Ebony & Ivory...

...live together in perfect pine-scented harmony. This lyrical sculpture was found in a wide field between two homes.

The oversized keys are made of wood, but the cast-iron frames and taut metal strings are authentic.

Behning & Sons, established in New York City in 1861, was known for building high quality, expensive pianos. Their success was dampered by the Great Depression - a sad coda, for sure - and the firm was sold to Kohler & Campbell, who continued producing pianos under the Behning name into the 1950s.

I often wonder about the oddities I find here in the Catskills. So many of them are objects that have found a second, sometimes altered, life. Who was the artist that constructed this....was he or she a musician? What happened to the original piano? And who was its first owner? All sorts of scenarios pop into my head over the provenance of such an item, which strikes a decidedly odd and mysterious chord in my imagination.

He knows.

Pay no attention to the freakish old elf giving you the side eye. May all your days be merry and bright!

Peace and Love from Upstate Oddities

I Know Why the Caged Cow Moos

The caged cow moos with an anguished moan
of the things unknown on a faraway farm,

and her tune is heard in the distant barn
for the caged cow moos for milking.

with apologies to Maya Angelou :-)

What's cookin'?

I've always been amazed by imaginative uses for obsolete objects. Like this marvelous melding of a vintage fridge with a classic car seat. Surely this is coolest couch you'd ever want to plant your tush on, is it not? (source)

Or how about grandpa's suitcases put to use as a bedroom bureau?
Old-timey chicness!  (source)

Since I'm forever stumbling across dusty old discards in these even older mountains, I can't help but imagine a second life for them. This sweet stove must have roasted tons of turkey in days gone by...

...and most certainly the last of its pie-baking days are over. But why consign it to the garage of misfit appliances? Its sad little face is just begging for another shot at being loved - I say repurpose it!

What would you cook up and create?

Happy Thanksgiving to you all...and thank you for popping in at Upstate Oddities!

Mistaken Identities

I really need to wear my glasses more often. While I was coming out of the Phoenicia Pharmacy, I saw my boyfriend, John, in his familiar gray hoodie reading the menu of Sweet Sue's with his back to me. I went in for the tush squeeze (really, who could resist?) only to startle a man who was distinctly NOT John. Same gray hoodie, same body type, but once he turned around, clearly Asian...and clearly shocked. Mortified, I saw John way down the block, standing behind what I thought was my Honda Element. Again, another mistaken identity. I have a few bumper stickers on my car, but not this degree of sticker shock!

We spent a few minutes reading them all, while I contemplated never showing my face in Phoenicia again.
Yes, that's me (in glasses!) being reflected alongside John, sans his hoodie.