of Wild Dogger on flickr.