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The Would-Be Farm: Mule Train Ho!

4/4/2017

When I talk about the mule, it always gets the quizzical look.

The look that says, "Uh, wha––?"

As I'm often in full flood talking about the Would-Be Farm, it takes a moment to piece it together for my audience.

Their expressions might as well have subtitles: "A mule? Seriously. Well, it IS a farm. Wait. But a mule?"

Then I remember to whoa, back up, and rephrase. Oh –– yeah, it's a Kawasaki 4-wheel-drive mule. Like a little truck. An ATV. You know. Not an actual mule.

We found ours used (from nice little old man who only drove it on weekends on red clay dirt in Georgia) and hauled it to the farm, where we instantly put it to work.

The mule hauls buckets of water from the pond, transports loads of junky hay to the compost heap, and conveys small boulders from their frost heave landing spots to the new rock projects. And at a pretty good clip, too!

The mule easily scrambles up over rocks and through muddy water, and it's made the long path from the road to the beaver-pond an easy –– if bumpy –– ride for visitors.

Game camera catches Mary Rodgers on the move!

Not actually bumpy enough, as far as safari adventure rides go...and no, they don't need ear protection, but they did seem to enjoy wearing ear protection.

It sips on the gas, doesn't need its stall mucked out, and it works well for blazing new trails. No kicking so far. Yay mule.

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Scary Toys

4/4/2014

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So many things in this world are alarming. And childhood is difficult.
Should toys be this frightening, even for plucky British youngsters?

50p to ride these horses on the esplanade in Weymouth? I wouldn't risk it -- it's obvious that these are white selkie horses who will gallop straight into the surf and never stop until you arrive on the perilous shores of Tir na nOg.

Someone probably loved this china doll. But she seems both wistful and creepy to me. It's obvious that she gets up and about when no one is looking. From Appuldurcombe House museum on the Isle of Wight.

C'mon, kiddies, let's get into the fiberglass Conestoga Wagon o Death, pulled by a matched pair of zombie ponies! Located in the old-fashioned beach resort of Weymouth.

Punch and Judy -- traditional British sea-side entertainment for the under-10s. Puppets AND violence. Yay. This scene on the beach in Weymouth. In the background, those hills hold the famous Osmington Horse cut into the chalk hills.

To me, it looks as if she is going to swim through the air and start using those flat little teeth on my face when I sleep. This doll with jointed limbs on display at Appuldurcombe House museum on the Isle of Wight.

These kid-sized hamster balls found at Needles Park on Isle of Wight. Okay, not at all scary. In fact, I think we should all spend time inside transparent orbs. The technical term is "zorbing."

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Whirligigs and Mechanical Theater

6/23/2013

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File under: odd things other people like.

Dang! London's Cabaret Mechanical Theater has closed up shop. This is terrible news, not just because I sent someone to see it this spring (Oops! Sorry!), but because this little jewel of a museum in Covent Garden was a treasure-trove of wonderful wind-up automota -- the perfect, intriguing counterpoint to the bustle and noise of Covent Garden.

The good news, of course, is that the collection is still together, and exhibits are being curated all over the place. Tel Aviv, Baltimore, The Unicorn Theatre in London.

Whirligigs have a long history of use, and not just to scare birds or amuse children... The smart folks on Radiolab looked at one automotic mechanical monk created as part of a bargain with God four hundred and fifty years ago. Here's the link. I recommend all their podcasts, but this one is especially interesting:
http://www.radiolab.org/2012/jun/29/ghost-machine/

Whirligig:

Figurative moving sculpture with at least one spinning or rotating part. Used as whimsical decoration, art, child's toy, also as a make-work project for woodworkers, etc.

See also: pinwheels, weathervanes, gee-haws, spinners, whirly-birds, whirlies.

And for a historical perspective on these baubles, here's the link to an even longer YouTube video featuring hypnotic and intriguing (okay, disturbing) antique automata:

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