ABCDeology

Dewclaws on dog

“The Dewclaw is the tiny fifth claw of a dog’s leg above the other toes, so called, rather romantically, because it brushes the dew from the grass. Dogs almost always have one of these tiny talons on the inside of their front legs and sometimes also on their hind legs.” -  Whatchamacallit: Those Everyday Objects You Just Can’t Name (And Things You Think You Know About, but Don’t)

Expectant Puppies *click for flickr photo page*

My pup Spencer, a Pug dog, has dewclaws. Nemo, a cocker spaniel, either doesn’t have them or had them removed before we got him.

Some say they are useless and should be removed, but they can also help the dog climb, scratch, pick their teeth, move things and hunt.

Apparently, people would go to strange lengths to remove them. According to the Dog in Health and Disease (1887):

The Dog in Health and Disease *links to Google Book page*

“Regular dog-fanciers bite off the tail, but a pair of scissors answers equally well; and the same may be said of the dew-claw. If, however, the nail only is to be removed, which it always ought to be, the teeth serve the purposes of a pair of nippers perfectly, and by their aid it may be drawn out, leaving the claw itself attached, but rendered less liable to injury, from having lost the part likely to catch hold of any projecting body.“

They would bite the dewclaws off…

Stan the T-Rex at Manchester Museum *click for wiki page*

Tyrannosaurus Rex had them, so do Ocelots, lions (all cats), wolves, dogs (all canines), deer (hoofed animals), and many birds and reptiles.

Asiatic Lion Cub with DewClaw *click for larger*

More info: Paws for Thought: Comparative Radiologic Anatomy of the Mammalian Forelimb.

«Hello everybody!» Baby Meerkat via 'Tambako the Jaguar'

Not every mammal has dewclaws. For one instance look at this adorable Meerkat baby! (Humans and primates don’t have them either, but we’re not as cute.)

BibliOdyssey has a few illustrious Dutch picture book cover illustrations up from The Memory of the Netherlands’ ‘Picture Books from 1810 to 1950‘ website – which features 650 antique children’s books free to view in full and download. Going to waste a lot of time if I start trawling through those archives with illustrations as gorgeous as the ones PK linked; favorites so far:

'Feest in het Bosch', story by Jac. van der Klei, illustrated by D. Viel, 1927 *click thru to big*

Alle eendjes by Uitgever 1930 *click thru to big*

'Uit Huis en Hof' by Konrad Mullerfurer, 1921 *click thru to big*

'Van twee visschertjes een vertelling voor klein en groot met rijmpjes en knipsels door J.E.' by Enderlein, J. 1913 *click thru to big*

'De Gouden Haan' by Marietje Witteveen, 1940 *click thru to big*

'A dat is Aafje - door Bas van der Veer' by Bas van der Veer and Freddie Langeler *click thru to big*

'De Reis Naar de Maan' by PJ Andriessen, 1876 *click thru to big*

'De Wilgen by Adama van Scheltema', illustrated by Rie Cramer, 1918 *click thru to big*

'Waarom de slak zijn huisje altijd met zich meedraagt een verhaal van Vadertje Brombeer' by Brombeer, Vadertje 1946 *click thru to big*

'Het Theesalet van Pieteloet' by Agatha, 1860 *click thru to big*

'Landelijke Tafereelen' published by J Scholz, 1860s *click thru to big*

'Het ABC voor Holland's Kleintjes met 156 Plaatjes' by Daan Hoeksema, 1923 *click thru to big*

'Het Prentenboek der Sporten' by Yvonne, 1912 *click thru to big*

'Pierrot', text by J. Schenkman, illustrated by Louis Raemaekers, 1907 *click thru to big*

“Old children’s books are moving, intriguing, amusing and inspiring. They have value not only for the individual reader, but also for our society as a whole. Each successive Dutch generation grew up with its own specific children’s books, and each generation unconsciously adopted such moral standards and values as they contained. Children’s books serve as indispensable witnesses of an ever changing society

Within the framework of youth literature, picture books occupy a special place. In picture books, the images are just as important as the texts. They are by no means intended exclusively for young children. Old picture books reflect the views people held about good and evil, poor and rich; about education, with examples of dutiful and bad behaviour; about love for one’s own country and about people from foreign countries. They illustrate a changing world of new inventions and modes of transport, of living and fashion, of daily life in towns and villages. There is both humour and moralism to be found in children’s books; they play with the relationship between reality and fantasy.

A total of six hundred and fifty Dutch picture books, dating to the period 1810–1950, are brought together in this collection, which runs the gamut from Robinson Crusoe to Tielse Flipje (a cartoon mascot on ‘De Betuwe’ jam pot labels) and from old nursery rhymes to fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm: there is something for everyone in the collection.“

Beautiful photographs of the Eurasian Kingfisher taken by Charlie Hamilton James; some appearing in National Geographic magazine’s November 2009 issue, the Daily Mail and some from his website.

Its perch serving as lookout and diving board, a kingfisher waits above the still waters of an English river, which reflects trees and sky. This flashy hunter can dive and return with a fish in 2 seconds. *Click thru to bigger image*

The oldest Kingfisher on record was 21. There was “once a country practice of killing a kingfisher and hanging it from a thread in the belief that it would swing to predict the direction in which the wind would blow.”

Ready to dive, a hovering Kingfisher

An azure blue, a kingfisher plummets toward the water, reaching speeds of more than 25 miles an hour.

In a prey's-eye view, an adult female snaps up a stickleback, a small spiny fish, from just beneath the water's surface. Beak color gives away a kingfisher's gender- Males show mostly black, while females have an orange lower mandible that matches their feet.

The bird's aim is so unerring that even though a protective translucent membrane veils its eyes underwater, it can confidently catch fish to depths of two feet.

'The Kingfisher rises out of the black wave like a blue flower,' wrote poet Mary Oliver, paying tribute to the dashing river bird on its feeding rounds. Light scatters prismatically in microscopic feather structures to create the kingfisher's brilliant blue.

More Kingfishers rising out of black waves like blue flowers:

Kingfisher erupting out of water.

Kingfisher erupting with two fish.

Black Wave, Blue Flower: Kingfisher

James has produced a few books on the Kingfisher in his 20 years photographing and researching them. His latest,  “Kingfisher: Tales from the Halcyon River,” was assembled through exhaustive photographic work, during which he “watched and photographed kingfishers for literally thousands of hours, starting work before dawn and continuing until there is too little light for him to see.” And “the accompanying text is equally exceptional. Written in diary form, it covers the kingfishers’ habits season by season and describes them with real intimacy.”

Male Kingfishers fight.

Kingfisher Nest in bank

The Kingfisher returns to the nest with fish for its young.

In a riverbank burrow a mother feeds one of her nine-day-old chicks a small fish, which it will swallow whole.

There are also Pied Kingfishers:

Pied Kingfisher

There is much more (including more images) at James’ website. Make sure to check out the book, I know I will be!

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