Three Little Pigs

The story of the three little pigs was first published in the early 1800's. It was a lesson about wasting time and playing instead of working hard and achieving goals. The two silly pigs were almost eaten by the Big Bad Wolf but managed to get to the house made of bricks and safety.
In 2007 some elementary schools in England changed the story to "The Three Little Puppies",so they wouldn't offend the Muslims.
Muslims consider pigs as unclean. They also consider dogs as being unclean but maybe the schools didn't get that memo.

Out In The Tules

"Out in the tules" is an old term meaning 'far away'. The word derives from the indigenous Mexican word tullin, a thick water grass common to the marsh areas of Mexico City and the central valley of California.
8"x10" acrylic on canvas panel $150

Big Boy

Between 1830 and 1948 there were more than 40,000 steam engines built to pull passengers and goods. The largest engines were called "Big Boys" and pulled 32 tons of coal as fuel and 20,000 gallons of water to create steam. Their mileage was pretty poor tho, burning 1 ton of coal and almost 1,000 gallons of water per mile. They had to stop and refuel every 25 miles but the "Big Boys" could develop 7,000 horse power and pull a train of cars a mile long.

The guage of the tracks in the U.S is 4ft 8 1/2 inches and can be traced back to the width of the Imperial Roman army war chariots. The chariots had to be pulled by two horses side by side. The chariot wheels had to be spaced far apart to avoid the hoof marks yet not protrude past the flanks of the horses to avoid entanglement with passing traffic or roadside vegetation. Since all chariots were made be Imperial Rome the size was always the same. That measurement has continued for more than 2,000 years.

water color 9"x12" $85.00 If you are interested in buying this original painting contact me.

The Last Tomatoes.....or...... Arivederci Roma

About a week before Christmas, Debi and I picked the last of the green tomatoes before the first freeze. Here it is Jan. 4th and we still have about a dozen left. Pretty amazing to me, but I did some research and found out tomatoes have the same ripening hormone as apples. Also.......

The tomato is native to the Americas and was cultivated by the Incas. The Conquistadores brought seeds back to Spain and the Mediteranian countries soon adopted the tomato as if it were their own. The British, however, believed it caused stomach cancer and brain fever and told the citizens to avoid the fruit. The same fear persisted in the colonies until 1812 when the Creoles in New Orleans put tomatoes in their Cajun cooking.

The tomato is in the same family as the potato and petunia.

The tomato is the worlds most popular fruit.

Botanically, tomatoes are a fruit because a fruit is the edible part of a plant that contains the seeds. A vegetable is the edible stems, leaves and roots of a plant.

In 1893 the supreme court ruled in the case of "NIX v. HEDDEN" that the tomato is to be considered a vegetable. This was not the first idiotic ruling a supreme court would make.

8"x10" oil on board $100