Whirlygigs and Stone Mountain Park

Saturday morning was my weekly woodworkers meeting/demo.  The title of this demo was Whirlygigs.  What the heck is that?  I had no clue, but I knew there was some animation involved.  Boy was I surprised when I got there.  The guy who makes them started about 5 years ago.  He is currently in his mid 70s.  From what I gathered most of what he has done has just been a creative thought that he continues to expand on.  All of the items you see in his displays are carved out of wood.  

This is the first one he did and it's called "Boring Sermon".  It is powered by wind.  When the propeller moves, the preacher's arm goes up and down.

Here is a close up of the sleeping church goers.

This one is also wind powered and the painter's arm goes up and down as though he is painting the church.

This is Santa taking a bath before his big trip.  Again everything is carved from wood.  The little round rug was created using  sawdust and glue.  Then he just painted it with acrylics.  Any time he wants texture, he uses leftover sawdust.  Love it!  Did you see Santa's 'mom' tattoo?

This one has a small power supply.  Santa scrubs his back, soaps his beard, and the duck and ball both move when turned on.

This is a four piece band.  He carved the figures and all the instruments.  Powered with a power supply, all four of the band members move as though they are playing their instruments.  It's pretty amazing to watch when he turns on the music.

A close up of one of the figures.  The blurriness in his arm let's you know that he is in motion right now.

This is  a choir that sings "Joy to the World".  The pianist's arm moves up and down on the piano.  The conductor's arm moves up and down.  the guitarist strums his guitar.

This is a shot of the mechanics underneath that makes the movement possible.  It was a great demonstration.  The creator had no formal training in any of this.  As he puts it, he isn't an engineer or anything, he just thought it all through.  When he gets stuck on how to make something work, he just sleeps on it and waits for the answer.  

 After leaving woodworking, I stopped by the post office then decided to go to Stone Mountain Park.  This park is 5 minutes from my house and other than going there last weekend, when my brother visited, I hadn't been there in over 6 years.  PITIFUL!  I hate when I take for granted the beauty that is right in my backyard.  I vowed to go there at least once every couple of weeks.  Yesterday I was only there for about 30 mins or so, but it was so rejuvenating.

This park is huge.  I won't go into all that is here.  Yesterday I just wanted to be near some water.

The water is pretty clear.

I drove to another section to see more water.

These are pictures from last weekend.  This is the actual mountain.  I've walked up before.  It's a little over a mile to get to the top.  It's a 5 mile hike around the base of the mountain.  There are lots of people walking, biking, and running every day.  It's hard to go there without feeling the need to exercise.

My sister-in-law is taking a picture of the cable cars that will take you to the top.  On a clear day you can see about 45 miles away once you get to the top.

I'm looking a little beat up here.  Too lazy to do much to my hair.  I am trying to take pictures of me while I still look healthy.

Are there places nearby that you keep forgetting to visit?  There is another blog post going up in a little while with a doll photostory.  Don't forget to check back.