So I was a little late today - less than an hour to spare!
This is my grandfather's wood hook, suspended on a ceiling hook in my house.
Today I shot several uninteresting photos of my hand, candle toppers, what extra virgin olive oil looks like when you mix it with milk, and even a couple of my tongue. I was going for texture. Believe me when I tell you that this shot is way better than the one of my tongue!
What you may not know is that I live in 1/2 of a giant farmhouse that is almost 300 years old. Yep, built before the American Revolution. My half of the farmhouse has a giant fireplace with an old beehive oven on the side, similar to what you would see in an old musuem. There is also quite a large stone hearth. In the olden days, they used to suspend two sturdy hooks from the ceiling before the fireplace. The fireplace was kept going 24/7 as it was used for cooking and baking as well as for heat. In the summer, they would hang their their herbs to dry from the hooks. In the winter, they would suspend a wooden dowel between the hooks and hang quilts before the fire to warm them up before going to bed. Other times, they would hang fresh kill (pig or deer, etc.) before the fire to bleed out on the stone hearth and smoke the meat in order to preserve it (no refrigerators back then).
When the house was refurbished about 60 years ago, only one of the hooks in the ceiling could be saved. In the summer, I do still use the ceiling hook to hang herbs from the garden to dry, but since winter came to town I've been hanging my grandfather's wood hook. He worked in the woods for many years, and used the hook to wrestle logs into place so they could be skidded out of the woods by tractor, and then onto a log truck to the paper mill. He also used it when hauling the lumber used to build the house where I spent many a happy holiday over the years. Have you ever picked up an object that just felt right in your hands? This wood hook just feels good when I hold it, smooth and warm, and worn just perfectly in all the right places. It makes me smile to see it, hanging there and ready for use once more.
For my Grampa.
8 comments:
Woah.. what a creative and interesting angle. It's almost unsettling, in a good way.
It's so neat to be able to read stories with photos. I totally want to see photos of your house! Am I to picture you all Little House on the Prairie style with an apron and lantern or what?
Also, I need a hook handle like that to haul myself out of bed in the morning.
Cool composition and angle of the shot! Really a neat shot, and a fascinating subject. I'm so enamoured of antique tools...I think they're just too cool.
Cool angle - and I love the story behind it! Can't wait to see some photos of your house. Maybe start with the fireplace? It must have so much character!
What a wonderful bit of history you've given us. Great perspective on the hook, and though it's been said, looking forward to more picture from your place!
And maybe, you can put up that picture of your toungue at some point ;)
Very cool, as one who has used those hooks though, let me say your story makes it sound much mroe fun than it actually is, LOL! Love the story with the pic concept, very cool! Excellent use of DOF also, and yes I love tools that have that feel to them!
Mike
What a great story to accompany the photo for today. I like the dof and warm tones of the photo. Nicely done!
Nice DOF and angle, such a simple shot that you made very interesting. Great story as well. Awaiting photos of your house, it sounds so wonderful.
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