George B voted Boldest action of Teecycle.org's challenge 'give something old a new life.'

Category: The Environment
Sponsor: Teecycle.org
Action: Give something old a new life
Blurb: "I went exploring in the forest, found a massive gear in what I can only assume was a logging machine, and have now made it into an ornament!"
Bold Votes: 11

George's thoughts:
A dear friend of mine decided that we should go hiking one day after a trip to a local farmers' market. Admittedly, I was skeptical, my friend having a reputation for frightening and dangerous excursions, but I was feeling particularly adventurous that day, and so I decided to follow him along. Twenty minutes of driving later, we had gone past a derelict lumber yard, and had traversed our way down a winding road that led into a pleasantly remote forest grove. My hopes, at this point, were reasonably high.

Further walking into this grove, and then over a rusting chain-mail fence, led us into what I can only describe as a machinery grave-yard. Massive logging machines stood abandoned all around us, with gigantic rusting appendages reaching towards the sky like the limbs of dying men. It was quite a sight. After some initial exploring around the small field, we began looking more closely at these machines, when I stumbled upon this gear jutting out of the sand. It was large and rather rusty, but immediately it grabbed my attention.

Taking it from the yard seemed, rather than stealing, something of an act of protective anthropology, or perhaps even archaeology. This gear was a reminder, not only of the destruction that these machines had wrought on the forest (that was now quickly taking back over), but also the ingenuity and drive of humans to overcome their natural environments. Upon bringing it home, I gave it a small wash and it now sits on my bedside table as an ornament/bookend. I'm hoping to find another one soon to compliment this little fellow!