Re: VMs: Re: [VMS] Goat vs. sheep, Sagittarius

[Pamela Richards <spirlhelix@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, Rene

You asked about whether the illustrator had confused
Aries with Capricornus.  This raises as many problems
than it sovles, because Capricornus is most often
depicted with the back half of a fish.

Did you know there was a star in the constellatin
Auriga called Capella, which is traditionally known as
"the Little Goat?".  I believe it is the sixth
brightest star in the heavens.

This little article on hiking with pack animals has
some good information about goats.  Oh, and have we
discussed the diet of the sheep/goat in the VMs
illustration?  Sheep eat grass; goats like to browse
on shrubbery.  Our VMs creature is nibbling on a bush.
 


www.kaimin.org/viewarticle.php?id=1476 

<<Also, unlike horses or mules, goats hooves are
cloven like elk, which does not impact the trail as
much. They are also able to hike in steep regions
because they have a dew claw. This claw gives them
more agility in terrain that is difficult and almost
impossible for llamas, horses or mules, Christensen
said. The dew claw acts like a crampon, enabling the
goat to be extremely sure-footed both on and off the
trail. Goats can carry from one-quarter to one-third
their body weight. Thus, a 225-pound goat can carry 65
to 70 pounds, Christensen said. To Christensen, there
are three main reasons to choose goats over other
traditional pack animals. ?The cost, the goat?s diet,
and their unique ability to go anywhere make them
terrific pack animals,? she said. Goats have an
extremely diverse diet. They eat brush, weeds, pine
needles, pine cones, dead bark and twigs. Goats also
munch on dandelions and spotted knap weed, a noxious
plant. And to dispel a popular belief, they do not eat
tin cans.>> 

Warmly,

Pam


--- Rene Zandbergen <r_zandbergen@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> 
> --- Jorge Stolfi <stolfi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> >   > Can we put our heads together and postulate a
> > culture
> >   > where they never see scorpions (that's North),
> > do know
> >   > what lions look like (that's South), and can't
> > tell
> >   > the difference between goats and sheep (that's
> > New
> >   > York City!)?
> 
> I'm not very good at biblical quotes, but isn't
> there
> one about separating the goats from the sheep
> or v.v.? It wouldn't be there if it was so easy....
> 
> > The Lion doesn't count -- there were none in
> Europe,
> > yet every
> > European child would know what they looked like.
> > Besides, the VMS
> > picture is not a very convincing /Felix leo/, is
> it?
> 
> It's kind of OK for a lioness. Its tail and front
> claws are
> drawn in rather a typical "zodiac emblem way".
> Or perhaps they were just usually drawn that way.
> 
> Perhaps when drawing Aries, the artist accidentally
> copied a Capricornus?
> 
> > The VMS scorpion is really amazing; it would seem
> > that all the artist
> > knew was that is was a scary animal with a long
> > tail. 
> 
> Which correctly points up and forward. He had no
> (good) example to work from.
> 
> Cheers, Rene
> 
> 
> 		
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=====
"I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing, than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance."

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