Ottertail art revealed. Bryn, you're published!!!!

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One day while cleaning the lodge,

I found this stunning hodge-podge

of writings and drawings,

and bits of wood sawings,

on your senses it's quite a barrage...

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I just could not resist the above..... and below lies a collection of items that have been accumulating on a shelf in the Ottertail Lodge. The earliest artifacts that I can be sure of the date would be a drawing of the Lodge dated September 1998. Having recently acquired a scanner, I thought it would be the proper time to publish this conglomeration of art. I have noticed that the collection has not grown much in the last number of years, so I am now considering this to be complete, and it has an honored place in the Lodge. And I should note that this material is from quite a few years ago! Thanks, Bryn, it has been a blast looking through this stuff every once in a while......

I have typed out the verses, as some are not too clearly scanned, and included the original documents as well. All of these items blow up nicely with the click of your mouse......

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I'm not sure who this is, but it might be Bryn's depiction of Rosie heading to the woods on a collection run. Hence the "Gotta get the sap!!!!" thought balloon above.

Back when limericks were king, we collected a few, and other verse styles as well. One year I was complaining about my dull knives and saying that I needed a diamond knife sharpener. That produced a flurry of activity (all these writings are B's that I found and saved).

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I want a diamond knife sharpener

It's really, truly true.

So all you people markin' yer

Christmas lists: "get me 2".

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One morning while sharpening my

deplorable knife supply,

I happend to note

that I haven't to tote,

A diamond knife sharpener-WHY?

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There once was a deer-watcher looking,

for a deer, the venison for cooking,

but after rustling clotheses

and the blowing of noses,

he went insane in a way quite up-shooking.

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A deer by the cornfeeder stop-ped

but at a sudden loud noise he hop-ed

'twas the deer watcher shouting,

his lodge friends a-clouting,

the deer's jaw dropped so low that it lock-ed.

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There was a limerick writer lost his words,

quite like the sky without birds.

So he got out his reader,

from years ago (for the sake o' Peter)

and wrote up how to "whey" all the curds.

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To: M.C. Escher =)

There once was a river called Seine,

which one day got hit by a train.

so it ran up the stairs,

which got it nowheres,

for it found 'up' and 'down' were the same.

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The bit below that verse is a mystery to me. You will have to ask the author about that one....

Super Cat and various other critters and people..

This was pretty early on in Lodge history. That wood pile was only out front like that for one or two years, and the evergreen to the right was the Christmas tree that was in the Lodge. I think we only had a decorated tree out there one year.

Wood projects were ongoing in the Lodge, and this provided some interesting artifacts. The top one is made on a thin strip ripped from the edge of some 5/4 clear white pine, don't remember the project..... the second one is just a drop from crosscutting what I'm guessing is the same type of wood. And the last, a nice trout(?) I believe was drawn on a used paint stir stick, then cut out and presented to the Lodge proprietor.

And here is a view of the backs of two or the previous artifacts. One a little verse:

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Once there was a girl,

who loved to climb trees,

her hair was in curls,

and she always sneezed.

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The back of the fish is signed by the artist and dated:
March 1st, 20003

An early drawing of the Lodge with Bryn, Rosie and me in the doorway (1998).

Miscellaneous critters that inhabit the big woods south of the Lodge (I think).

And my favorite, the Robin Hood caper...... How Do!!

I gotta go, Carlo

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