New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Yoke of Oxen
Another collective noun - today, a Yoke of Oxen. An ox is a castrated male cow that has been trained for use as a draft animal, generally about 4 years old when they can start being used as field animals. Two oxen…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – an Exultation of Larks
Another collective noun - today, an Exultation of Larks. Yes, I know that’s a cheat, but this is the grim reality an abecediarian faces. The variety of lark I chose for this illustration is the Calandra Lark, one of the commonest lark…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Warren of Rabbits
Another collective noun - today, a Warren of Rabbits. We used to have a lot of wild rabbits on the farm where I spent my childhood. In the autumn it would start to get cold, and mostly field mice and sometimes rabbits…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Venue of Vultures
Another collective noun - today, a Venue of Vultures. Not to be confused with a “kettle” of vultures, which is a group of vultures circling in the sky. The Vulture eats between his meals, And that’s the reason why He very, very,…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – the Foodie Collective
My regular readers may have noticed I’ve been a bit slow with the posts over the last week. It’s because I’ve been busy as a bee. I was recently contacted by a Montreal group, the Foodie Collective, to do some…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – an Unkindness of Ravens
Another collective noun - today, an Unkindness of Ravens. I guess whoever came up with the collective terms didn’t take kindly to carrion-eaters what with “murder” of crows and “unkindness” of ravens. Ravens were revered by ancient Norse cultures, as they would…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Trip of Goats
Another collective noun - today, a Trip of Goats. Goats are pretty trippy, with their square eyes like an octopus. The etymology of “trip” in reference to a group of goats is more obscure, however: 1275–1325; Middle English; apparently special use of trip in the sense of a group moving together, hence gang, flock – Random House Dictionary (2012)…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Shrewdness of Apes.
Another collective noun - today, a Shrewdness of Apes. I admit, I found “shrewdness” to be an odd choice for a collective of apes. Through the magic of the interwebs, however, I found this thorough and enlightening explanation: …let me give an…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Rake of Colts
Another collective noun - today, a Rake of Colts. In looking up information regarding this collective noun, I found out that colts are specifically uncastrated male horses under four years old. I’ve never heard the term “rake” applied to colts, but apparently it’s…
New Artwork – Ian Rogers – a Quarrel of Sparrows
Another collective noun - today, a Quarrel of Sparrows. Today, I learned that I really should try to forget everything I thought I knew about birds. When I was a kid, my dad would point out the names of all the birds…
