#saanen

[ekster--exotic]

Day Six of Caprine Week! Yippee! :)

Today’s goat is a Saanen ^^

Quick Facts! -Saanen-

These goats have Swiss origins, and are well known for being the world's best dairy goat breed. Saanens have abundant milk production, which correlates with their calm and friendly temperament.

[lactose-and-intolerant]

[ariesalpinesavi]

[froghunter]

Winter… #winter #schönried #gstaad #saanen @gstaad_official (hier: Schönried) https://www.instagram.com/p/Coj3BMUK0wzphQEvKKksPRjNnVsfwVnFeAFBV00/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thomas--bombadil]

A goat, with quite the luxurious beard.  And blue eyes too.   

[leveragehunters]

My friend's on holiday in Switzerland and she sent me this pic of adorable Swiss goats!

[cxrveaux]

CXRVEAU! (its pronounced ser-voo)

ezra ☆ he/him ☆ poc ☆ 13 ☆ eng/ger ☆ multifandom/oc artist!

FANDOMS:

hamilton

american revolution/US history (specifically marquis de lafayette bc i love him)

steven universe

cbs ghosts

CURRENT PROJECTS:

panic room - my generation loss au

cult of saanen - horror project i'm working on with my friends

TAGS I USE:

[3-minit-noodles]

My boy

[kiame-sama]

wait, you already said what you think the twst cast is as monsters, but what do they look like?

Warnings: my twst monster au, almost all characters with names (other than Yuu and Grim) in monster forms, mythical creatures, deer rack point system, measurements given in ft and cm, animal traits, various animal and plant species mentioned, usually I would say to use your imagination to think it up but I have thought about this way too much myself so I may as well share ideas of what they would look like, feel free to draw these monster men and if you do please share with me because I want to see these goobers drawn, some spoilers for Rollo's backstory,

Divus is a Harp Seal Selkie;

- Divus has a black and white fur coat of a Harp Seal with slight spotting pattern similar to Leopard Seals. His coat is always shiny, clean, and wrapped around his shoulders. Divus appears fairly humanoid and close to his canon appearance other than the sharper than normal canines that are closer to the cone teeth of seals. Selkies do not part with their coats lightly so it is very rare to see one without their pelts on their shoulders. His coat is more natural Harp Seal patterning than the clear black and white lines he has in canon.

Sam is a Shadow man;

- White skull markings along his face with burning purple eyes. He has several black tattoos on his skin that move and can even detach into actual shadow to ensnare his prey. There is constantly a darkness around him that seemed to repulse light, making him appear to be surrounded in constant shadow.

Vargas is a Texas-Longhorn Minotaur;

He has very long and large bull horns with the minotaur expression on his lower half making his upper body appear human other than his horns. His lower half is the same shade as his hair with white speckling on the left leg. His tail is often lazily swinging back and forth as he talks.

Trein is a Mountain Lion Sphinx;

- Lower-half is the body of a Mountain Lion with wings, upper half is Trein's usual upper body. He does have a lot of grey and white furs/feathers due to his age in his coat and it is clear he favors his right back leg as it usually sits at an angle. He can often be seen lounging with Lucius in a sunny spot in his classroom when not teaching.

Crowley is a Crow Fae;

- Similar to his appearance in canon TWST, but his large black wings are more prominent as are the iridescent colors in them and his hair. He actually has talons on his hands and not just the golden talons. He does wear golden caps on his talons however and has a medium length train of black tail-feathers.

Ace is a Saanen Satyr;

- He has short twisted horns and his orange hair is also the same color on his goat half- just a bit darker shade. His hooves are an off-white ivory. He does have the little billy-goat scruff of a goatee due to his Satyr heritage.

Deuce is a Rocky Mountain Faun;

- Deuce has large spiral horns and his blue hair is the same color on his goat half- just a shade darker as well with white speckles around his hooves and tail. His hooves are black. Deuce does not have the goatee often seen on Satyrs and Fauns.

Note; it is part of my AU that Satyrs usually have shorter horns and are closer to farm goats in their animal halves. Fauns are closer to mountain goats and therefore have longer more curved horns often seen on rocky mountain rams. Females of both Fauns and Satyrs grow the same large horns, but their horns are often thinner around than the males of their species.

Cater is a Lake Water Nymph;

- Cater is considered unusual among Water Nymphs because of his hair's coloration being a bright red instead of a more blue or green which is more common for Water Nymphs. Cater's hair is closer in color to a red Ludwigia as he is a lake Water Nymph and the flora of lakes tend to have a fair variation of green to red color hues. Cater's bright green eyes are closer to the usual colors of Water Nymphs and he accredits this to his mother who is a river Water Nymph. In the water Cater gets fins more adapted to lake swimming so he is not as strong in currents.

Che'nya is a Bakeneko;

- He is similar to his canon appearance, but the purple and pink of his hair is also visible on the skin of his arms, legs, and back. He also now has two fluffy tails similarly striped that are often seen waving mischievously behind him.

Trey is a Kelpie Centaur;

- When out of the water, Trey's Centaur half is that of a white horse with a long tail of the same green hair that Trey's human half has. His horse half is closer muscular build to Scottish Draft horses. When in the water, the white fur of his horse half becomes a lake green with fading blue hues. His tail hair becomes more stringy like lake reeds and his fur takes a more prickly quality. His back legs become a large fin when he is submerged completely in deep water, making him more of a Hippocampus in physiology while swimming.

Riddle is a Unicorn Centaur;

- His horse half has a pure white coat with a long tail closer to that of a lion than a horse, but long bright red hair for his tail. Riddle's hooves are a rather lovely golden color that shine like metal, same with the tight spiral horn that sits in the center of his forehead. There is a faded blue star shape at the base of his horn that seems to tattoo his fair skin, he often covers this up with his bangs. His horse half is similar in musculature to that of an Arabian Horse making him appear more dainty than Trey.

Note; Cater is often seen lounging on Trey's back while Trey swims in the Heartslabyul lake with Riddle laying in the grass on the shore. They often spend their afternoons doing this and Cater will frequently try to get Riddle to swim. Thus far, he has been unsuccessful.

Jack is a Gray Wolf Werewolf;

- Unlike his canon appearance, Jack constantly has that wolf-head and white fur all over his body. He can shift between being bipedal or a quadruped with little issue between the two forms of locomotion, meaning his limbs are closer in length than human limbs. He has fur similar in length to wolves and even has paw-like hands. His tail is frequently wagging whenever he is with friends or those he is fond of.

Ruggie is a Spotted Hyena Gnoll;

- Similar to Jack, Ruggie now has a Hyena head and pelt instead of just the ears and tail. He is still somewhat humanoid, but he is still shorter than Leona or Jack. His back legs are more like a Hyena and he has that same muscular ridge on his shoulders that Hyenas do. He still has his bright blue eyes despite how odd it is for Gnolls, but his coat is the same sandy light-brown as his hair usually is with dark brown spots.

Leona is a Nemean Lion;

- Nemean Lions are golden furred beasts much larger and stronger than any regular lion on top of being impervious to damage from mortal weapons. This translates into Leona's skin having a more golden sheen to it, always seeming to look like he has been dusted with fine powder gold sparkles. His dark hair has several bright gold strands woven in that makes it shiny as well. The fur on Leona's tail and ears is also that glittering golden color which only makes the tuft of fur at the end of his tail look darker. He is a little taller than in cannon and slightly more defined in musculature due to the natural strength of Nemean lions.

Azul is a Coconut Octopus Cecaelia;

- He is very similar to how he appears in canon, but now he has several black marks along his arms and body similar to how he looks in his merman form. Even in a human form, it is clear Azul is still not human due to these dark markings that wrap around his body. A few of these black tendrils frame his cheekbones and make those brightly colored eyes of his only seem brighter.

Jade and Floyd are Moray Eel Mermen;

- Similar to Azul, Floyd and Jade look similar to how they do in cannon, but their merman features are more visible even in their human forms. The fins they have alongside their faces are now present in their human forms as are the colorations of their merman forms on their shoulders and faintly around their faces. Their gills are still visible in their human forms.

Kalim is a Genie;

- Kalim is the closest out of everyone to his canon appearance as his identity as a Genie changes very little. He will likely wear clothes akin to his dorm clothes appearance but have the addition of golden bands around his wrists and ankles. He can form legs to walk on, but often chooses to fly instead, where his legs become more smoke-like in the typical Genie 'tail' that many Genies are often seen with. Kalim now has a golden aura around him that makes him glow slightly with a golden color due to his high-magic Genie nature.

Note; Kalim sleeps in his lamp and keeps many of his treasures in his lamp as his magic allows the lamp to be more like a hotel suite than a prison cell despite the size on the outside. Only Kalim and those he invites into his lamp can enter.

Jamil is a Sand Viper Naga;

- Jamil's upper half is similar to how it is in canon, but his lower half is that of a rather large snake. His shake half is 22ft (670cm) comprised of black and maroon scales. His maroon scales are closer to the color of dried blood and often get dark enough shades that they mix with the black diamond and striping patterns his black scales make. The scales on the stomach side of his snake body are a slightly more red tone than his skin tone. He does have golden scales that line his stomach scales and are in the center of the diamond patterns on his back.

Note; Jamil often sleeps with Kalim's lamp in the coils of his Naga tail. Having come from a long line of Naga that are usually the guards and guardians of the wealth and well-being Kalim's Genie family has amassed through the years. Wherever a Genie from Kalim's family lives, so too lives a Sand Viper Naga from Jamil's family to guard them.

Vil is a Peacock Harpy;

- Vil still has his flawless skin and purple ombre hair even as a peacock harpy, but he does have hair-like cobalt blue and emerald green feathers that often get woven into braids. He also has seven pristine head feathers that are the same 'eye' patterns as his tial feathers that often lay back against his hair unless he is feeling particularly proud, in which his crest will rise up like a crown atop his head. Vill has feathering along his shoulders, upper back and neck that are the bright cobalt blue of male Indian peacocks. Along his shoulder blades are his wings which have a full span of 8ft (244cm) but are often tucked neatly against his back and folded so the flight feathers don't drag when he walks. Vil has the full peacock train of tail-feathers and spends quite a bit of time preening and grooming them to maximum shine. He will only fully display his tail-feathers when being prideful or showing off to a prospective mate.

Rook is an Australian Golden Huntsman-Spider Drider;

- Rook's legs are a long spindly gold that are many times the length of his thorax and abdomen. The thorax of his spider body is larger than the abdomen of the body due to the typical shape of Huntsman-Spiders. The thorax area on Rook's spider body has a large black mark among the back hairs trailing down to where the abdomen part of his body is more narrow and the marks become black lines making their way down. His human half is attached at the top of the thorax where the spider's eyes are usually located. His spider legs are as thick as a Human's legs, his mandibles and pedipalps being similar in thickness. His fangs are to scale and are extremely long as well as being like blacked curved knives, he often keeps them tucked away to not unsettle others.

Note; Rook and Vil have a very mutually beneficial relationship just as they do in regular TWST. Rook helps Vil preen and take care of his feathers, often being the one getting the pin feathers Vil can't reach on his back and shoulders. Rook uses the silk he creates as a Drider to make fabrics for Vil as they are of high quality, and even higher thread count. Both are content to be the others boon companion and will often be seen working together outside of class as well.

Neige is a Mourning Dove Harpy;

- Neige has the same dark black hair and big brown doe eyes he does in cannon but he also has grey-brown feathers throughout his black hair. His cheeks, neck, shoulders, and upper back have the same gray-brown feathers with speckles of dark brown, white, black, and gray feathers throughout giving a light speckling pattern. His wings are that same gray brown color and are 6.5ft (200cm) in length. The ends of his flight feathers are often trailing over the ground beneath him when he is relaxed and he rarely opens his wings fully. Like most mourning doves, he has a lovely soothing voice and his unassuming species of Harpy makes him all the more charming.

Note: I was going to make Neige a Willow Grouse Harpy due to the coloration match with Neige and his RSA uniform, but I have a childhood fondness for the call of a mourning dove and Neige is supposed to have a beautiful voice, so I figured sweet Neige can be a mourning dove and not the goofy sounding Willow Grouse.

Epel is a Beliy Naliv Apple Wood Nymph;

- Epel has white tree bark as skin, occasionally having the slight dark mark or blemish where Epel had gotten into fights despite being a more peaceful species of Wood Nymph. His hair is made up of pale green leaves that are often covered in powder lavender blooms that are the same color as his canon hair color. Epel has the same large blue eyes as he does in canon. Occasionally the blooms on his head will grow into small apples that are white due to his species of Wood Nymph being the White Cloud Apple. His skin is rougher in texture and closer to the texture of bark.

Idia is a Shinigami;

- He still has his blue flaming hair and blue tinted lips and gold eyes. His skin is closer to a light gray in tone now, his nails a natural black. He now has these scraggly black wings that are kind of like bird wings but more haggard in appearance. The feathers are more slick and almost oily in texture and have some traces of blues in them similar to Idia's hair. He can use them to fly, but they make a very loud wooshing sound that he isn't overly fond of so he doesn't often use them. His limbs are just a bit longer than they are in canon giving him a more skeletal and gaunt appearance.

Ortho is also a Shinigami;

- Similar to Idia, Ortho still has his blue flaming hair and golden eyes. He will have the same light gray skin tone Idia does, but his wings are now cybernetic due to an unfortunate accident when Ortho was much younger that caused him to lose his Shinigami wings. Ortho also has several cybernetic limbs as a result of that same accident, making monster AU ortho closer in appearance to canon Ortho, but still able to eat/sleep/behave like a living being. Ortho is not AI but does have several augments to allow his brain to function with the aid of AI due to his unfortunate incident when he was younger.

Silver is a Reindeer Cervitaur;

- Silver is a leucistic deer cervitaur. This means his deer half has white fur as well with light gray spots along his back similar to the spots fawns have for camouflage purposes. His antlers are also an ivory white, and only have three points. From burr to tip of the beam, Silver has two points at the end of the beam and one point near the burr of his antlers. Lilia throws a party any time Silver gets another point on his antlers. Silver's deer half has the musculature type closer to reindeer than whitetail deer.

Lilia is a Vampire Bat Fae;

- Similar to his canon appearance, Lilia looks almost the same in his monster AU form, but his monster AU form has bat wings and a little tail. Most bats have tails and delicate wings, so I decided Lilia should also have bat wings and a little tail. His wings are sturdier than most bats and have several holes in them from past battles he has endured. He is still the Fae variation so he has the same pointed ears, sharp teeth, and slit pupils other Fae type have. His wings are black with Light pink highlights near the tips just like his hair.

Note; Lilia likes to sleep upsidedown in this AU and will often settle himself in the cafeteria chandeliers or even the rafters of various buildings to take naps throughout the downtimes of the day. Lilia is more nocturnal in this AU as well with increased sensitivity to sounds/lights.

Malleus is Dragon Fae.

- Malleus in the monster AU is similar to his canon appearance but has his dragon wings, tail, and various clusters of black scales along his body. His nails are decent length black talons and he has black scales along the backs of his hands and up his arms. His neck and upper back/shoulders have more black scales. His wings are the same deep black with a slight purple tint to them anywhere the skin is exposed. His tail is about as thick as a leg and tapers off to a wickedly sharp point that Malleus could use to impale someone if he wanted to. Black scales frame his eyes like their own kind of makeup and are more colorful around the eyes in purples and green sheens that highlight the obsidian base color of the scales.

Note; Malleus is more in touch with his dragon instincts in this AU due to being more outwardly dragon. He does make a nest out of his bed and is much more inclined to hoard things he is fond of, including but not limited to Gargoyles, unusual stones, and various creatures he takes interest in. Once he considers someone to be part of his hoard, he will be possessive of them and fiercely protective. Only creatures part of his hoard are allowed to enter his nest. Lilia, Silver, and Sebek are three of his living hoard.

Sebek is a Raiju Fae;

- His hair is a bit more wild and fur-like compared to his canon appearance with yellows mixed in to the sage green color. His teeth are much sharper and he actually has more dog-like qualities similar to Jack's canon appearance. Raiju are lightning dog mythical creatures, so Sebek's appearance will be similarly dog-like with the beastman ears and spiky furred tail that has a rougher texture compared to most fur. His tail and ear positioning will often be a dead giveaway for what emotions Sebek is feeling at the time.

Rollo is an Inferno Fire Nymph.

- Rollo's eyes are an ashen gray as is his skin and hair when he is not in his active inferno flame form. Much like a burned log, his flesh will bare the same ashen faded look to it. Rollo is usually in this form as he is not overly fond of the fire he creates and he can keep himself mostly calm despite the constant annoyance of others around him. When in his active inferno fire form, his ashen hair will ignite into flames, his gray eyes turning a bright fire red. Similarly, his skin will take a redder tone and embers will float off of his hair.

Note: Rollo's fire can burn others, but he can also consciously change the temperature of his flames to only warm and not harm if he felt so inclined. He would only willingly do this for someone he deeply loved and cared for as his full flame form reminds him far too much of his deceased brother, hence why he uses it sparingly. There are many types of Fire Nymphs, but Inferno Fire Nymphs are considered the most deadly as their flames get the hotest. Young Fire Nymphs cannot control their fire and can burn themselves out if they get too hot internally.

[radical-revolution]

Do you ever say you don’t know? Does it ever occur to you to say to yourself, ‘Really, I don’t know about this,’ and remain there? ‘I don’t know’ – not trying to find an answer. To find an answer can only be verbal. Somebody tells you what to do, and you say, ‘Well, that may be.’ It is still verbal; it’s not yours. So why can’t we be very simple about this matter, which is, ‘I really don’t know’? Can you honestly say that?

J. Krishnamurti

From Public Discussion 6, Saanen, 9 August 1964

[karvoja]

Hyvät olennot ja muut kanssatumputtajat, tervetuloa Päheimmät rillit -skaban kutkuttavaan finaaliin!

Jokaisesta alkulohkosta nousi selvät yleisön ykkössuosikit, ja sitten oli niitä tasaisesti vähemmän suosittuja rillimalleja. Finaalissa oli määrä kohdata joka äänestyksen kaksi eniten ääniä saanutta mallia, mutta sitten tapahtui jaettu toinen sija, ja symmetrian vuoksi otin viimeisestä äänestyksestä kolmanneksi kivunneet rillit. Sääntörikkomus, huutavat puristit, mutta ihan sama tää on mun kisa ja mun säännöt.

Saanen esitellä kahdeksan päheintä rillifinalistiamme:

[annabelle-creart]

How the AViVA’s song says: never understand what i’m cooking (Houdini by AViVA)

Ok, if you remember the post where I said I remembered what I wanted to do before forgetting it, it was something like this

The Sweet Tooth brainrot is making fun of me and wanted me to make an Au

So, here’s my Tf Rescue Bots x Sweet Tooth Au, where the bots (excepting Hightide) are Hybrids kids and the Rescue Team, simple humans from Maine, save them and protect them

At first I wanted them to be like cyberorganic and not completely hybrids but then I said “nah, let’s make them kids” because i wanted some animal kids shenanigans and here we are

I just saw that I forgot to make Sissi, shit, well, Sissi is undetermined, but I want her to be a fox.

The wolves triplet are Shockwave, Soundwave and Heatwave

The kids with Graham are Boulder (left) and Bulkhead (right) and are hedgehogs, the big man is Hightide and the kids he have on his arms are Blurr (left) and Salvage (right), a saanen goat and a german shepherd dog

The kids above Hightide are Cody and Frankie as apocalypse teens HAJAHSJS. Ft. Kade and Quickshadow as an owl

And the red panda and the budgie are Chase and Blades

I sincerely just wanted to sketch a little but let’s make some backstory

When the great crumble happened, Griffin Rock had to close to any kind of person, but chief Burns couldn’t let the kids, the new hybrids, by their own, he was sure they wouldn’t survive with the angry people and wanted to make something, so, he left the island with the hope he could save some, and so he did, a year later he came back with some kids, and after seeing they’re not contagious, Griffin Rock became a secret sanctuary for hybrids, but the job was still undone and Charlie had to go, since then, Kade became rescue chief and made sure to protect both citizens and hybrid orphans, especially when the new pregnancies resulted on hybrids and the people started to really fear the kids, but sometimes, he’s replaced by his siblings to make his dad company at mainland and help him.

Thanks to Griffin Rock’s tech, the island never was found again by people, especially the Last Men, who hunted hybrids, making their own ways to reach mainland without being reached, at that times, Graham, the engineer of the Rescue Team, Ezra Greene, scientist lead, and Hightide, named Horace in this Au, a retired Navy and marine soldier, have to help guiding the kids when Charlie can’t

As Kade, Frankie and Cody became also “saviors of hybrids” because they wanted

And for Morrocco, Madeline and the other zoo guy I don’t remember the name, I wanted to kill them with the Sick (the virus that fucked up everything) but it would be fun to have them trying to reach Griffin Rock, like, Morrocco needs the kids blood to make a cure for the Sick but he really wants to stay young with their blood, and Madeline is a racist who uses the kids as trophies and her influences to hunt the kids and the zoo guy want them for their zoo or something, like with the bots :=)

This group, the triplet, the twins, Blurr, Salvage, Quickshadow, Chase and Blades, were the hardest to find and save, because they were bought by the Last Men to be used on experiments, the wolf triplet could escape before being Last Men's soup and found Charlie using their noses, they told them everything as they could because Shockwave was the only one who knew to talk but poorly, so, Charlie prepared an ambush when the kids were transported by train to save them, the equivalents of Hence, Board, Bridget, Stone and Grill were already used, never were find again, but the rest were rescued and sent to Griffin Rock. their lives became a little brighther since then.

But the Last Men weren't the only ones who wanted the hybrids…

Whatever, don’t mind my crazy ass🙃

[spookykestrel]

Lets Talk Farm Terminology!

Yay! I'm here to answer all the simple farm animal questions and misconceptions you've been too afraid to ask! Why? Because im bored and have thoughts and am reading Watership Down and want people to know the difference between "bunny," "rabbit," and "hare."

Leporidae

You're probably thinking wow kes how bold of you to start out not only with an animal uncommonly kept by farmers but also starting with a scientific name few will know! And you're right, but I don't care! The Leporidae family includes rabbits and hares, and yes! they are different. Very closely related as they belong to the same family, but rabbits and hares are not the same thing. Simply: hares are bigger and wilder than rabbits. There are no domestic species of hare and they are more adapted to solitary life than living in groups/colonies. Looking at the image above you can note slight differences in facial structure and build, as well as most notably the ear length, with the smaller rabbit on the left and the larger hare on the right. Most Watership Down art features hares but I don't mind it all that much as the hare anatomy is more fun lol.

Now, what's a bunny? Bunny is an informal term used to refer to rabbits, especially young ones. It wouldn't be incorrect to refer to the long eared friend in your yard as a bunny but if you were writing a paper or just want to sound more serious, it would be better to say rabbit (as you notice, I am refraining from calling them bunnies in this post).

When referring to rabbits, their terminology is similar to other familiar animals. A male rabbit is called a buck and a female rabbit is called a doe, like deer or goats. However, a baby rabbit is called a kit or kitten and a group of siblings is called a litter, just like cats.

Goats

Aw no more latin? As the domestic breeds of goat all come from the same species, there's no need for a broad scientific name as we all have an idea of what to picture, unless you're thinking of a mountain goat which are not considered true goats and are considered a goat-antelopes, making them closer in relation to muskoxen! Which is a whole different topic! Regardless, there's lots of different breeds of domestic goats (Capra hircus), like dogs and cats. Some are better suited for dairy production, some for meat, others are bred for their cashmere! Pictured above is a Saanen goat, one of, if not the most popular dairy goat breeds (in the US at least), known for their high milk production.

Many goat breeds have horns, which vary from antlers bc of how they grow and their composition. Horns can be removed when the goats are young, in a process called dehorning or disbudding. When horns are removed, their growth is stunted and they will not grow back once the animal is older. However, disbudding is a controversial topic as it is not painless and often unnecessary. Both male and female goats can have horns, although their appearance may differ.

I mentioned above that (mature, uncastrated) male goats are called bucks and females are called does. Many, many people use the terms billy and nanny to refer to goats. However, the better term would be buck/doe, and when people use billy/nanny it does peeve me. You may also hear the word wether to refer to castrated goats. Baby goats are called kids.

Cattle

My favorites of the post, let's finish with cattle (Bos taurus)! Same as goats, cattle can be bred and used for many purposes like the lovely Brahman I've included above, a very recognizable meat breed. Cattle terminology can get a little tricky as its not as straightforward as some other animals.

Cattle is the correct term for these animals, as cow technically refers to a mature female (has been bred). No one's going to freak out if you say cows instead of cattle, myself included, especially because if you dont know the specific details of the animal its hard to know whether to say cow or heifer or bull or steer.

So, a cow is a mature female, and a mature male is called a bull. An immature, young female is called a heifer. A castrated male is called a steer. When referring to an immature male you can use bull or bull calf.

Many places you will see the term "ox" thrown around (not to be confused with a MUSKox mentioned previously) and there's a lot of misconceptions surrounding the name. An ox is a specially trained bovine. That's all it is. There's lots of regulations on how they are trained and all that, but that's the basics of it. It is most common and recommended to use castrated males (steers) because castration should temper their aggression and testosterone production; additionally, males are typically larger than the females. However! Female cows can be trained as oxen, as can bulls.

Technically an ox should not be referred to as such until they have completed their training, which can take years. Typically oxen are selected at a young age and routinely worked to develop good skills. They are used for tasks plowing or pulling carts, and as modern technology has improved, use of oxen has declined.

Thaaaat's all I have to say about that today, I sort of led into each topic in little ways and I've nothing more to mention. Hopefully you learned a little, I think livestock are cool 👍

[surkeasilakka]

Saanen esitellä: Saatanan tonttu.

[my-deer-history]

Francis Kinloch in Müller's letters to his family: Part 3

These extracts are from Johannes von Müller: Sämmtliche Werke, volume 7 (1810).

My translations here, original German transcriptions below the cut. Müller and Kinloch have set off on their tour of Switzerland!

21 Aug 1775, to his brother

From there a narrow, steep path leads between sheer drops and vertical mountains into the Weissenburg hot spring, travelled only by pedestrians. Imagine the most terrible rock faces, with water rushing down and partially breaking up into dust and mist; between these rocks, a forest river flows noisily over rocky ground, over trees that water and wind had torn away from the slopes, and the rubble from the mountains that had broken them loose and thrown them down. A strong servant from the baths carried Mr. Kinloch and me on his back through this river to the healing spring.

21 Sept 1775, to his father

We drove in a Bernese carriage through Freyburg to Affry Castle, where the awful roads necessitated us to send the carriage home. After 2 hours, we came to Cicogne, where with some effort, we managed to interpret out of the patois of the people that we had taken the wrong road. An old farmer’s wife led us back on track through the muck by moonlight. Beyond the Saanen the path became entirely too difficult. There we rented a miller’s cart. Imagine: our suitcases, me and our dog on this cart, Mr. Kinloch beside us, the servant with a pack on our horse.

[...]

On sunday, Mr Boissier arranged a ball for the whole town in our honour, where everyone had to dance - the farmers and their wives and all sons and daughters, and Mrs Boissiere, and Mr von Castela and Mr Kinloch and even Mr Boissier himself - though he is lame - and even I - though I cannot dance very well. This day I translated an Italian opera into French. I forgot to mention the letters that we received at Berne, Mr K one from America, I one from England from Mr Thomas Boone

Undated, 1775, to his brother

My dear brother! I cannot describe my contentment to you enough. [...] I am loved, and friendship is the joy of my life. My Englishmen, my American,* Bonstetten, Tronchin, Bonnet!

*Kinloch

20 March 1776

At the moment, Kinloch and I are reading Tacitus for the second time (me, for the third) [...] Mr Bonnet is giving us 2–3 lectures a week on psychology. But don’t imagine him as an ordinary professor, he does not allow himself to be paid except in the attention and friendship of his audience, and these are only two, Kinloch and me. We go to him at 4pm, his psychology lesson starts at 5 or 6, and we stay until 11.

June 1776, to his brother

Letters from England have convinced Mr Kinloch to move his planned journey forward to the autumn.

21 Aug 1775, to his brother

Von da führt ein schmaler abhängiger Weg zwischen Abgründen und senkrechten Bergen in das warme Bad Weissenburg, niemanden als Fußgänger. Stelle dir die schrecklichsten Felswände vor, mit Wassern, welche da herunter stürzen und sich zum Theil in Staub und Nebel auflösen; zwischen diesen Felsen wälzt sich mit großem Geräusch ein Waldwasser über einen felsigen Grund, über Bäume, welche Wasser und Wind ab den Gebürgen gerissen und Trümmern von Bergen, welche sie abgelöset und herabgewälzt hatten. Durch dieses Wasser trug Hrn. Kinloch und mich ein starker Badknecht auf dem Rücken zu der heilsamen Quelle. 

21 Sept 1775, to his father

In einer Bernerkutsche fuhren wir über Freyburg nach dem Schloß Affry, woselbst die schlimmen Straßen uns nöthigten, die Kutsche heimzusenden. Nach 2 Stunden kamen wir auf Cicogne, wo wir mit Mühe aus dem Patois des Volks erdollmetschen konnten, daß wir den unrechten Weg eingeschlagen. Eine alte Bauersfrau führte uns durch den Koth beim Mondschein zurechte. Jenseits der Saanen wurde nun der Weg allzu arg. Daselbst mietheten wir einen Müllers - Karren. Stellet Euch vor, unsre Mantelsäcke mich und unsern Hund auf diesem Wagen, Hr. Kinloch neben her, den Bedienten mit einem Pack auf unserm Pferd.

[...]

Am Sonntag gab Hr. Boissier unsertwegen dem ganzen Dorf einen Ball, wo alle Bauren und Bäurinnen und alle Knaben und Töchtern, und Mad. Boissiere, und der Hr. von Castela und Hr. Kinloch, und Hr. Boissier selbst, ob er wohl estropirt ist, und selbst ich, ob ich gleich nicht wohl tanzen kann, tanzen mußte. Diesen Tag übersetzte ich eine italiänische Opera ins Französische. Ich habe vergessen, der Briefe zu gedenken, welche wir zu Bern erhalten, Hr. K. einen aus Amerika; ich einen aus England von Herrn Thomas Boone

Undated, 1775, to his brother

Mein lieber Bruder! Ich kann dir mein Wohlbefinden nicht genug beschreiben. [...] Man liebt mich, und die Freundschaft ist meines Lebens Lust. Meine Engländer, mein Amerikaner, Bonstetten, Tronchin, Bonnet!

20 March 1776

Gegenwärtig lesen Kinloch und ich zum andern (ich, zum dritten) Mal den Tacitus [...] Herr Bonnet giebt uns wöchentlich 2–3 Lectionen über die Psychologie. Stelle ihn dir aber nicht als einen gewöhnlichen Professor vor, er läßt sich nicht anders bezahlen, als durch die Aufmerksamkeit und Freundschaft seiner Zuhörer, und dieser sind nur zwei, Kinloch und ich. Wir gehen um 4 Uhr zu ihn, um 5 oder 6 fängt er seine psychologische Stunde an, und wir bleiben bis um 11 Uhr

June 1776, to his brother

Briefe aus England haben Hrn. Kinloch bestimmt, seine vorgehabte Reise auf den Herbst zu verschieben.

[world-of-wales]

HE'S THE G.O.A.T!

The Prince of Wales presents the Queen's trophy to a goat called Teion Meika, who is British Saanen breed, and her handler Teigh O'Neill during the Royal Norfolk Show at the Norfolk Showground in Norwich || 29 JUNE 2023

@duchessbitch