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March 1, 2015 by tomdalzell

Cows (and pigs)

 

e1d77919826641b4fdf4d3453d7d3c3aWhen Gabby heard that I was working on a cow post he sent (via my friend) this postcard.  I am sure that there are many more where it comes from.  He also reminded us of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses:

Robert Louis Stevenson A Child's Garden of Verses

The best known cow in Berkeley?  I’d have to say the Cheese Board’s cows.

"Quirky Berkeley-03/19/2015" "Quirky Berkeley-03/19/2015"

 

It is almost big enough to qualify as a giant cow as in giant signs.  Almost.

"Quirky Berkeley-03/19/2015"

 

And every baguette bag from the Cheese Board has cow art.  Cows!

In another post we have seen a few cow mail boxes, cross-posted here:

31 Bret Harte

31 Bret Harte

1145 Keith

1145 Keith

520 The Alameda

520 The Alameda

These next few are over in the kitschy wing of quirky, but quirky all the same:

2234 Browning 2

2234 Browning

2848 McGee

2848 McGee

2234 Browning 1

2234 Browning

Pure quirk up the hills:

998 Keeler

998 Keeler

998 Keeler

998 Keeler

There is a herd (!) of big rusting cows on the bike path at the dead end of Northside:

Bike path, dead end of Northside

IMG_3012 IMG_3011 IMG_3008

Turning to pigs, for me there is only pig in literature.  Yes, I know, Charlotte’s Web and Wilbur.  For from our childhood there is Bertie.

n34037

At Christmas, my father read us Bertie’s Escapades out loud.  It has the charming dry humor of Wind in the Willows, and at times my father would have to pause because he could not read through his laughing.  He last read it to us in 1976.  I was 25, Jeanne was 23, and Anthony was 6 months old.

As for pigs in Berkeley material culture – I thought I had more than these that follow.

1735 McGee

1735 McGee

There is a major manifestation of pig quirk at 1735 McGee, so major that it has its own post.  And then these:

1198-Keeler-21173 Glen

1708 7th

1708 7th

1940 Acton

1940 Acton

Plus these pig weathervanes:

1825 Marin

1825 Marin

1745 McGee

1745 McGee

2239 Dwight

2239 Dwight

When I took the photos for my friend’s opinion, he was excited about something he had just found.  As is often the case, what I had hoped would be a one-way transaction evolved quickly into a two-way transaction.  I had to see what he wanted me to see before he would look at what I wanted him to look at.  That’s fine.  No hurry.

Salvador Dali The Persistence of Memory

My friend is a fan of Salvador Dali.  For many years he had a print of “The Persistence of Memory” in his room.  It isn’t there any more and I don’t know why.

What he showed me was a photo form 1961.

Dali

Dali as Santa!  Okay, that is pretty cool.

Now – what about the cows and pigs?  My friend looked through them and passed judgment.

IMG_3677

 

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