Thursday, April 06, 2006

vintage



It seems we are not allowed more than one day of sunshine in northern Illinois. Today we are back to depresseing greyness. At least the grass is greening up after the last rain, but there doesn't seem to be anything interesting to photograph.

And so, I'm forced into a barn for subject matter. This interesting piece hangs in the barn at Peck Farm Park and looks all the world like a tribal necklace. And for the life of me, I have no idea what equipment this might have been a part of.

It does illustrate how everyday items can take on the aura of art.

I will title this piece, "Vintage Farm Cast-Off".

5 comments:

Tim Rice said...

Zanne, I like your cultural comparison - like a tribal necklace. Sure would be a heavy one! :)

sugarcreekfarm said...

It reminds me of a chain on an elevator, the kind used to move hay bales from the hay rack into the hay mow. There'd be one or two guys on the rack, placing bales on the elevator. Those little rectangle things would "catch" on the bale and pull it up. At the top of the elevator, which was inside the mow, the bale would simply drop off the top end. The guys in the mow would grab them and stack. Being in the mow was the hottest, dustiest job!

When dh was growing up, his foster dad did custom baling so this is what dh spent most of his summers doing.

Now we bale most of our hay in the large rounds, but my brother and dh still buy a load of squares once a year. They rarely bale their own squares anymore.

Suzanne said...

Yes! I think you're right. After I thought about it for awhile it occurred to me that it looks alot like part of the equipment used to move corn up into the corn cribs. It's a kind of chain pulley system. But those have scoops attached where those rectangle pieces are. Now my curiosity will get the best of me until I get over to the crib and photograph that system!! There are still a few places around here that bale squares. I love to watch them bale a field and especially the first mow.

Tim - It's just that I've been rading too many anthropology texts and watching too much Survivor!!

srp said...

My uncles would know this, my cousins would know this. Let us know if you find out.

Anonymous said...

Looks like the chain off of a manure spreader to me. Except there would be a long L shaped piece of metal that would hook onto each of those bulky metal pieces of the chain. The chain would turn and the L-Bar would push the manure to the back of the wagon and a series of beaters would fling it out into the field (and sometimes onto the driver).