Zebra are called the same names, as horses so there are stallions, mares, foals, colts and fillies.  They are very social also and travel and live in herds.  A herd is usually one stallion and several females and their foals. There are three species of zebras: the plains zebra, the mountain zebra and the Grévy's zebra. 1.
 
So that distinctive striping?  It may be more that good looking and camouflage, it may be a macro-environmental heating cooling system.   Current research indicates that in hotter areas Zebras have more stripes and cooler areas have less stripes.
“Maybe micro currents of air move faster over sunlight absorbing (and heat) black and slower over white to create some crazy micro weather pattern!  Like a mini fan all over! “ 2.

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How about seasonal Artwork?

One of the best things about art school was art history. I love it all and one thing I really appreciate is the Japanese attention to the seasons. They constantly bring that focus indoors by decoration with changing flower arrangements, still life arrangements and artwork. Why don’t we do the same? Especially those of us with small homes or apartments or dorms? By changing one or two spots in a room, the whole space will be different. See future blogs for more on the subject of changing areas of the home seasonally.  See ARTaboutEDEN for my color customizable prints.   We can for example match a wall color in your home to a background color we incorporate into a print.  Just ask!

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This is a print of Six Blue Snapdragons on rose-gold. Printed with bold blues and red-yellow and black with flowers and lots of colors.  Added to the illustrations out of old books is my own pastel drawings made on asphalt roofing material or Plexiglas.  The rough tooth of the roofing material is a wonderful surface for pastels, as it becomes a flat, reusable layer with a beautiful black ground. I sometimes also draw and paint with pencil, oil stick or watercolors on the surface with beautiful results.  After scanning all those images into the computer I usually have 8 or 9 different images layers to work with, and then the fun begins, with lots of experimenting until I have something I just can’t tamper with any longer. Then maybe I make a print.
 
This digital file is my original creation.  I can then create one of a kind pigment prints on demand for you.
 
I can also customize any print based on your wall colors or decorative scheme, please just drop me a line. 

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​

​One of the first things you notice on Safari is that the fences are tall, but now I think it is more to keep us out not them in.

One of the first things you notice when you go to the Reserves in Kenya like Aberdale National park , Ol Pejeta Reserve, and Solio Ranch is that not only are the fences tall and wicked, but the Rangers are armed and there are watch towers.  They really are prisons, not only to keep the wild animals in, but to keep even more dangerous animals out, poachers. One day at Ol Pejeta Reserve, I missed my chance to take a picture of their helicopter, they had 2 that were used to search for poachers, but We did see them training 2 young bloodhounds.  The same Ranger told us that they were starting to use drones also. 

​Animal Rights advocates do not want quotes bandied around about the monetary values of rhino horn, or any animal part on the black market, for that matter. Discussing prices of animal parts only adds fuel to the idea that there is value to these things, but the reality is that rhino horn is very big business in the black market.
 
“Poachers are now being supplied by international criminal gangs with sophisticated equipment to track and kill rhinos. Often they use a tranquilizer gun to bring the rhino down and hack of its horn leaving the rhino to wake up and bleed to death very painfully and slowly. Poachers are also often armed with guns making them very dangerous for the anti-poaching teams who put their lives on the line to protect rhinos.” 1

Rhishja Cota-Larson, the creator and head of the Saving Rhinos LLC, believes that rhino poaching is not taken as seriously as it should be: “Exactly like illegal drugs and weapons, the illegal rhino horn trade depends on activities such as fraud, money laundering, racketeering, and violence. It requires the involvement of corrupt officials at the local, national, and international levels.”

As these pictures show we met and talked with a group of really great guys how are doing hard, dangerous and lonely work for little pay.  How dangerous to is I was shocked to learn. "Worldwide, about two rangers are killed every week," says Sean Willmore, president of the International Ranger Federation and founder of the Thin Green Line Foundation, a charity that trains rangers and supports the widows of those killed in the line of duty. "But that's only partial data," he adds. "It could be double that amount." 2

​1. Reasons For Rhino Poaching
By Roseanna McBain on 28 February 2012

2. National Geographic,For Rangers on the Front lines of Anti-Poaching Wars, Daily Trauma,Laurel Neme
www.news.nationalgeographic.com/.../140627-congo-virunga-wildlife-rangers-elephants-r...

The more I photograph and learn about Monarch butterflies, the more I want!  Here are two of my prints of Monarch, available at ARTaboutEDEN, and a few snapshots and facts.

​Each Monarch butterfly has a complex life cycle; from the egg to the winged butterfly in fours steps. The egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly are the parts of the life cycle of an individual.  But it also takes 4 generations of Monarch Butterflies to fly a journey of journey that totals 1,200 to 2,500 miles from Canada or the United States to forests in Mexico.  Each generation travels part of the journey, lives only something like 4 to 6 weeks, all except the 4th generation which if they are in the warmer south will live up to 8 months.  I have read that an individual can fly up to 80 miles in one day!  One 3 to 4 inch butterfly!

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I knew about the horrors of poaching in Africa and Asia of Elephant tusks and Rhino horn, but was not aware of the full extent of problem until I started researching our 2011 Africa trip.

Since then I produced several series of collage prints based on hunting and poaching, and in 2017 when we went back to Africa I really want to find out more about this tragic international problem.

Rhinoceros are killed by humans for their horns, which are bought and sold on the black market, and which are used by some cultures for ornamental or traditional medicinal purposes. Right now in East Asia, mostly Vietnam, is the largest market for rhino horns. “People grind up the horns and then consume them believing the dust has therapeutic properties.” (1 )
 
The rhino horn is made of the same substance as our hair and fingernails and horses hooves! It is keratin, which is a protein.  Rhino need them to dig in the ground for food, attract a mate, and if you watch a Rhino cow and calf for a few minutes even, to corral their young around.

The powered horn has been used in traditional herbal medicine, where it is believed to have magical properties, and cure things like arthritis, headaches and cancer.  However that is changing rapidly as Rhino horn is now becoming a status symbol for wealthy businessmen in East Asia where they are displaying them as trophies or status symbols. (2)

I think we should ban displaying all horn artifacts, elephant, rhino walrus, etc., from our museums and homes, even if they are historical and valuable pieces.  NOT DESTROY THEM, BUT NO LONGER SHOW THEM OFF AS OBJECTS OF STATUS. Let them gather dust in a dark storeroom.What do you think?  Let me know!

1. Wikipedia
2. Reasons For Rhino Poaching by Roseanna McBain on 28 February 2012

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On one of our first day in the bush we were driving in the savannah in the Ol Pejeta Reserve, in the late afternoon light around 4:00 PM.   We noticed a large grouping of stone mounds and headed over to investigate.  There we found maybe the most profound experience of the trip, the Ol Pejeta rhinoceros cemetery. The cemetery is dedicated to all the Rhinoceros killed by poachers since 2004 in the Reserve.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy Nanyuki, Kenya May 2017
http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org/, where some 90,000 acres of open Savannah grassland and convert it to a national land trust in 2004.

Music by ZAP MAMA Composer:A.Daulne,F. Nuyens and M.Daulne.: http://www.zapmama.com/

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Video showing building the digital collage "Three Rabbits Chatting" by artist Leslie Miller for sale on ARTaboutEDEN

​River otter, Lutra canadensi,  pups are born in a den. Mom nurses them and keeps them warm for about  eight weeks and then they're big enough to explore the world outside. Although seldom seen, river otters are relatively common throughout The US and costal area in ponds, lakes, rivers, sloughs, estuaries, bays, and in open waters.

A common myth about River Otters is that they only eat fish and compete with hobby fishermen for fish. This is not true.  "Crayfish make up a large portion of an otter’s diet for most of the year, but during winter otters feed almost exclusively on fish. Other foods include mussels, frogs, turtles, aquatic insects, and other small animals."
Missouri Department of Conservaton,
North American River Otter,
https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/north-american-river-otter

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I print on demand for my customers at various sizes and will do custom colors.

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