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Friday, April 30, 2010

Bovine Bowl, Ashmolean Museum

Oxford, England ~ February 18, 2010
Ashmolean Museum

The sign keyed to number 7 reads, "Lustre painted dish. About 1520-1530, made in Spain." I'm not sure why they have the bull turned up this direction, but so it is.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Bus Lane

Fire Hydrant and Taxi in New York City New York ~ May 5, 2009

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Play with the Dolphins

Botos, or Amazon River Dolphins in a hotel play yard, Manaus, Brazil Manaus, Brazil ~ April 23, 2007

We found these botos, or pink Amazon River dolphins in the play yard of the Tropical Manaus Hotel in Manaus, Brazil. Although the pink coloration and long beak are typical of this dolphin, the real animals have a shorter dorsal fin, more like a hump. The play yard had other native animals in it, and I believe they were made by the talented woman who ran one of the gift shops at the hotel.


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A Glorious Hall of Science

Natural History Museum, London London ~ February 19, 2010

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Roadside Jaguar

Roadside Jaguar, Brazil Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil ~ April 20, 2007

We encountered this slightly-crumbling jaguar and several other local animals at a truckstop-type gas station and store along the road to Trindade beach. I couldn't guess the location of the truckstop.

Roadside Jaguar, Brazil
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

The Beach at Trindade

The beach at Trindade, Brazil Trindade, Brazil ~ April 21, 2007

For those like me who don't speak Portuguese, one of the concepts to learn is that a "d" is sometimes pronouced the way we pronounce a "j." I don't know the rule, but in this case, the name of the town and beach are "Trin-da'-juh." Trindade (near Paraty [pronounced "Para-chi'] in Rio de Janeiro State) is a small town on a gem of a beach located several hours from Sao Paulo. We went with a group to the beach, where we attended a post-wedding party for friends and colleagues after a conference on tapir conservation in Sorocaba, Brazil, in which we had all taken part. The morning was lazy, and the tiny hotel had a second-floor deck outside the breakfast room. You can just see the roof of the rooms below at the bottom of the photo. For more photos of the area, here's what I came up with on my search of Google Images.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Bronze Skull among Blossoms

Bronze skull sculpture at Brookfield Zoo Brookfield (Chicago) ~ April 25, 2005
Bronze Deer Skull

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Storm Sky in Palisade

Bright blue flash of sky, Palisade, Colorado Palisade, Colorado ~ March 3, 2001

This photo was taken with my funky old digital, so the darker colors of the earth and houses are muddy, but the sky really did flash that brilliant blue streak under the storm clouds. That's one thing I always loved about Palisade - the storm lighting and colors were magnificent.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

In the Villa Borghese

Tempio di Esculapio - Villa Borghese, Rome Rome ~ April 14, 2004
Tempio di Esculapio / Temple of Aesculapius
Villa Borghese

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Beast Holding a Lintel

Beast holding a lintel, Cluny Museum, Paris Paris ~ May 5, 2004

A beast of some date and description bites hard on this lintel from a past age in the Cluny Museum in Paris. I wish I had photographed the placard, but I didn't, so I can't give the age or background of the piece. I believe the wall is from Roman times, or maybe part Roman and part Medieval. The building itself is fascinating, having begun as a Roman bath and evolved through history, being used in the Middle Ages as an abbey, and now as a remarkably fine and unusual museum.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Friday, April 23, 2010

A Wooden Jaguar at Robert's Grove

Carved wood jaguar, Belize Placencia, Belize ~ February 3, 2005
The Inn at Robert's Grove

This beautiful wooden jaguar was an unexpected surprise found lounging at the edge of the brick patio right on the beach. See below. He's being followed by an alligator.

Carved wood jaguar and alligator, Belize
This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Tree Thing in Massachusetts

Masachusetts ~ May 6, 2006

I'm not sure why the tree has a roof. If you enlarge the photo, you can also see the large slot down the left side of the stump. I took this photo from the car riding between Boston and Lexington, so I didn't get a chance to investigate, and I am also not sure about the location. I do love the charming New England architecture, which has a flavor all its own. And the flowers? Always delightful.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Para Ciel

A nice walkway in Panama CityPanama City, Panama ~ January 6, 2006

For Cieldequimper, who saw this photo on VP's A Bunch of Benches blog and wondered what was on the other side.

The photo above only shows what's on the other side of the very pleasant walkway, but the tourists seem to be looking at something, or is it only the bright red flowers? I believe what's on the left of the photo is the parking lot of the National Institute of Culture. If you're really interested, you can go to these coordinates (8°57'1.66"N 79°31'53.89"W) on Google Earth and see the photos others have taken, including the Institute, which has an unusual round construction on one side. You'll have to zoom down close to the center of the screen to see more than one or two photos. If you haven't played with Google Earth before, get ready for a fun and addicting ride :)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Water for Tar

Model tar pit with model fossils, San Deigo Zoo San Diego, California ~ November 5, 2009
This model of one of the La Brea Tar Pits is located near where the elephants live at the San Diego Zoo. To help demonstrate how fossils are formed and found, the pool is filled with water, which then drains away to show the fossil replicas like those of the Pleistocene found in Los Angeles.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store

I Like Airports

Los Angeles, California ~ October 23, 2008
Los Angeles International Airport

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

The Marker Says "Horse"

Horse Paleontology at the San Diego Zoo San Diego, California ~ November 5, 2009

Zoos are no longer just about showing off captive animals, but the better ones are about conservation and also about education. Near the elephants is a display of Pleistocene paleontology, and one of the outdoor displays features this model horse skull, intended to appear as it might have been buried in the earth. Here the horse has been used as an example, and it's a good choice. The horse is one of the animals whose evolution is well known thanks to several circumstances. Horses lived in herds on fairly dry plains, and conditions were right throughout most of their long history for fossils to be created from their skeletons. Animals such as the tapir, which lived singly or in smaller groups and died in areas where decay was faster and the earth less ready to preserve the remains, have left less for scientists to study.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store

Modern Art at the Louvre

Paris ~ October 16, 2008
Outside the north gate of the Cour Carree

I didn't know what to make of this when I saw it, and I still don't know. Did someone smash the sculpture to pieces, hence the crime scene tape and the fence? Or is that part of the installation? Sometimes it's hard to tell.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Giraffe at the Cabinet

A giraffe banner at the the Cabinet d'Histoire, Jardin des Plantes, Paris Paris ~ October 14, 2008
Cabinet d'Histoire, Jardin des Plantes
See more photos of this giraffe

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

And Who is That?

Stone crocodile in the gardens of the Seymour Conservatory, Tacoma, Washington Tacoma, Washington ~ May 22, 2004
The Seymour Conservatory,

This stone crocodile could catch one unaware. Be watchful for teeth lurking in the Conservatory garden!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

A Bridge on the Tiber

Ponte Regina Margherita - A Bridge over the Tiber River, Rome Rome ~ April 13, 2004
Ponte Regina Margherita

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Zebras in Golden Light

Zebras
Lion Country Safari near Miami, Florida ~
January 13, 2008

If this looks familiar, I used it in January on Tapirgal's Daily Image before I started a blog just for animal photos. It had been raining heavily, and the moist air collected the light from of the waning sun turning the air to gold. Yesterday's antelope picture was taken in a similar light at about the same time as this one.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A Visitor at the Dolphin Show

Seagull at Miami Seaquarium Seagull
Key Biscayne, Florida ~ January 14, 2008

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store

Buckman Tavern, Lexington

Lexington, Massachusetts ~ May 7, 2006
Rendezvous of the Minutemen
Now a museum

All history aside, there is a beauty and genteel simplicity about rural New England that feels so different from almost anywhere I'd been before. I've always lived in the Western United States, and I love it. I love the rugged land and so much about it, but there was a specialness here among the flowering trees, green grass, and three-hundred-year-old buildings that had seen it all and seemed the wiser for it.



Built 1709
Rendezvous of the
Minute Men
before the
Battle of Lexington
April 19, 1775


The green commemorating the skirmish is across the street, marked by several plaques and the famous Minuteman statue.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

White Bear at Warwick Castle

Reproduction of a bear used in bear-baiting, Warwick Castle, England
Warwick, England ~ February 17, 2010
Warwick Castle

This modern-day placard is part of the interactive display of what life was like in the Middle Ages at Warwick Castle. I don't know the history of this image, but it clearly depicts a bear used for the brutal blood sport of bear-baiting. One of the towers at Warwick Castle is named Bear Tower, and some authorities believe that bears were kept in that tower. Warwick Castle is one of the places in England where bear-baiting continued until a fairly late date. The sport was very popular among all levels of society, including kings and queens, and seems to have created great mirth in the observers. This cruel activity typically pitted bears against dogs, although there are descriptions of bears being allowed to chase other animals and even people. Both bear- and bull-baiting were finally outlawed by the English Parliament in 1835.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.