Creature Feature: Jackalope

For this week's Creature Feature, I thought it might be good to start with some local lore. Growing up, we all knew about the Jackalope. It's said to be a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope, which means it looks like a rabbit with antlers.

This Jackalope obviously has deer antlers. There is another species that has antelope antlers, but I couldn't find a photo. 

Interestingly, stories of horned rabbits extend as far back in time to 17th century Europe, and possibly even further than that.

Local lore states that, while mostly extinct worldwide, a small pocket of Jackalope live in the Western United States. I grew up thinking they were only from Wyoming.

Jackalopes are said to sing harmony with cowboys in a lovely tenor voice, move at speeds near 90 mph, and sleep belly up. If you are able to milk a Jackalope while it is sleeping, the milk has medicinal properties. However, Jackalopes are aggressive and will fiercely attack with its antlers, consequently earning the name "warrior rabbit."

The origins of the Jackalope are varied, but there is a virus, Shopes pappiloma, that causes growths on rabbits which resemble (loosely) horns. The poor bunnies looks so sad I didn't want the picture here, but if you are interested in seeing what the virus looks like, here is a link. 

Have you heard of Jackalope before?

Do you have Jackalope where you live?

Funny Friday Photos

Happy Friday! How was your week? I have no idea how mine was, because I'm writing this on Tuesday and scheduling it. I am helping my parents move and will be getting back home as you read this! I'm going to believe it's all going to go well, though.

Last weeks winner for funniest photo was:

And here are this week's photos:

Me in the morning.

Me pre-coffee.

Me post-coffee.

Me post-work.

Me... no, just joking. I've never used drugs, but this is the poster goat for what drugs will do to a person.

It's actually a vampire guinea pig.

My favorite for the week is the goat. I actually think it's kinda cute. In a backwoods, in-bred sort of way.

Which is your favorite?

Theme Park: Woman Power

Photo Courtesy freedigitalphotos.net

The first theme I'm going to tackle on the very first Theme Park is that of strong women. It shouldn't have surprised me that the female characters in Finding Meara are plucky and don't let others define who they are. Most of the women in my family are very outspoken and stand tall in the face of adversity. One of my favorite role-models of woman power in my family is my maternal great-grandmother, Irene.
As a child, my mother, sister and I would visit my great-grandma Irene on her ranch near Mule Creek Junction, Wyoming. By that time, Grandma Irene was in her 80's. She was a plump old lady with salt-and-pepper grey hair, some soft-looking jowels, and a twinkle in her eyes.
Scrubby plains surrounded the four room house in which she lived in by herself, her son living in a separate house next door. My sister and I enjoyed winding our way through the weathered red barns which once sheltered cattle and sheep, or hiking to the buttes which towered a significant distance away.
Grandma had been born in the late nineteenth century, a time which expected women to get married and have children – end of story. Grandma didn't pay attention to the times, though, and decided to write her own story. Following secondary school, she attended college to become a teacher. She graduated and taught in Dewey, South Dakorta, where she met the cowboy destined to become my great-grandfather, but she wasn't ready to settle down yet.
From 1919 to 1920, she and her sister each homesteaded plots near the Cheyenne River in Wyoming, while living together in a small cabin. Water was scarce. Grandma and Aunt Helen hauled water to the house to wash laundry on washboards. They cooked on wooden stoves. Horses were their only transportation. It was hard living, but Grandma proved the land (followed the rules to make it hers) all while teaching at a nearby school. She said you had to be determined to be successful.

My great-grandfather Mose homesteaded right next to Grandma Irene. Finally, in June of 1920, he convinced Grandma that they should marry, and they combined their homesteads.

Even after marriage, Grandma continued to teach for a while. She worked the ranch with Grandpa. She had three children, and kept the house. She canned the family’s food, tended the garden, sewed most of the clothing they wore, weeded the corn, and sent milk and eggs to town with the mailman to get credit for groceries. She and my grandfather were married for over fifty years before Grandpa died. They treated each other with respect, and provided love, guidance and a safe place for my mother and her siblings as they grew up.

I always enjoy telling people my Grandmother was a homesteader. While I'm sure she wasn't the only woman to do so, they always act surprised at the revelation. The best thing about Grandma Irene, though, is that she taught those around her about hard work, determination, love and family. She was the embodiment of a strong woman at a time when women weren't expected to be strong.