Hi all!
 
I hope everyone had a very merry one!  I just had to write and tell you all
about the most awesome and cool Christmas/birthday present I got from my
best friend.  Also want to see if anybody has any information about this
thing.
 
It's a print that she found in a used book store in Portsmouth (sp?), Mass
and had framed.  I've never seen anything like it and I absolutely LOVE it
and knew that if anyone had ever seen it and knew where it was from they'd
probably be on the FML.  It's an ink print that appears to have come from
possibly some kind of nature or zoology book (?) from perhaps the late
1800's or maybe early 20th century.  It has a little ink-drawn tree with
four members of the weasel family standing on the branches.  The top left
animal is a small brown animal with a cream-colored neck and belly and is
labeled on the bottom on the left in English as "Weasel" and on the right
in another language as "Gwenci".  Animal #2 on the top right branch is a
larger white (cream) animal with a dark tip labeled "Ermine (Winter)" on
the left and "Carlwm (Gauaf)" in the second language.  Animal #3 on bottom
left (actually standing on a grassy knoll instead of a branch) is larger
version of the Weasel with a much longer and bushier tail and is labeled as
the "Pine Martin" or "Bele y Pin", and the 4th animal is an all-brown
kind-of mean-looking thing called a "Vison" in both languages.  I also just
noticed that there's a tiny little snake in the bottom right of the
picture, maybe hinting that these guys eat snakes.  Outside the outline of
the print on the right side it says "Plate LXXII".  Does this print sound
familiar to anyone, and if so do you know where it came from?  I'm just
interested.  Has anyone heard of a Vison?  I've heard of the other three
but not the Vison.  Also, does anyone know what language the second one is?
The first two words almost sound like Gaelic or something (or I could just
be an idiot), but the others I don't know.  Anyway, if anyone has any info
for me let me know- I'd love to know where this came from!  It's my
favorite Christmas present!
 
Hope all is well!
 
Jamie and the Furr-crew:  Fidget, Tiny, Gus, Einstein, Hopper, and Zima
[Posted in FML issue 2539]