part 1 - what time is it?

a memory,  oil on paper,  22" x 30"

 *****

the family of local basques were regarded with a mixture of suspicion and reverence. their eyes all had the unmistakable copper red ring around the pupil, an arresting sight.  they were descended from a little known branch of basque royalty, a fact which only very recently came to light. the trace of the family tree was stumbled upon by an irish ornithologist, finn quinn, who was researching the habitat of the griffon vulture in the limestone cliffs of euskal herriko arkua or the basque arc of the northern iberian peninsula. initially, he was fascinated by the wingspan of this variety of vulture which could be as wide as 3 metres. but, as he found out, that is not the most compelling attribute of these magnificent gliders. according to finn quinn it is their habitat that is their crowning achievement,  so advanced that it rivals the rudimentary dwellings of early neanderthals. the vulture's "cave-home", as quinn phrased it after his discovery, is composed of a beak and talon carved labyrinth of tunnels with a food consumption area, sleeping quarters, and a burial chamber.

*****