My Objectsphere - (Owl Edition)

A while back I wrote a post about my "objectsphere." The idea of the objectsphere comes from an article ("Mrs. Delany and the Objectsphere") I read about ceramic by Jo Dahn. The idea is that we're intimately connected to the objects we own and they aren't just things we manipulate, but they also modify our actions. In my previous post, I wrote about my backpacking gear; this time around I'll focus on our owl collection. I'll include a little bit of a background or a story with each owl.

I think it's pretty clear that I like owls. And while it's debatable as to whether or not I'm making them cool, my enthusiasm should be beyond question. If it's not, then this post will put skepticism to rest. The photo at the top is an image of a John Audubon print of a barred owl and a squirrel that I bought at an antique store here in Tucson. I actually have a tattoo of this owl on my right arm, which was done by Andrew at Renaissance Tattoo(Andrew's now at Iron Hand Tattoo) in Rhode Island, so I was pretty excited when I found it.
 

We found these two owls (above) at the Salvation Army in Worcester, Massachusetts several years ago. The second one is actually made of yarn stretched around nails. It's cool, but collects a lot of cat fur.

I got this little owl as a present from my in-laws. It's head come off so you can hide small objects inside. There's a lot of anthropological work done on object circulation and gifting, and, as you'll see, a few of our owls were gifts. The little ceramic animals to the right are from Red Rose Tea.

We bought this small brass owl at the National Emporium in Calcutta, India. Each store in the Emporium presents artisans from a particular state. Our stuff got mixed up in our luggage so I don't remember which state it was from. We stayed with our friend Ari's family in Calcutta and I must say that his mother has an owl collection that puts ours to shame.

This wooden owls is actually made by a Native America artisan in Mexico to grind peppercorns. We bought it in Tucson.

Here is perhaps our cheapest owl. It's made of rabbit fur and we bought it in Chinatown in San Francisco. He used to live in Erin's cubicle when she worked somewhere that involved cubicles. We try not to think about our cubicle days. The owls sit on a shelf next to this skunk skull. Not sure I remember where I got the skull, but it probably came from E-bay.


Perhaps this should count as two owls. We also bought this one at the National Emporium in Calcutta. If you look closely at the second picture you'll see that there's another little owl carved inside the stomach of the big owl.


The picture doesn't indicate scale well, but this ivory owls is tiny. It was a gift from my brother, Sean.

We bought this one at the Grand Canyon, but it's actually made by Pueblo Indians in Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico. They make all their pottery without using a potters wheel.

Our friends Jen and Kevin gave us this owl lantern as a gift a few years back. Thanks guys! The bullet frame and the hand grenades in the back were crafts my grandfather made in his spare time while stationed on the Aleutian Islands during World War II.

Sarah and Damien hooked us up with this one. They also bought me an owl pellet dissection kit for my birthday one year. Thanks!

I couldn't tell you where this potholder owl came from, but it's dirty and I had second thoughts about posting it. Then I decided, why the hell not? My apologies to any sticklers for clean potholders.

If you've got cool owl stuff, post a link to a photo in the comments and if I get enough, I'll do a post on other people owls!

Maricopa Through a Plastic Lens

I was looking through my former posts and I saw that I have posts about Calcutta, West Bengal and Tucson, AZ we've shot with lomo cameras, but nothing for Maricopa County, AZ or Massachusetts. I don't know why that feels like some sort of upset of universal balance, but I guess I have a connection to a limited number of places. They all need to be represented if I'm going to feel like the virtual MOCS space is to be the diversionary microcosm of well-loved places I need it to be. It makes sense to me; all you have to do is enjoy the pictures...




Homemade digital pinhole lens for our Nikon.

Cochise Head in Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona

From the reverse: "Cochise head, the bare rock top of a ridge in the northern part of the Chiricahua Mountains, which, silhouetted against the sky resembles the profile of Cochise, famous Apache Indian chief, may be seen from Highway 86 near San Simon and Bowie; also from Massai Point near Chiricahua National Monument, "wonderland of rocks", from which this picture was photographed."

The inscription on the back reads:
To: Mr. Grover Reese
Homer Michigan
Route 3

Apr. 1st, 1951
Hi Grover: Read your card and was Happy to hear from you. So Armstrong had passed on. Sorry to hear you are not so good. I surely hop that Drew help you. More sorry to hear you wouldn't be able to make the trip down here this winter but surely hope you will be able to make the trip in the fall. Carl's working at the Post(?) helping the roofer he works 6 days 10 hrs a day each week is hard work too. I am doing pretty good. Folks send best wishes. Now take care of Grover for me,
Mae."

I couldn't find much on Grover Reese except that he lived in Calhoun, Michigan (Homer is a township in Calhoun County), that he registered for WWI, and that he passed away sometime between 1977-1996. Ancestry.com has tons of great records, but you need to pay to see them. I looking up people on postcards, but I don't want to spend money on it. In any case, it looks Grover didn't make it down to Arizona and missed out on seeing Chiricahua National Monument, at least for the 1951 winter season. I hope he made it down eventually; it's a really cool place.
As I always note on these postcard inscription entries, if you find this and you're related to Grover Reese, let me know and I'll send you the postcard.

Rogue Taxidermy

 

       In my Junior Ranger days I learned the basics of taxidermy by stuffing a roadkill chipmunk. I learned how to skin a dead animal, remove the insides, preserve the skin, stuff it, and set the legs in position. My chipmunk sat a bit awkwardly on his log and I didn't quite get his left eye in, but the basics were there. A few years a later, a grouse flew into a friend's picture window and died. My second and final attempt at taxidermy went much like my first, though the bird's thin skin was tricky and the plastic eyes looked in different directions.

       Even now I find taxidermy fascinating. It's certainly an odd interest for a vegan (one which my wife stalwartly refuses to share), but stuffing and mounting animals gives you a chance to study, understand, and preserve an animal. It's a close connection to the animal you're working on. I don't advocate killing animals for sport and I will never, never go hunting, but when I'm driving my truck and I see a dead coyote, I frequently wonder how long it's been dead and whether or not I could stuff it.

       If you share my interest in taxidermy, you'll want to check out M.A.R.T. M.A.R.T., the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists, creates some wild stuff. M.A.R.T. has many more members than you would expect in a guild of artists working in the medium of dead animals, but the three primary members are Scott Bibus, Robert Marbury, and Sarina Brewer. Each of the three has a very distinct style. Bibus's creations are very well-done, but clearly the goriest of the three. Marbury's stray furthest from the physiology of known animals. The "Nardog" below is Marbury's. The antlered squirrel above is a tame example of Brewer's work; she also creates fantasy creatures like griffins, capricorns, and chimeras. You can also buy a jar of dried squirrel head from her website.

Creative as they may be, there's something a little disturbing about these creations. Perhaps that's part of the charm. Their raw materials come from salvaged roadkill, farm casualties, and animals that have died of natural causes. M.A.R.T. stresses that no animals die to produce the art. According to his bio, Robert Marbury is vegan. Brewer's motto on her website - "I call it art, you can call it whatever you want" - is a clever acknowledgment that rogue taxidermy pushes the boundaries of artistic mediums and what many people feel comfortable seeing as art. Whatever you call it, I hope rogue taxidermy will be the most interesting thing you'll see online today.

Boards of Canada

I'm not generally a fan of electronic music, but Boards of Canada sits near the top of my all time favorite artists. I've read that BoC use analog and electronic equipment to make songs inspired by analog soundtracks to mid-20th century documentaries, particularly those created by the Film Board of Canada. I grew up in the 80's on a viewing diet of primarily documentaries, so it makes sense that I identify with their sound; there's probably some a substantial region of my subconscious dedicated to auditory memories their music taps into.

A couple years ago when I was teaching myself how to use Photoshop, I created a serious of pictures inspired by Boards of Canada and 126 cartridge film -I wanted to use modern software to recreate older images. 126 was the type of film that went into those thin, rectangular cameras with the cubic flash bulbs on top. More accomplished Photoshoppers than me will undoubtedly find these photos amateurish, but I think they're kind neat, at least in concept. Here's a few a samples. More at my Flickr set. I've linked the titles to Youtube videos for the songs. A lot people are doing neat videos with BoC stuff on Youtube.

"A Moment of Clarity" - Willow Spring Lake on the Mogollon Rim in central Arizona.

"84 Pontiac Dream" - Beeline Highway, Route 87 heading Northeast from Phoenix Arizona. August 2007.

"Constants are Changing" Trail 535, Willow Springs Area Trail, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Arizona. August 2007.

"Triangles and Rhombuses" Truro, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

"Turquoise Hexagon Sun" Lost Dutchman State Park, Arizona, March 2008.

Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalinas

From the reverse: "This new road, under construction by convict labor for several years, will cut in half the motoring distance to Tucson's chief summer retreat in the pine forests at the top of Mt. Lemmon. Even now a 30-minute drive in this direction affords a delightful outing; the return trip, with Tucson faintly discernible in the haze across the desert, is particularly interesting."

Tucson no longer shimmers in a mirage-like haze from the Catalinas; it flows up into the foot hills. This post card is about 60 years old. I've spent a lot of time in the Santa Catalina Mountains over the last couple years and, while they're modest as mountains go, having a mountain range and sky island for a neighbor is pretty fantastic.

From the reverse: "Tucson, Arizona to Mt. Lemmon - A scene in the Santa Catalina Mts., showing a portion of the highway from windy point. 30 miles from the Desert to the tall pines at an elevation of 8000 feet." 

While the mountains are often crowded near the roads and more popular trails, a quick hike even a couple miles into the back country changes all that. I've hiked for nearly a day without seeing anyone.  I was really excited to find these great postcards, particularly the first one because it describes the convict labor and puts Tucson's urban sprawl into perspective. I know people come to Tucson to see the desert, but if you're in town long enough, it's worth you while to take a drive up the Catalina Highway to see the canyons, rock formations, pine forests, and a fantastic views of the ever-growing city. Here are some shots I've taken from that road.

East Fork Trail

Erin and I bought a 18-200mm lens a few month ago and it broke. We shipped it off to the manufacturer and they repaired it for free because it was still under warranty.

I had planned on backpacking with some friends from Phoenix for the weekend, but that trip was rained out, so a buddy of mine from Tucson and I went out for a long day hike on Friday instead. We hiked the East Fork Trail along the bottom of a canyon. The creeks and rivers were all flowing like crazy and we even had to wade across a few times. I had bad flashbacks of fording the river in Oregon Trail, but we made it safely across, saw now serpentine squirrels and my wife, Erin, does not have malaria.

The lens seems to be back in good working condition and I even managed to take a decent panorama that I stitched together in Photoshop. Check it out.

The Grand Canyon - 1930 Home Movie

This home movie was shot and edited by Arthur and Kate Tode and is currently in the collections of University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Films. I couldn't find much on the creators, but the footage is pretty cool. It's a silent movie and, at 16+ minutes long, I suggest hopping around in it to see different shots. Enjoy!

Wildflower Desert

It's been a very rainy winter so far in Arizona and they're predicting more rain for this coming weekend. Winter rain means great wild flower blooms in the spring. This issue of Arizona Highways from February 1963 has a photograph by Chuck Abbott on the cover showing spring blooms near Wilcox, AZ.

I'm looking forward to a great wildflower spring this year. Here are some photos I took at Lost Dutchman State Park (R.I.P.) a couple of years ago during another great spring bloom.
 

Backpacking by R.C. Rethmel

I found this old backpacking guide a little while back. It's from the 1960's and written by a fellow from New Mexico named R.C. Rethmal. The book is a no-frills, straightforward guide to backpacking. Though old, there's still a lot of great, practical knowledge in the guide and, personally, I appreciate Rethmal's clarity and organization. It's a form of clarity that's been lost in our over-stimulated era of information. The forward to the book closes with, "Well, we were going to talk about backpacking --- so pull up a log, get a little closer, and we will get started." In this spirit, I'll forgo commenting on the book in this post and let Mr. Rethmal's words come through.

Why go backpacking?
"In this 'modern day civilization' it is possible for a person to go from the cradle to the grave and hardly draw a deep breath. He may never have a problem in seeking shelter from the elements, or need to build a fire from natural materials and cook his own food. You can go through life and never experience the fatigue and pleasure of real physical exhaustion. A drink from a cool mountain stream on a hot day, the smell of a pine forest, and the taste of a fresh caught mountain trout are pleasures that are available to practically everyone in reasonably good health, if they will but make the effort and take the necessary initiative. We all need some adventure in our lives, if only for a few days each year. Backpacking is a wholesome, invigorating activity that will provide a physical and mental atmosphere which is a pleasant change from our daily routine."
 
Equipment - #1 - Improvise
"You can easily spend several hundred dollars on special equipment for use in backpacking. On many items, however, you can improvise or "make do" with equipment that is already around your home or with substitute items that are locally available....This book will outline what equipment is desirable in the way of effective and light weight backpack equipment but it will also give particular emphasis to pointing out acceptable substitutes for special (and frequently expensive) equipment. If you keep on with backpacking, you will probably want to replace some of these substitute items with better equipment. It is recommended that you do this gradually, however, and gain some experience and knowledge as you go along, so that you can spend your dollars more wisely."

#18 - The Pack
"The type of hiking, the load to be carried, and the expected terrain are primary considerations in choosing a pack.  Most backpacking for pleasure involves the carrying of 25 to 35 pound loads for substantial distances over reasonably good trails."

Experimenting with Food
"If the cook likes to experiment with new food dishes, that is fine, but he should do his experimenting at home, not on the trail. Most hikers will not appreciate a cook who experiments with food that has been carried deep into a remote area on their backs, over many miles of rugged trails. Cooking any food dish for the first time is an experiment. Neither will hikers appreciate waiting an hour or more for more exotic dishes to cook when adequate, tasty and nourishing food can be cooked in half that time, with proper planning and selections of menus."

Clothing - #1 - General
"Clothing must breathe. This is demonstrated when you wear a pair of rubber hip boots or a rubber slicker on a warm day. Your perspiration cannot escape to the outside and evaporate. Depending upon the amount of exertion, humidity, and other factors, your clothes soon become damp and uncomfortable. Keep shirts and other clothing clean, insofar as practicable, and keep them dry. When clothing becomes sweat or rain soaked it loses a lot of its insulating value. You can easily become chilled when you allow your clothing to get damp."

Safety on the Trail - Part 2  - Causes of Accidents
"It takes some know-how to plan a backpack trip and a daily routine that will take you safely from place to place in the wilderness.  Assuming you have this know-how, of that the leader of the group does have, then the two main contributing causes of accidents on the trail are: (a) getting in a hurry, and (b) allowing yourself to get too tired."

The Earth's Oldest Trees

Trembling Giants, originally uploaded by Michæl Paukner.

Trees can be really, really old. I found this great illustration of the world's oldest trees on Flickr. It's creator, Michael Paukner, is a graphic designer and artist from Austria. He makes lots visual representations of scientific information and his stuff is really cool. Check it out.

The world's oldest trees are not necessarily trees as we think of them. They're not one trunk with branches and leaves that has stood for a million years. The oldest trees are actually clonal colonies, a series of genetically identical individuals deriving from one ancestor. With trees, that means a really old root colony that has continually produced shoots over millennia. Pando, the worlds oldest "tree" is actually an aspen colony in Fishlake National Forest in Utah. It's estimated to be 80,000+ years old. It also happens to be the world's heaviest living organism. It doesn't look like a tree - it's an aspen stand, a group of trees.

The world's oldest single tree was a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) named Prometheus. It grew in Nevada was chopped down in 1964. Its rings revealed it to be 5000 years old. The current record holder is also a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine. This one's named Methuselah and it grows in California. Its exact location is a secret so no idiots will cut it down. PBS and Nova have a great site on Methuselah and bristlecones here.