There is plenty to smile about when staying at Fattoria Bacio, where my workshop was held last September and October. There are the incomparable views, of course…
and the historic buildings…
the vineyards…
the olive groves…
the pool…
the chapel…
and the sketch-worthy scenes everywhere you look…
But the one thing that not only made me smile every day but actually forced me to laugh out loud was Garibaldi the donkey…
I would be sitting outside sketching or talking with my students and suddenly we would hear a loud, raucous “HEE HAW, HEE HAW, HEE HAW!!!” coming from the barn next door. It was Garibaldi, demanding, complaining or just letting us know that he was ready for a handful of nice fresh green grass, if you please. His indignant braying made me giggle each time I heard it.
He has a buddy, Anita the goat, a cute little thing who delights in teasing the poor donkey whenever she has a chance.
When she hops out of the paddock, Garibaldi gets jealous and lets his displeasure be known in no uncertain terms. Check out this video of the two of them that I took to show my grandchildren…
Since Garibaldi and Anita were such a fun part of our week at Fattoria Bacio, I dedicated a sketchbook page to them.
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| 10″ x 7″ ink & watercolor, Handbook Field Watercolor Journal |
As you can see from my sketch, Garibaldi was named after Guiseppe Garibaldi, the general who united Italy under one government. I read a little bit about him on Wikipedia here. What a man!
And his wife, Anita, sounds like she was a pretty incredible woman. Read her story here. She was captured by the enemy during a battle and escaped by stealing a horse and riding away. Soldiers shot the horse out from under her, then she ran and jumped in a river and floated downstream, finally making her way across and, days later, reuniting with her husband and his troops. And she was pregnant at the time! What a woman!
And we think we ‘re having a rough day when the internet goes down or we run out of coffee.
Hey, don’t forget about the giveaway that’s going on right now here on the Everyday Artist blog…
Enter for a chance to win a set of five American Journey Interlocked Synthetic Brushes (a $38.69 value) plus a handy Cheap Joe’s Folding Brush Holder (a $14.69 value) to keep them all in, courtesy of the nice folks at Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff.
To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on one or more of the seven sketches I’ll be posting between November 27 and December 3. Yes, you may enter multiple times!
The drawing will be held on December 7, 2016.
Each day I’ll ask a question that you can answer in the comments, if you like. Today’s question is…
Leave your comment below, and good luck!
36 Comments
Our cat, Clancy, named for my husband's favorite author, was a character. He was fascinated by running water, peeking around the shower curtain at me, until one day he decided to jump in. That put an end to his peeking. When my husband would come home from the office, Clancy would race him up to the bedroom and claim the stool my husband wanted to sit on while he took off his shoes. He was very sweet and we still talk about his antics.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your stories about Clancy. I can just picture him!
When I was a child, so many, many years ago, my father worked for a zoo that had no nursery. If one of the animal mothers abandoned her babies, he would bring them home for a while. So I literally had lions, tigers and bears for pets while growing up.
What a unique childhood you must have had – that's amazing!
Gosh! That photo of the fog in the valley! Great photo Leslie… oh to be there……
I've only had dogs and cats… nothing exotic. But they've been the sweetest companions for me and my huz. I wouldn't change a thing.
I know, when I look at that photo I feel almost a physical longing to be standing there looking at out that view.
And I'm sure each one of your cats and dogs was unique and special in his own way – aren't they all? Every dog we've had has seemed like "the best dog ever" at the time.
While rabbits are not a unique pet, my daughter had a rabbit that would shake his cage if he smelled popcorn cooking. He kept it up until we gave him his 'share' of the snack.
That's so funny!
I had a pair of zebra finches that built their own nest and laid eggs which hatched into the most adorable little ones.
How fun, to watch them grow!
That donkey is priceless and his buddy is so funny scooting under the fence like that! We have a "rescue" goat. When we went to pick him up we surprised to see his huge horns! A goat with horns is a different game, to say the least. He has found a place in our hearts, even so, and will live out his life at our country home! He can see me while I'm working at the kitchen sink and beckon's me to bring him peanuts! So much fun…thanks for sharing.
My mom and dad has pygmy goats when our kids were little. Their names were Bert and Ernie and they had some pretty big horns, too. You had to watch out when they greeted you by rearing up and butting you, but I think it was just their way of welcoming us. I'd love to meet your menagerie some day. I have to say I've never heard of a "rescue goat"! 🙂
Our cat, Copper, went nuts when we had pizza…she loved the black olives!
Crazy kittie!
Our lovely, but now departed, cat Thelma – she was a surviving member of an adopted pair which we'd renamed "Thelma and Louise! White with black spots (or was that black with white spots?)in a weird uneven pattern – So I would tell people she'd slid off the spot-making assembly line!
I love that, about the spot-making assembly line!
I once had a cat who would actually play "fetch" just like a dog! By they way, I let my neighbor's donkey and horse graze in my pasture and what a ruckus those little donkeys make when they bray!
I don't know why the braying makes me giggle when I hear it – I guess maybe because it sounds just like the sound I make for my granddaughter when we're reading her animal book and I say, "What does the donkey say…?" It almost sounds fake – it's so much like HEE HAW HEE HAW!
I once had a horse that had a pet/friend rabbit. It was a huge white rabbit that would come out of the brush and munch hay along side the horse. They looked quite the pair, and seemed to be great friends. It was obviously a domestic rabbit that had escaped from someone, but it wouldn't allow me to get anywhere near it.
Aww, that's so sweet. What a picture those two must have made!
We had a rabbit that someone released into the wilds and ended up in our yard. He dug hundreds of holes and tunnels under our deck and around our pool. My husband didn't appreciate that so the rabbit went to a new home.
I hope it wasn't a heavenly home….:)
Hi, I love to receive your pictures, they are so beautiful and inspiring.
I live in Quebec, Canada.
When I saw the goat, it reminded me of the time we bought a pregnant one many years ago. We assisted her when she gave birth, and we had such a good time observing this so cute and energetic baby.
The way he loved to climb on his mom's back, then throw himself down, while spinning in the air. He climb on our shoulders often, and chew so many of my books!
Yes I learned they eat just about anything. He was such a joy!
Louise
I can just picture that mischievous baby donkey. He must have been so cute. Thanks for sharing, and good luck with the giveaway!
Oh my those grapes and olives are such delicious colors for painting! What a lovely place.
In the course of my life I've had lots of the typical pets, doggies, kitties and fish. But we did have some unique pets for a year when my boys were young. They caught a couple small waterside garter snakes while vacationing and we brought them home and placed them in a large aquarium. We soon discovered they refused to eat the usual live bait of crickets or meal worms… the only thing they would eat were live fish! So we had to purchase feeder fish weekly for them. It was a fun learning experience and they grew and did fine. We returned them to their lakeside home the following summer.
Thanks for your lovely blog and helpful teaching and especially for a chance at the give-away!
Weren't you a good mommy, that you would go through all that for your boys? Thanks for sharing your story. I'm loving reading about everyone's pets.
My son had two bearded dragon lizards! Not my favorites but different from the usual pet! (shouldn't say it but I'm sort of glad they are gone now) 🙂
We'll do anything for our kids, won't we?
Ive become quite attached to some simple little goldfish. I bought them for my outdoor pond in Park City, Utah, 9 years ago. They have reproduced lots of babies, survived in the frozen water, winter after winter, defying the laws of nature, and the original ones are over 1 foot long ! I wait with baited breath each spring until I know they are safe and able to enjoy another happy summer in their watery home.
That's amazing that they've survived all those icy cold winters! It must be so exciting to greet them each spring.
I didn't have a unique pet in terms of it being an unusual type of pet, but she did do something unusual. Our pet chihuahua Galaxy used to crack shelled peanuts and then eat the peanuts out of the shell, I've never heard of any dog that does that. She was a sweet and wonderful family member and she is greatly missed. She passed away this September after thirteen glorious years with us and we deeply miss her! ~Gin K.~
What a clever pup! She must have been a wonderful companion to you.
When our kids were little, we got them a gecko and a frog to keep in an aquarium. Of course, we discovered the upkeep (disinfecting weekly and purchasing live crickets) fell on our shoulders.
Now that I live in Florida, I have lots of "pet" geckos running around my lanai. They are a lot less work!
I guess the motto of that story is "Be careful what you buy for your children." 🙂 Wild geckos are much easier!
Finally was able to read your last few entries – so commented on the donkey and goat on another page. But they are too cute! Never had any exotic pets!
Elaine in Bradenton, FL
This painting of Anita the goat and her buddy is so heart warming. They are best friends and the squawking is hilarious! Just like a few ladies I know, your painting inspires me so much.
Carol Startare