coyote teeth

"No." Says the tuna, "Do you?"

"I have never seen it." Says the whale, "but deep in my body, I remember it."

"Why do you care," says the tuna, "if you will never see it."

"There are bones in my body built to walk through the forests and the mountains." Says the whale.

"They will disappear." Says the tuna, "one day, your body will forget the forests and the mountains."

"Maybe I don't want to forget," Says the whale, "The forests were once my home."

"I have seen the forests." Whispers the salmon, almost to itself.

"Tell me what you have seen," says the whale.

"The forests spawned me." Says the salmon. "They sent me to the ocean to grow. When I am fat with the bounty of the ocean, I will bring it home."

"Why would the forests seek the bounty of the oceans?" Asks the whale. "They have bounty of their own."

Last year I finally had an excuse to illustrate this simple little Tumblr story I've had bookmarked forever for class.

THEY RELEASED THE COYOTE VS ACME TRAILER !!!!!

WE WON !!!

This elaborate saddle blanket dates back to about 400-300 BCE. It was discovered in the Pazyryk barrows, located in the Altai mountains of Siberia, where it had been preserved in the permafrost for more than 2,000 years. It's made of felt, leather, horsehair, and gold foil.

Above: the appliqués at the center of the saddle blanket

The central design features two identical appliqués, each depicting an ibex being pinned down by a griffin.

Above: close-up of the appliqués

The sides of the saddle cover are also decorated with circular pendants made of felt; each of these pendants is trimmed with leather, encircled by tufts of horsehair, and embroidered with a stylized depiction of a ram's-head. A pair of horned tigers can also be seen at the base of each pendant.

Above: the pendants that hang from each side of the saddle cover

This artifact is attributed to the Altaic nomads of Siberia, who formed part of the larger group of cultures that are collectively known as the Scythians (or Scytho-Siberian peoples).

According to the Hermitage Museum:

Saddles used by the ancient Altaic nomads differ from those used today. They had no wooden base and consisted of two leather cushions filled with reindeer and horse hair and sewn together on one side. Felt saddle covers were traditionally decorated with scenes showing a beast of prey tearing to pieces a herbivorous animal. 

The Scythians were among the first cultures to begin using horses as mounts, and they invented one of the earliest forms of saddle. They were extremely skilled and accomplished riders, and their early mastery of mounted warfare enabled them to gain control over vast sections of Eurasia. That dynamic led to the development of a very noticeable "horse culture," with horses playing a critical role in many different aspects of Scythian life (and afterlife):

The horse was an essential part of Scythian life and was the most important and multipurpose animal used by the nomads. Initially, the Scythians reared large herds of horses mainly for their milk and hides, but eventually were among the first people to harness the horse as a mount.

By the 7th century BCE, the Scythians were already master horsemen and controlled a vast corridor of land that stretched across southern Siberia, from the Black Sea to the fringes of northern China. This expanse of land was greater than the Achaemenid Persian Empire, which the Scythians outlasted.

The Scythians produced many horse-related artifacts that have been discovered at sites throughout Eurasia, but this saddle cover is one of the most elaborate and most well-preserved examples of that tradition.

Above: the saddle cover from Pazyryk

Two other artifacts from Pazyryk have previously been featured on my blog -- a 2,300-year-old plush bird and an elaborate horse headdress.

Sources & More Info:

Hermitage Museum: Saddle Cover

World Archaeology: Do the Clothes Make the Horse? Roles, Statuses, and Identities in the Pazyryk World

University of Washington: Artifacts from Southern Siberia/Pazyryk

Expedition: The Textiles from Pazyryk (PDF)

Cambridge University Press: The Origins of Saddles and Riding Technology in East Asia

Routledge: Pazyryk Culture Up in the Altai

I used two more condor photos by Andrew Orr and Alam Clampitt from peregrinefund.org

Gotta use the skills I learned from making tabloids out of the Jane Austen novels somewhere right?

as if increase of appetite had grown

by what it fed on; and yet, within a month!

Let me think not on't. Frailty, thy name is Condor!"

This Ring quest will have two hobbits. Maximum.

Then they all get to Rivendell and have somehow multiplied into four hobbits. And it's like. Okay. Maybe the others are right.

Maybe this is too many hobbits.

We have as many hobbits as we have not-hobbits.

But damn it, you just don't want to get rid of any of these hobbits. Screw it! Everyone can deal. Four hobbits. This is a four hobbits problem.

So away you go.

And things go bad in the worst possible way.

Over and over.

You've lost your hobbits. You've lost yourself. The fellowship has been separated.

It takes everything in your power to help the humans defend themselves, bringing them together to save Rohan. Finally, as things begin to look upright, you're ready to face the war with everything the Rohirrim have left.

You're ready to face him. This may be the hardest battle you've ever fought. But you ride.

Then you get there and two of your fucking hobbits are sitting there like "Yeah, while you were gone, we raised a tree army and beat Saruman's ass. Wanna help us loot his tower?"

....

There were not, in fact, too many hobbits.

Today is Earth Day so here is my annual post. It's long but I mean it with all my heart. (And thank you to everyone who has participated even a little in the Treasure Hunts whether you posted about it or not.)

Everything we are, everything we own, everything that makes up our family, our lovers, our pets, our houses, ships at sea, planes in the air, shopping centers, factories, cities, computers, and, of course, all of the diversity and glory of nature, comes from the Earth. We have Earth Day, when we talk about problems with the Earth and try to fix them, but it's time for us to celebrate the beauty, glory, and nurturing of the Earth and show our thanks for this source of everything.

Let's celebrate the time between Earth Day and the day the U.S. celebrates as Mothers Day as Mother Earth Season, a time to look at, appreciate, and celebrate everything wonderful and amazing about the earth and the living things on it.

Find wonderful things in nature and show them to other people. Take an older person out of the nursing home for a picnic or a drive through the woods. Tell children stories of remarkable and beautiful places, animals, plants, or events in nature that you saw before they were born. Give nature parties, play nature-related music, dance, paint pictures, write poems, share photographs about nature and, most of all, take walks. Get up early to see the sunrise light on everything and take pictures, or not, find out when and where to see the Pleiades rise and set. Look at the landscape from hills, take paths along streams and into glens. Sit in a beautiful place with someone you love or sit and remember deeply someone you loved. Take it all in and share it with others!

Most of all, take time to feel happy to be alive on this beautiful earth and let yourself feel wonder.

Feel the joy of being on this living planet. Tell the Earth how amazing she is and that you're glad she's given you this time here. If these were your last days, what would you want to say to this, your home and source that gave you everything you've ever known, including your self?