So near and yet so far…

6-5Out2Lunch

After a happy breakfast of greens, a Rhino will often sit and hum over topics of interest, such as limericks extolling the Wild, or mud, or root systems…

What is remarkable is how cogitation can anesthetize Us Rhinos to the most obvious of Situations. Clues to the left, clues to the right, but “none so deaf as those who will not hear”. Or sniff.

On the other hand, We can’t go without breakfast, right? Tricky, Life in the Wild.

Whirlwinds

5-31Sahara

Like sand dunes, reforming and shifting around, that’s how Rhinos see the moments of our lives. Like a zillion grains of sand.

Until We matured as a species, Rhinos assumed We had some control over those winds. Eventually We woke up, more or less.

Nature is always in charge, at least of everything natural.

Expecting Unexpected…

5-28FamblyWay

Rhino gals often forget that the reward of an afternoon’s excitement is 15 or 16 months of pregnancy. Toward the end of these preparations, things can wear thin.

Fortunately, Rhinos don’t count and have weak time concepts, so We just put up with it, and hope it will be over sometime soon. Eventually, our hopes are fulfilled.

The good news is that Rhino babies seldom weigh much over 100 pounds, so that’s a relief!

Going Courting

5-26Courting

Rhino dating is a brisk business, geared entirely toward making more Rhinos. We might try to make it seem more romantic, but Spin is not the Rhino Way.

Part One is the girl Rhino letting guy Rhinos know she is in the mood. (It should be noted that the guy Rhinos go berserk once they get this message.)

Part Two is the guy Rhinos thrashing out who is going to do what. Very Physical.

Part Three is getting together. Remarkably Enthusiastic.

Steps Two and Three involve a lot of heavy duty Rough & Tumble, sometimes with catastrophic results for the Participants. Neither sad nor jolly nor romantic- just how it is.

Stress Conservation

5-23CautionaryMeasures

When We Rhinos find ourselves embarking on an Endeavor that could get Prickly (botanically or personally), We take Precautions.

Rhinos embody a remarkable combination of sensitivity, awareness and insight; so in our planetary interactions We risk getting our Feelings Hurt.

But get this: We sidestep that hazard by only taking one Feeling with Us, leaving the others safely behind. That way, at worst only one can get bruised! Brilliant!

The Game is Afoot!

5-22 Fog

Hip hip hooray! It is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday. In 1887 he gave the public The Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes adventure. Holmes lived in London, which back then was a lot foggier than it is now, due to pollution controls in the early 1950s and 60s.

Not many Rhinos resided in London at the time. The air was not breathable (and We require a lot on a daily basis). It’s better now, but there are many fewer Rhinos, so We only visit every so often.

Pity.

Primitive?

5-21HRousseau

Today is Henri Rousseau’s birthday. We Rhinos like his style. It seems immediate, direct, a very personal approach. No invisible  formality or expectation.

M. Rousseau was self-taught, which is Very Rhino. We only gravitate to situations or academies where things keep moving. A healthy glance at M. Rousseau’s work and you know he was not trying to please anybody else; he was doing his own thing.

What other ‘thing’ is there to do?