The Rock

This isn't a blog entry about an old, out of service prison on an island.  Or about an All-Star Wrestler either. This is about the latest addition to our garden decor, as pictured to the right.  It's been sand-blasted, and painted with a butterfly.  We got it the past weekend at an annual festival held in the small town of Oregon, IL which is about 30 miles from us.

The festival is called Autumn On Parade.  It's one time when the small town of Oregon comes alive for three days with arts and crafts vendors from around the country. And when the day is a bright autumn day (as it was this year) it makes for a good trip.  This year Deb bought two decorative chain pulls for ceiling fans, and a really pretty Provencal Garlic grater. It's made of porcelain, grates garlic, carrots, cheese, ginger,  and won't cut your fingers. I've already tried the thing, and it actually does work and isn't too hard to clean.  But without a doubt, the prize of this year was the Butterfly Rock.

The guy that was selling it has a business doing headstones and other stuff out of rock. After telling us way more than we wanted to know about the rock cutting and carving business, Deb asked him how much the butterfly rock was. He said $90. I said we'd think about it. Deb wanted to know how heavy it was, he said about 40-50 pounds and that he'd carry it to our car. I asked him where his shop was so we could come back and look at some more things.  Deb asked him are you sure it's 40-50 pounds? The guy went over to the rock, picked it up. "More like 80-90 pounds!"he said as his face got red.

By now, I knew the rock was going to go home with us, one way or the other. So I looked at other stuff while Deb continued to ask questions.  Before long, she got out her checkbook and wrote him out a check.  We had to wait until the big parade was all over with so we could drive the van to where the rock was. It was way too heavy to bring to the van.  We finally got there, and while Deb got out to direct the guy with the rock (it was on a two-wheeled cart) to where the van was, Deb's teenage son asked me how much the rock was. He couldn't believe that his Mom paid that much for a stupid rock, plus he knew he was the one that would have to unload it.

So now the rock is in the yard, right in front of the big oak tree and will be the focal point of a flower bed we're putting around the tree next year. Mind you, I did have a thought about raising a stink about buying such a stupid thing as a rock, and paying $90 for it. But then my mind flashed to Herbie.  That's him, in the picture to the right, Herbie the Gargoyle. Herbie's just as heavy (if not heavier) than the butterfly rock, a damned sight uglier, and probably was more expensive. When Deb expressed worry that someone might steal the butterfly rock, I told her that if someone really wants the thing, hernia and all, they can have it. Just like Herbie. I've had him for 25 years and while I've had plenty of comments, no one has ever tried to steal him. Well, they may have tried but their back didn't hold out. Granted, the butterfly rock is prettier, but I'll take my chances. I'm sure not going to bring the rock (or Herbie) in every night.

So now the butterfly rock is the envy of the neighborhood and sits in front of the oak tree.   Herbie still stands guard on one side of the front door, and he gets a little uglier every year.  And there's the big ol' welcoming bear carved out of wood that sits on the other side of the front door, a perfect foil for Herbie.  We have to keep them separated. I don't think Herbie likes the bear.

So the butterfly rock is helping to wind up another season for the garden. What in the world will next year bring? I'm already hearing that maybe, perhaps, we should get another rock to put in front of the pine tree on the other side of the yard...