DRAGONS AT THE ART GALLERY

Here are some of the dragons Mom saw and took pictures of at the art gallery on Friday night.  This first one is called Zoomorphic Spiral, and it's from the 9th century BCE.  I know these things because this piece of art has its picture in Mom's museum catalog book.  I had to look up zoomorphic, because the book does not explain what it means.  And it turns out that it means the use of animal figures or symbols in art and...

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CHINESE NEW YEAR AT THE ART GALLERY

Outside the galleryFriday night Mom went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art to help them celebrate the Chinese New Year.  A whole lot of other people also went there to help with the celebration, so Mom had to park a few blocks away because the garage was totally full.  Every year, the art gallery has a great big party for the Chinese New Year, and they do this because the gallery has one of the best collections of Asian art in the whole...

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A LOYAL DOG IN CHINA

This is a story that is a lot like the story of Greyfriars Bobby, which is a story I already told you, except that this story is in China, and it took place not very long ago.  And what happened was that this past November, a man named Lao Pan died, and he was 68 years old.  He lived all alone in the village of Panjiatun, which is in Shandong Province.  This province is on the eastern edge of China, with a coast on the Yellow Sea....

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WORDS AND PHRASES

BARKING UP THE WRONG TREEI particularly wanted to talk about this phrase because it has to do with dogs, and I am a dog.  But I will just say that I never bark up the wrong tree because I am a basenji, and basenjis don't bark!  Hahahaha!  Hunting dogs will sometimes bark up the wrong tree, though, and they do it because they chase a squirrel or raccoon until it goes up a tree, but then this sneaky animal jumps over onto the branch...

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THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON

The Dragon is the fifth animal in the Chinese zodiac, and it is the only sign that is not a real animal.  It is also the most powerful symbol because a dragon is made up of parts of other animals such as the tiger, fish, snake, and eagle.  The Chinese do not see the dragon as scary and evil, like people in Western cultures do.  Instead, they see the dragon as a wise, powerful, and superior ruler.My mom was born in a Water Dragon year,...

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SNOWY OWLS

Usually, snowy owls live way up north in the Arctic.  But sometimes they run out of owl food, and then they have to fly down south to places like Missouri to spend the winter.  Which is why there have been reports of snowy owls around here lately, and also in other parts of the U.S.  In some years, these owls have been seen as far south as Texas, Georgia, southern Russia, northern China, and even in the Caribbean.  If you look...

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MOM GOES TO THE ART GALLERY, Part 3

Well, in case you are tired of looking at pictures of art that Mom saw at the gallery, you will be glad to know that this is my last entry on that subject.  At least until Mom goes there again!There are no dogs in the stuff I'm going to show you today, but there are a couple of ceramic bears.  One of them has a chain in his nose.  I'm not sure why, unless he was a captive bear who was used for dancing or bear-baiting.  Also, I...

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