Though he carved and painted all kinds of animals, including a Noah's ark with animals marching in two by two, my grandpa by far preferred to create birds. On my parent's 3-season porch is a giant eagle with a wingspan of 3-4ft. In the family room, is a large owl like the picture above, perched on a tree branch with glass eyes. Another of his favorites was to take a real tree twig and attach carvings of miniature birds making the twig a full-size tree by scale. After his death in 2005, each of us grandkids took home a carved duck. Mine sits on the floating shelves in our living room.
Probably the bird that he carved the most, however is a wild goose.
He just loved these birds. In my grandparents yard, there were standing carvings of geese that were so realistic that I often looked out the window and thought they were real.
The gym of the Hyatt where I work out each morning before work has floor to ceiling windows that face McCormick Place Square over the roof of the Regency Ballroom. While running this past week, there's been a pair of wild geese hanging out on the roof every morning. They waddle around together, pick at the grass planted on our "green" roof, and occasionally fly a lap around the square before landing back on top fo the ballroom. Every time I see these two geese, I think of my grandparents. It makes me think that if they were to come back to earth, they'd want to come back as a pair of geese. No cares in the world, just flying, and enjoying each other's time, my grandpa finally experiencing the world of the animal he spent so much time creating over his lifetime.
In other news, I'm writing on a new Macbook after dumping a bowl of Corn Chex my old one. What a waste. $1500 on my newly paid off credit card for the new computer, file transfer, external hard drive, and Geek Squad 2-year service and insurance plan. I figured if I would've had that the last time, I wouldn't be paying for the replacement. Why is it that every time you think you might be getting ahead, something has to happen to take you two steps back?
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