Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Animal Wednesday


Happy Animal Wednesday! This is a quick rendering of one of my all time favorite animals, the Jungle Retic. I repeated her pattern over in the corner, layered it, then my feet got cold and I turned it all into carpet.



The photo of the snake comes courtesy of Ben at Renick Reptiles .Cady, the model, is not a large person, but that is still a large snake and a beautiful one. I didn't have time last night to do her justice, so this is just the begininng. I believe this snake may be a Momma soon. Pythons lay eggs. Ben also keeps anacondas and they give live birth. I am dying to see that in person one day, just not bad enough to buy two boas, keep them for 4 or 5 years and breed them. (An Anaconda is a type of boa)




Now, just for Teri, who I know isn't a big snake fan-and since I posted a snake last week-tadaaaaaaa-Behold, Oliver the Parrot.




Oliver is the Nathan Lane of birds. Kind of drab on the outside (sorry Nathan) but a really colorful character at heart. Really, this critter is one of the shining stars of my household, and while he looks more like a fat little guinea fowl than a sophisticated parrot type, I am so glad to have him here. We'll save the flash for the furries and the snakes, Grey is IN for Parrots this year. (Unless you are Jack the Lorikeet.....)

I hereby swear to get both my scanner and my tablet up and running by next Wednesday. I've been lazy and doing small pieces with a touch pad on a lap top, while good for improving one's focus, is getting old.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

HEY! I'm well above 'fashion' thank you very much! SQUARK! I vote for Oliver anyway, a grey coat can be appealing if there's colour underneath. Love the green collar BWARK! .... Jack the Lorikeet

Debra Kay said...

The green was originally pink, then for some reason I thought of Jack and changed it to green.

switch said...

I think I must have a thing for your Olivers.

Mim said...

Wow, what wonderful pictures. HAW to you too, and what a huge snake that is. (don't anaconda's do something like swallow you whole?) And a wonderful picture of Oliver the parrot (don't you have a doggy named oliver too?)

I love animals!

Debra Kay said...

I am fond of my Oliver's too, or I should say my Oliver's two.

I named Oliver the dog early this year, and the Oliver the parrot came along already named.

Really, Oliver the dog was supposed to be a fix 'em up and find 'em a home kind of deal, but he is such a wonderful dog. I don't think Cody or I either one could stand it if he left us.

Teri said...

OMG, you must have heard me EEKING and then I saw that adorable parrot. Thank you for saving me from EEK to AAHH. Both are wonderfully done!

HAW!

BBC said...

I guess I'm not a big snake fan either, other than to more or less be okay with them out in nature. I'm not interested in keeping any captive.

Having said that, when I lived in Arizona I did kill a few rattle snakes when they took a liking to the trailer we lived in out in the country.

They can be very mean critters and not welcome in my space. During the year I was there a boy about ten almost lost his life to one of them, they barely managed to save him.

Debra Kay said...

I'm not a big fan of keeping venomous snakes, I know some people are. We get some pretty fat copperheads and water moccasins in Oklahoma and Texas.

Most snake bites are associated with alcohol usage and people exercising poor judgement. I tend to think of that as natural selection. I'm speaking of drunk yahoos, not 10 year old boys.

I think rattlers can be dangerous, but I wouldn't go as far to say they are mean. I've seen water moccasins chase people, but they were highly provoked (the snakes).

Snakes do have varying personalities though, so I suppose there are mean ones out there too, but usually they just want to be left alone.

Snakes aren't really that interested in human beings unless the human is holding a rat or a mouse, or it's cold and they want to snuggle.

My pythons are well fed, so maybe they have time and energy to observe the human species, but a wild snake keeps pretty busy staying alive.

studio lolo said...

I love your colorful drawings and the pic of the snake. It amazes me how large some of them get!
My niece was bitten by a baby rattler last month while she was sitting on the front stoop. She must have startled it. Her hand swelled up like a baseball glove! The doctors said the babies are more venomous. All I know is she has a healthy respect for nature now!

Unknown said...

I have always been affraid of snakes...yikkkkkkkkes ...the one in the photo is very scary....

nice work on your art ...from fiber art to your wonderful parrot!

Mim said...

Kugel and mustard greens? I've got to hear this story!

Michele said...

That big snake is freaking me out. I think that same snake ate a person on a Miami CSI once.

Debra Kay said...

I doubt a snake that size could swallow a person past the shoulders. They might be able to kill you, but I doubt she'd eat you. I'm not sure what the fuss is about the eating part anyway-if you're dead, who cares? It's like when a shark kills and EATS someone, it's more awful than if they just kill. Either way, the person is dead, but the poor old shark still has to go find something else to eat.

Mim I went to a seder and they used mustard greens for the bitter herbs-in the south we eat them all the time just cause we like them. The Keugel part was my favorite part of the meal-I'd never had dessert pasta before.

I think snakes scare us because as children we were probably taught that they were all poisonous, all "bad" and we should leave them alone. But, not everything are parents taught us was right, or presented in the best way, or even a fair way.

The snake is really a marvel of evolution, a bioengineering miracle of sorts. Simple, yet effective; an example of great design over skill. Ability is relative, it's hard work to constrict something, but they must be physically able to do it from the beginning, or they perish. Yes, I think they are awesome critters.

human being said...

your snake artwork is awesome... for the first time in my life i got a hunch how nice it is to kiss a snake!!!!

love your parrot... parrots are so cute.... i like the way they scream and love to watch them fly in the sky with their long tails... we have some in our neighborhood... they are a bit different from yours...
kiss him for me too!
:D

soulbrush said...

i am with fern on this one, i adore your two ollies (i nearly wrote 'lollies'). that snake terrifies me, but i am very much a believer in 'different strokes for different folks'...and i know how much you enjoy them.

soulbrush said...

debs your art is fantastic, so please more at and poetry!