Two Birdbaths & Two Birthdays

There were two birthday celebrations last week...but business first.

I made two bird baths in the first week or so of June.



The first one has a base with a natural split stone surface and a polished channel that leads the eye upward to the basin.  It measures 24" x 22" x 35" high and weighs approximately 1,000 lbs.

The basin has a polished cubic form that emerges from the natural

rock-pitched matrix.  It has an overflow channel in alignment with the vertical channel in the base.  The bush textured bowl has radial cuts that add visual interest.

The other birdbath's pedestal has a layered look that was created with a diamond saw.  The depth of the layers are in a gentle geometric progression - slightly thicker layers in the middle where it waists inward.  It measures 30" x 20" x 34" high and weighs approximately 350 lbs. 

The top is an eclectic array of polished faces, like clusters of crystals.

Friday June 15 was my 51st birthday.  I didn't have any solid plans.  Meg and I took off in the car and we found ourselves at a new road cut near Flaherty, KY.  We found a number of flint balls.   While collecting rocks, we were spotted by some friends - Shannon Mitchell honked at us and Eddie Franke and Loretta Young stopped and chatted as they were on their way to Bardstown for a Civil War Re-enactment. 

There were quite a few of these Iron Pyrite cubes in the rock cut.  I don't think Meg was too impressed with them - she called them 'rock ticks'.

Then, on a lark, we went to Kentucky Stonehenge in Munfordsville, KY.  I'll make a whole new post to cover that portion of the day.

On the way home from Munfordsville, we took an unexpected side trip through Glendale, KY.  It's a real cool little town with lots of historic buildings.  It's worth a visit.

My Birthday supper was Korean food in Radcliff.  Before heading home, we swung into the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery between Radcliff and Fort Knox to check out the memorial by Rich Griendling.  These are life-size cut outs in 1 inch thick steel plates.

Hidden behind a solid plate is the life-size bronze of what they call "the old man".  (all photos above are copyright 2012 Meg White).

June 16 was Tom Mitts' 50th birthday, held at his house in Newport, KY.  Left to right: Tom, John Kaiser, Paul Breslin, and 'your's truly'. (photo courtesy Newport Police Dept.)