Plastic Bottle Flowers

My neighbors have trimmed their yard in happy red and yellow flowers.

Front yard 2011
Windy Hill Rd

If you aren't exceeding the speed limit as you drive by, you will discover that my neighbors have ingeniously invented their flowers by painting the bottoms of plastic soda bottles red and yellow and planting them in the ground top-first.

This landscaping approach is so successful (pleasing to my neighbors) that it has been adopted by home and business owners up and down the road.

In case you are wondering why the tree is white at the bottom, farmers traditionally paint the lower trunks of fruit trees to protect the trunks from sunburn and to keep out the bugs. This explanation should suffice until you notice that the tree in the photo is a pine and not a fruit tree. Perhaps it just makes the yard look tidy if you paint the bottoms of the trees white.

Bottle Tree

In the South, folks have been building bottle trees for years and years. All you have to do is to empty a few booze, beer and medicine bottles and place them on the branches of the dead trees in your yard. The light dancing through the glass will create bright patterns in the air and on the ground. The results will be quite cheerful.

Depending on the your whim, your bottle tree can take unusual forms or include out-of the ordinary materials. For instance, the delightful bottle tree below uses rebar for its branches.

Bottle tree at Lake Lanier 2011

View includes the dock house

If you are interested in bottle trees, Felder Rushing has created a fascinating website about the history of bottle trees: http://www.felderrushing.net/HistoryofBottleTrees.htm. He has found some very unusual trees and has gone all over the world documenting bottle trees and their sculptural relatives: http://www.felderrushing.net/BottleTreeImagess.htm.

Many thanks to Uncle Pizza for this well-made example of a jolly bottle tree!

The Hand

Just off I-85 at Piedmont Road is a sculpture of a giant hand.  

The Hand 2012

Garson Dr NE near Lindberg Dr at Piedmont Rd

This sculpture was created as a protest against the modern-day slavery of forced labor and child labor.

Slavery still exists

The materials used to create the outer skin of the sculpture represent items found on the US Department of Labor's List of Top Goods Produced by Forced Labor and Child Labor. The items include: Coffee, cotton, clothing, chocolate, soccer balls, bamboo, lumber, Christmas decorations, rice, brick, toys, shoes and fabric.   

Goods produced by forced and child labor

The Hand was first constructed and displayed as part of the Passion 2012 Conference. Attendees of the conference collected donations to fund the project. They prayed over the pieces of the sculpture, decorated the skin with items representing slave-made goods, and raised it as a call to action. Passers-by are invited to participate by logging onto the website 72 Days For Freedom.

Why The Hand was constructed

Palm and fingers of The Hand

Back of The Hand

Indifference is not an option

Stuffed animals and bamboo

Lumber and shoes

Hand against the sky

Hand and base

Final view of The Hand

Many thanks to Sandy for letting me know about The Hand!

Stone Donuts

I've been asked about the "stone donuts" that decorate many front yards around here. They are old mill stones.  Appealing, rustic, a reference to days past - a nice addition to any landscape... and too heavy to be stolen by the neighbors.

Harris Rd at Church Rd 2012

Dentist's Tree

I was not expecting this. I nearly ran off the road when I first saw it. I think it's brilliant!

Austell Rd at Stallion Rd near the East-West Connector 2004

Local dentists have used the dead tree in front of their office to advertise their business. One side shows a rabbit with a toothbrush.

Close-up of rabbit with toothbrush

Another side of the tree shows a beaver with a snack.

Close-up of beaver with snack

The back side of the tree is signed by the artists (clever critters!).

Signed on the back by the artists

Giant Pencil

Perfectly placed pencil: Grady High School.

The Grady High School Pencil 2004

Charles Allen Dr 

Moss Blacksmith Shop

Next door to the Fickle Pickle in Roswell is the Moss Blacksmith Shop, a real, working blacksmith shop run by Kenneth Moss and his sons, Tim and Ken.  These gentlemen create fine iron sculpture, tools, gates and much more.

Canton St, Roswell 2012

Friends are welcome

Evidence of blacksmithing work - done and waiting to be done - can be found around the property.

Large round saw

Stew pot

Wheel and architectural items

Most delightful to me, however, was the discovery of two little pony shoes embedded in the entranceway.  I felt I had found the thumbprint of the artist.

Pony shoe

The Fickle Pickle

Recently my friends took me to a delightful restaurant, the Fickle Pickle, in Roswell.

The restaurant is located in an old home.

Canton St, Roswell 2012

A large pickle welcomes you at the door and displays the specials.  I recommend the Fried Green Tomato sandwich - tasty!

The pickle

Since my friends would kill me if I included pictures of them demolishing their sandwiches, I have included some shots of the outside of the restaurant instead.

Roof ornament

Kitchen window

Magnificent old tree in the back yard

Many thanks Margaret, Joanne, Janice and Nancy!  I love you guys!

Bear in a Chair

As seen from the road

Frey's Gin Rd at Hwy 41 2012

Sawnee

Statue honoring Sawnee, local leader in the Hickory Log District of the Cherokee Nation. This sculpture is located in front of the visitor center and trail entrance at Sawnee Mountain Preserve.

Sawnee Statue 2012

Spot Rd, Cumming

Many thanks to Sandy for helping me find this wonderful surprise by the side of the road!

Repurposed Plow

Sign for Kelley Collision Center 2012

Dr. Bramblett Rd, Cumming

Roadside Image

Magnolia parts - as seen at the side of the road

Magnolia parts 2011

Mt Cavalry Rd

Athos Menaboni Artwork

One of the world's finest painters of bird life, Athos Menaboni, lived and worked in Atlanta. Kennesaw State University is fortunate to have many of his works in their collection - thanks to the generosity of patron D. Russell Clayton and the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation. Works are on permanent display or shown in special exhibits throughout the year at various venues on the KSU campus.

The photo below is from a large mural depicting Cherokee County.

Detail of a painting showing a Brown Thrasher, Georgia State Bird

Stairwell Messages

What better public place for students to express in writing the truth-known-to-college-students-everywhere than the stairwell of their university's parking garage? After all, a stairwell is really just a great big empty space waiting for an epiphany.

Frey Rd off Chastain Rd 2012

Level 2

Interestingly, the truth on the ground floor is balanced just a few steps higher by a second, and perhaps more telling, truth-known-to-college-students-everywhere.

Level 2 1/2

See Rock City

A popular trend in the region is the use of birdhouses displaying the text, "See Rock City."

See Rock City Birdhouse 2012

Mt Cavalry Rd

This is a trend that goes back to the early 1900s when Rock City (near Chattanooga, Tennessee), was one of the main tourist attractions in the Southeast. Signs saying "See Rock City" were found from Florida to the Canadian border. Even barns had "See Rock City" painted in large letters on their rooves or sides.  In exchange for the advertising, farmers got a free paint job for their barns.

Rock City is still a fun place to visit.  Families (and birds) from all over the country make it a point to stop by on their way through the South.

Down by the Stream

Next door to the deer family, the homeowner has created a bucolic still life.  He has dammed a small stream that flows through his property, planted flowers, and installed a bench and a statue.

Down by the stream 2012

Mt Cavalry Rd 

Closer view of statue

The statue is a seated boy who is presumably fishing.  He is carefully painted with black skin, pink lips, white eyes and a red-and-white outfit... a perfect caricature loaded with meaning from a time long past.  There is no fishing pole.

I assume that the homeowner enjoys looking out over his property, including the still life gracing his front yard.  I imagine that he may occasionally come down from his house to sit on the bench and ponder the natural beauty around him, sharing a pleasant hour with his sculpture.

Or... perhaps not. Perhaps this display is meant to impart a different message, something for those passing by to understand... that not everyone is welcome.

Cement Deer Family

When I stopped to photograph the tractor wheels in the last post, I noticed that the next door neighbor has positioned a pleasant grouping (a family) of cement deer just behind his wire fence.

Deer family group 2012
Mt Cavalry Rd

Someone has gone to the trouble of painting the insides of the deer ears pink. The father deer has antlers that have been painted brown. There is a reddish circle painted on the side of the baby deer.

Closer view of the deer family

Just a few feet away from the deer family, is a porcelain tub or sink, which is currently filled with leaves. Presumably the deer family go for refreshments when not posing for passers-by.