MJ's little flock

[Ribh]

I think its reputation sets unrealistic expectations.

Possibly so but it's also just not my sort of painting ~ & I like all sorts of styles & genres but the ML leaves me cold.

 

[MaryJanet]

Possibly so but it's also just not my sort of painting ~ & I like all sorts of styles & genres but the ML leaves me cold.

It's such a very personal thing isn't it? What one person loves, another doesn't. It's almost not worth expressing a preference.

I'm not a huge fan of Renaissance art as art, it's too sugary for me. However, I appreciate what the artists achieved with the technologies of the time.

 

[ManueB]

You know, the one landscape that genuinely impressed me was the Grand Canyon

Well, I didn't dare mention it because it sounds so cliché but the other place that totally amazed me for it's landscapes was the US. My parents took us to the grand canyon in December. It was covered in snow and I was like you amazed. They also offered me a horse ride in the Navajo reservation close by in the snow and that is one of my Wonderland memory.

I wish you would pick one of the least embarrassing ones to share

I found a pretty sweet one that isn't too embarrassing and doesn't involve anything illegal or disgusting. (My apologies, I am very long, it's difficult for me to be concise in english). We were staying in Aladaglar, a mountainous region in Turkey to hike and climb. First day hiking, a small to middle size funny hairy dog starts following us. My then boyfriend insists that we shouldn't take him with us, even though I like him. I try to tell the dog to go home but I don't speak dog or turkish, and we were already far from anywhere, and he was very excited and happy to come with us. The hike was much longer than we imagined and we reached our summit after five or six hours so we had a long way down. The dog was tired but still following. Suddenly it sprinted away barking, and we didn't see him anymore. We hesitated and waited for several long minutes because we didn't want to leave him in the mountain where he would be lost. Then, first we heard him whining, and then we saw him running toward us very fast. He was followed by a bunch of huge Anatolian shepherds (Kangals) with spiked collars, maybe eight or ten. And they were barking and obviously very angry at the dog. He leads them right to us and sort of hides in my legs, obviously thinking I am going to protect him, when all I am thinking is please go away.
This is what a Kangal looks like.

Now we have many of those dogs in France as LGDs, but that wasn't the case then and it was my first very scary encounter with them. For a moment I honestly thought we were going to be killed, because they were terrifying and extremely aggressive. Right then we saw two shabby looking, small young men coming toward us, calling the dogs backs and one of them physically took the dogs away from us with a stick. They were nomads shepherds and had a yurt a few hundred meters away from there. They brought us in to drink some kind of curdled milk (that didn't have vanilla or raisins but still tasted like I wish I didn't have to drink it). But given the circumstances I felt I couldn't refuse. We didn't have a common language but we understood that we were on their sheep's grazing land, and that it was the kangal's job to guard the surrounding of the yurt very ferociously. And that we were lucky they were good nomads who went to check why the dogs were making so much noise.
And we hiked back with the small funny dog and took him to the lodge we were staying at, and Recep, the owner, knew the dog and was able to bring it home the next day.

Thanks! What is the yellow thing in the sky? Some sort of kite? I can't quite tell on my phone.
View attachment 3696058

Gosh he has really turned out beautiful! How is his leg ?

 

[BY Bob]

Thanks! What is the yellow thing in the sky? Some sort of kite? I can't quite tell on my phone.
View attachment 3696058

How do you like your Ador automated door? I love mine!

 

[BY Bob]

Well, I didn't dare mention it because it sounds so cliché but the other place that totally amazed me for it's landscapes was the US. My parents took us to the grand canyon in December. It was covered in snow and I was like you amazed. They also offered me a horse ride in the Navajo reservation close by in the snow and that is one of my Wonderland memory.

I found a pretty sweet one that isn't too embarrassing and doesn't involve anything illegal or disgusting. (My apologies, I am very long, it's difficult for me to be concise in english). We were staying in Aladaglar, a mountainous region in Turkey to hike and climb. First day hiking, a small to middle size funny hairy dog starts following us. My then boyfriend insists that we shouldn't take him with us, even though I like him. I try to tell the dog to go home but I don't speak dog or turkish, and we were already far from anywhere, and he was very excited and happy to come with us. The hike was much longer than we imagined and we reached our summit after five or six hours so we had a long way down. The dog was tired but still following. Suddenly it sprinted away barking, and we didn't see him anymore. We hesitated and waited for several long minutes because we didn't want to leave him in the mountain where he would be lost. Then, first we heard him whining, and then we saw him running toward us very fast. He was followed by a bunch of huge Anatolian shepherds (Kangals) with spiked collars, maybe eight or ten. And they were barking and obviously very angry at the dog. He leads them right to us and sort of hides in my legs, obviously thinking I am going to protect him, when all I am thinking is please go away.
This is what a Kangal looks like.
View attachment 3696311
Now we have many of those dogs in France as LGDs, but that wasn't the case then and it was my first very scary encounter with them. For a moment I honestly thought we were going to be killed, because they were terrifying and extremely aggressive. Right then we saw two shabby looking, small young men coming toward us, calling the dogs backs and one of them physically took the dogs away from us with a stick. They were nomads shepherds and had a yurt a few hundred meters away from there. They brought us in to drink some kind of curdled milk (that didn't have vanilla or raisins but still tasted like I wish I didn't have to drink it). But given the circumstances I felt I couldn't refuse. We didn't have a common language but we understood that we were on their sheep's grazing land, and that it was the kangal's job to guard the surrounding of the yurt very ferociously. And that we were lucky they were good nomads who went to check why the dogs were making so much noise.
And we hiked back with the small funny dog and took him to the lodge we were staying at, and Recep, the owner, knew the dog and was able to bring it home the next day.

Gosh he has really turned out beautiful! How is his leg ?

That's a great story. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed it very much.

 

[MaryJanet]

My parents took us to the grand canyon in December. It was covered in snow and I was like you amazed. They also offered me a horse ride in the Navajo reservation close by in the snow and that is one of my Wonderland memory.

Yes! Isn't it spectacular. We didn't stay long, only one afternoon, so there wasn't an opportunity for anything other than gazing at it for a few hours, but it was a good call to take the time from work to drive out there from Vegas where the conference was held.

By the way, Las Vegas is the one place I would never return to. Seeing it once was too many times. Not my style at all, although I can see why other people love it.

 

[MaryJanet]

First day hiking, a small to middle size funny hairy dog starts following us. My then boyfriend insists that we shouldn't take him with us, even though I like him. I try to tell the dog to go home but I don't speak dog or turkish, and we were already far from anywhere, and he was very excited and happy to come with us.

He sounds like a very good boy indeed!

 

[MaryJanet]

He was followed by a bunch of huge Anatolian shepherds (Kangals) with spiked collars, maybe eight or ten. And they were barking and obviously very angry at the dog. He leads them right to us and sort of hides in my legs, obviously thinking I am going to protect him, when all I am thinking is please go away.

I'd have been terrified.

Why the spiked collars? To prevent the dogs getting into small spaces? Or sheer intimidation?

I've just looked it up and read that it's to prevent predators from getting a grip on a dog's throat and killing it.

 

[MaryJanet]

Right then we saw two shabby looking, small young men coming toward us, calling the dogs backs and one of them physically took the dogs away from us with a stick. They were nomads shepherds and had a yurt a few hundred meters away from there. They brought us in to drink some kind of curdled milk (that didn't have vanilla or raisins but still tasted like I wish I didn't have to drink it). But given the circumstances I felt I couldn't refuse.

I agree, in that situation you have drink the curdled milk or be extremely ungracious and rude. I guess it would have been sheep's milk.

 

[MaryJanet]

And we hiked back with the small funny dog and took him to the lodge we were staying at, and Recep, the owner, knew the dog and was able to bring it home the next day.

Meanwhile the dog's people were wondering where the dog went Or thinking, "He's gone up the mountain with some hikers again, never mind, he'll be back soon and will sleep well tomorrow."

Great story!! Thank you for writing it up!