Today Your Inner Rhino begins our Eleventh Year! A Milestone, in itself. It has been remarkably smooth sailing, in its modest way.

We are displaying a few illustrations from our first posting in 2014, just because why not?

A pleasure, We must mention the encouragement offered by our Readers (You!). Blogging is a peculiar effort, since We cannot see you, and only know of you by your registering or commenting as the work appears. As We have said in the past, feel free to offer opinions or suggestions for topics of interest to you. We can use all the stimulation We can get.

If you missed that day of the 3,653 We’ve been cranking, you will see that We have managed to communicate with y’all 3,538 original pieces. A batting average of 999, as We are informed!

So Congratulations to Us all, and many thanks for hanging in there. Below a knock-off of a painting by Matisse showing the five extant Rhino families a-dancing:

The Rhino Family Tree, referring to the 55 million years of Us, in our varied shapes and sizes:

And this suggests how much Rhino there is in 1) Rhinos, and 2) all of Us, linked by a particular Rhinocerine burst of Energy, a happy linkage for Us all.

We hope you can join us again tomorrow, and for a bunch of tomorrows yet to come!

This filing business would be more meaningful if Rhinos knew the Alphabet past 3. We don’t, but We make suggested alterations, if asked nicely.

Rhinos are an adventuresome bunch, taking our chances as Nature provides them. One nifty event after another comes trooping in our direction, and We embrace the opportunities happily. It may not be an approacjh for every critter, but for Rhinos, it works.

Rhinos all have endurance, with a few exceptions. We truck on, or in this case, roll along.

Anticipation is what We call it, this mindset. Just one more feature of our Inner Rhino. “Tra la”, say We, and We mean it.

Confucius was born 4,000 years ago, give or take. His influence in China was and is immense. He was a writer, a political figure, a philosopher and teacher.

His primary concern was the moral decay which plagued China in his day. The Zhou Dynasty lasted 800 years, which gave the country a lot of time to get confused; good, bad, and mediocre. As We Rhinos see it, that is the norm, whether its one dynasty or another.

Confucius emphasized the moral need for all citizens to live morally, and maintain a standard for everyone else. His faith in the ability to do that is what provides the energy for his opinion.

That thing in his hands is a copy of ‘The Analects’, a remarkable book detailing improved performance for the individual, the family, and the governing of their combined national political body. Ambitious perhaps, but worth formulating steps toward that possibility. Quite a fellow, that Mr. Confucius!

Those trees keep churning out new leaves. Pretty.

Rhinos enjoy them, but on the other hand, We don’t own rakes.

One lesser-known hobby of Rhinos is the composition of musical works, appropriate to specific geographic locales. Today We celebrate Loch Ness in Scotland, a deep and mysterious lake in the North. You may have heard of the monster that lurks in the deep, but We have seldom seen any such critter when We were visiting.

What is music to one critter’s ear is Something Else to another’s.

TAG is a fine old game, a perennial favorite. It can be played with only two, and often is, among siblings. Otherwise, the contest goes on until something or somebody calls a halt.

The point of this exercise is Fatigue, generated by frantic running and ducking and dodging. Also swiveling.

Assuming the Taggee gets away from the pursuer, the rest of the time is spent panting. Or, if caught, that player becomes It!, and the merriment continues…

Rhinos are all Natural Fashionistas. Yep, it’s the Truth… at least on a theoretical front. We have no cloth, clothing, nor any accessories, shoes, etc. But there is no reason for Us to whine or snivel. We press forward, each in the groove that suits Us best. What We lack in material, We make up for with Imagination.

If fashion magazines or books or photographers come to visit, We go Natural. There is just no way to beat the Rhino Solution.

Period.