The Real Humpty Dumpty Story

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the kings horses, and all the kings men

couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.

Humpty Dumpty in fact was the nickname of an unusually large cannon that was mounted on the wall of St. Mary’s Wall Church in Colchester, England during the English Civil War (1642-1649). It was intended to protect the Parliamentarin stonghold of Colchester which was being controled by the Royalists at the time. A shot from a Parliamentary canon hit the wall just underneath Humpty Dumpty causing the wall to crumble and the canon fell to the ground. The Royalists (all the kings men) tried to raise the canon on a different part of the wall (with the help of the horses) but because of the size and weight of the canon they failed and Colchester fell to the Parliamentarians.

More Roses

I decided this needed another rose for a better layout. I'm always looking for ways to make a picture better. I think I'm done with this one.

Roses in the Sky

My latest painting. A little bit of surrealism. I actually woke up in the middle of the night and this painting popped into my head. Maybe not exactly, but close,so I was inspired to paint it. I don't know what it means but I think I'll do a series of these.
Saturday it's Art on the Wharf in Santa Cruz. Fun stuff coming up.

Bernie

Bernie the Lhasa Apso pup. 9 months old

Beyond the northern boundry of India, where Mount Everest stands is the land of Tibet. The capitol is Lhasa, where the breed got its name. A country of huge mountains and deep valleys, wind swept plateaus, warm summers and cold winters, it is the home of the Lhasa Apso. Genealogical tables show them to be in existence as far back as 800 B.C. and bred as a special indoor sentinel. They are well known for there keen hearing,watchfulness and are fierce protectors. Originally called a" Bhutan Dog" or Tibetan Terrier. They are lovable and smart little dogs and are sometimes used as performing dogs. They do not shed and the hair will grow quite long and flowing.

Napoleon Duck

These are the days that try mens souls and drive men mad. I'm talking about politics.
Seems to me that people who run for political office, whether it's City Councilman, Mayor, Senator, Governor or President of these United States all wind up like a Napoleon Duck.
All a bit daffy if ya' know what I mean. Whoever said "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" was right on. It seems that power goes straight up to their pointy heads and then they get to wear pointy hats. Coool.
The real Napoleon (Bonaparte) rose to fame during the French Revolution (1789-1799) and was so popular and powerful he crowned himself Emperor of France and the King of Italy. Now that's ballsy. He was a brilliant commander and had a lengthy streak of military victories however his invasion of Russia was his undoing and his Grande Arme'e never recovered. Still it took a coalition of armies from Russia, Austria, Prussia, Sweden, The United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal to defeat him and restore the Bourbons to power (1814). Two and a half million troops fought in the conflict and as many as two million dead. (Wikipedia) Napoleon was exiled to the island of Elba (off the coast of Italy).
Less than a year later he was back and regained control of the government. The coalition of governments, as before, each sent 150,000 troops and Napoleon was finally defeated in the battle of Waterloo, the last conflict of the Napoleonic Wars. He was exiled again, this time to the island of Saint Helena ( one of the most isolated islands in the world, in the South Atlantic Ocean).On the trip he teaches himself English and makes friends with the British sailors to such an extent that they are reprimanded by their officers for being too friendly with him. He says to his Irish doctor O'Meara:" So you are a doctor and I am a general. How many men have you killed? I'll wager more than me!". He spent his final days building sand castles and playing the kazoo.

The Ant And The Grasshopper

Aesop's fable 'The Ant And The Grasshopper' dates as far back as the third century. As the fable goes...The ant works hard all summer long collecting food and building his house while the grasshopper plays and dances and calls the ant a fool. When the winter sets in and the snow starts blowing , the ant is nice and warm and well fed and the grasshopper is out in the cold with nothing to eat. The grasshopper either dies out in the cold or has to beg for food from the ant. Your choice as to endings depending on how mean you feel at the time of telling.

Hawaii's State Flower

Many consider the red hibiscus the flower of the state but the yellow hibiscus is the official flower of Hawaii. This is adapted from a photo I took in front of the Mahana Hotel on the magical island of Maui. This is also a popular surf spot called Rainbows which gets pretty darn good on a north or west swell.
Mahalo.