junkyard finds 4
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loving the textures and contrasts of worn wood and rusty metals....
by Marja-Leena
by Marja-Leena early Sunday morn
Opa spotted the grandgirls enjoying a sunny morning story time while most of the house occupants are fast asleep!
by Marja-Leena midsummer 2011
June 22, 2011 8:11 p.m
This stunning view from our back deck is the closest reminder for me this year of the midsummer bonfires and celebrations which we experienced long ago in Denmark, Sweden and Finland on a trip with our young family. Though the solstice occurred a few nights ago, in practice the actual celebrations can vary around the days closer to or on the weekend. Many Finns, for example, head out to their cottages at this time, often to begin their long summer vacation. Ah, those white nights…
Last weekend we introduced the Midsummer Festival at the Scandinavian Centre to our “English” daughter and granddaughters who are here for the summer. For some reason, I enjoyed our visit two years ago much more, but this was fun for the kids and even Elisa wrote about it – do read!
Being a favourite time of nostalgia for the Finn in me, I’ve written so many midsummer posts over my years of blogging that I won’t repeat myself, but if you are new here and interested, here they are in addition to the above links – enjoy:
summer solstice 2004
midsummer dreams 2006
solstice memories 2007
white nights 2008
the longest day 2010
Happy Midsummer’s or Midwinter, dear readers. May the season ahead be a good one for you.
by Marja-Leena junkyard finds 2
Sudden crazy thought: what will future archaeologists think of these… if they still exist in the junkyards of the far off future, perhaps buried under layers of varied detritus? Will they think these are strange art forms by some middle period hominids?
by Marja-Leena another hand print – part 2
The story about the hand print on the snowblower keeps getting more interesting. If you have not already read that post and the comments especially from Richard and my reply, may I suggest doing so, then come back here.
This morning our daughter Anita (Richard’s partner) emailed me some photos that she took of the other side of the snowblower (above left) as well as one of the side I already posted (above right). Here is what she wrote (slightly edited to fit my photo layout):
Since you missed them when you photographed the hand print, here are the other decorations on the Park City snowblower, replicating petroglyphs like the ones we saw in Moab, which Richard says are all over the red rock mesas of eastern Utah.
I particularly like the turtle and the bison. The bison, below, and the above right photo are the side of the chute that you photographed (both sides have a hand print), and it’s definitely harder to make out the drawings with all the rust on that side. Not graffiti, either – Richard said someone would have decorated the chute intentionally when it was first put into operation. Pretty cool.
My response in part:
I had not realized that Richard was not joking when he wrote about them on my blog. Are the images ‘painted’ (pictographic), or scratched or carved deeply into the metal (petroglyphic)? I’m sorry I missed them. I love the Kokopelli figure!
Again, Anita, in part:
They are painted rather than carved. They are copies of petroglyphs, and yes, the figure is similar to the one called Kokopelli that is so popular in Moab and other areas.
Richard had to chuckle when he heard you thought he was joking! But then you hadn’t seen the more clearly painted side of the snowblower chute. Neither had I, and it’s been sitting there for a year.
What a story, eh! And goes to show that even my eagle eyes and camera don’t always see everything! Thanks for sharing these photos and stories, Anita and Richard, and I hope you hang on to these images.
by Marja-Leena another hand print
While Elisa was having her metalwork lesson with Richard, I explored outside his barn/workshop/studio with camera in hand. Amazing what visual treasures can be found in what seems like a junkyard of old cars, farm equipment, snowblowers and assorted machine parts. For Richard, these are treasures in parts to recycle and put to new uses like Elisa’s frame but also something he made for me that I will tell you about later after we’ve installed it and taken photos.
My favourite image found and photographed amongst the fascinating rusty shapes and textures has to be this hand print! How long ago did some worker with oily hands leave his mark here? Was it intentional or accidental? For me, who has long been fascinated by hands in ancient rock art, and I’ve written many a blog post about it, this is astonishingly evocative and rich in synchronicity.
Added June 18th: Richard has commented below with a bit of history of the snowblower upon which sits the handprint, so I thought I would add the photo of the chute, below. Can you see that handprint?
by Marja-Leena weekend’s wildlife
Oh my! a not-too-shy hummingbird in the catmint next to our table and chairs in our daughter’s garden, and turtles sunning on logs in a pond in the woods where the wedding was held
Related:
a recent hummingbird visitor
a raccoon
Hornby’s wildlife