This week’s photohunt is Favorite. I thought about this for a while. Several items came to mind; hike, garden, flower, food. But I wanted to do something a little bit more personal and I choose to show my favorite souvenir.

I started collecting Oaxacan wood carvings of cats on our first trip to Tuscon. We travel each spring to view the wildflowers and gardens in the Southwest. The gift stores will frequently have a small assortment of Oaxacan wood carvings. These are a traditional art from the area around Oaxaca Mexico. The “figuras” are carved typically in the form of an animal but some are more fantastic and are then called “alebrije”. They are painted in bright colors and decorated. Some are rather simple and other very elaborate. Here is more information on the process used to create the figuras.

I’ve collected several over the years during our travels in the Western States. I always look over the selection of various animals and find a cat. One day I hope to travel to Oaxaca to see the artisans in action and purchase them directly.

Here are a few of my favorites.

The smallest one of the collection

Doesn’t he look old?

My favorite – I love the flowers and bright red