Animalau Blog

This tree is just outside my window. It has had full branches of hard red berries since the summer and I used to wonder why none of the animals would consume them. I even tried feeding them to some raccoons! The cornucopia of this sad red berry brought me to the conclusion that they were probably poisonous (and then I felt bad about the raccoons!)

Finally, in December, I detected movement outside my window. On one of the branches there was a black squirrel shoving evil berries into its mouth, and on the tree next to it, there was a brownish red one having the same menu. For the next few weeks, it was like that- a black one on my tree, and a reddish one on the other, safely eating harmless berries.

One day, I saw a pair of cardinals on my tree too! I realised that the animals were saving these berries for the winter, when life gets tougher for all Canadians.

I am so impressed with such self restraint, wise preparation and act utilitarianism from the animals! Nothing blooms in winter, but good things can last throughout.

I also learned that I should not pick berries prematurely in the summertime for raccoons (in case I start a famine).

Remember the coffee doodle I made? I used it in my new business card!

And also used Doe 5 from my previous series.

let's make contact!

1,2,3

ONE.

The first business card was foolishly time consuming because I like hand made cards. I also sprayed them all with perfume!!!! Like they were love letters!

TWO.

This one was even more stupidly time consuming, and I still have a whole bag of them because I couldn’t give them away. Pfff…just in case I forgot my first name, website or e-mail.

THREE.

photoshop. The future is now!

-Christie

Millefleurs gardens are the dwellings of exotic animals like the unicorn or lion. Wild red foxes, albeit cunning and smooth talkers, are not so welcome in these French tapestries.

Perhaps a foreign Tibetan fox is exotic enough to be let in?

Tibetan Fox in Millefleurs Tapestry

(As an unrelated note, I think Tibetan foxes look a lot like Richard Gere!)

-Christie

He is a gaur and he is humongous!

Want to know how powerful he is? He’s the biggest wild cattle! Nothing too small escapes him…

A mosquito deterrent has been found in the gaur. It’s witchcraft! It makes the mosquito want to groom itself obsessively.

And since blood suckers are females, it makes a lot of sense! And it’s good for a lady to take some time off for herself.

-Christie

I was thinking about coral chandeliers

done with Lepen Pen

(at the seafood restaurant!)

-Christie

…there is a Royal Bengal Tiger! Unlike lions, tigers prefer to live alone instead of in prides (since males don’t raise their cubs). So to communicate with other tigers, a tiger pees on various forest things to make its presence known.

How surreal this would be for people! Wandering in solitude, but every now and then finding evidence of another’s existence. Instead of finding pee maybe tips of what the other people are like. Could be a hair roller, a tea bag, a wallet…

mythical taxidermy sketch

I think mine would be cinnamon gum.

-Christie

Black lines on the cheeks of football players, cheetahs and the white-crested laughingthrush. Ra ra Steelers!

sketch from the zoo

Laughingthrush sound like: RA. REE! RA RA RA REE RA RA REE REE REE

Can listen for real at: laughingthrush sound
The bird gets really hysterical near the end of the clip!

-Christie

Coffee doodle doo!

coffee and jittery lines

Have a good snow storm.

-Christie

Here comes a living hieroglyph on a trip to Italy, although she’s not as well liked or sacred in Europe.

She'll be staying here around June

Little story about these birdies

A long time ago hoopoes were killed for their crests made of gold. The birds pleaded King Solomon for help, and so he changed their golden crests to feathers.

-Christie