I couldn't resist calling these beasts bullocks, despite there being no absolute evidence to support this, and me being sufficiently unfamiliar with bovine appearance to say for certain that these are male animals.
Why is this?
(Oversensitive males should look away now).
Because a wether is a castrated ram. And a bullock is a castrated bull.
Of course there are no sheep. But there is a stone circle, and that stone circle, which is on Dartmoor, is called Grey Wethers. (I imagine a disorientated shepherd spotting the stones on a misty day and making the incorrect assumption that they were his flock of wethers.)
The image is from a photograph taken on a daywalk on Dartmoor in August 2009.
Oil on canvas, 56 x 46 cm
12 December 2012 (yes, that's right: 12/12/12)
SOLD
Fabulous painting! We were a bit scared of the bullocks when we were there, they seemed rather territorial.
ReplyDeleteWe thought the same thing! I think they must be if they frequent the place that often.
ReplyDeleteGavin asks if there was a pale brown one there when you visited, he had horns.
ReplyDeleteThere was a pale brown one, but he's a bit young... and I think that this photo disproves my prior assumption-for-the-sake-of-the-title; I rather think that there is a cow there.
ReplyDeletehttp://farm9.staticflickr.com/8232/8351159324_009ce9b942_c.jpg
Once more with working linky thing: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8232/8351159324_009ce9b942_c.jpg
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