Lately, my mind has let me down when it comes to original ideas. So many times I would awaken with some really fantastic schemes rolling around in my mind. This morning was one of the better ones as far as yielding ideas. They were so good in fact, that I noted them on my phone before they were lost into the ether world. The true test will come when a couple of weeks from now I review my idea list and I still understand what I wrote.
My brain polarity must be at the apogee of its orbit, because I feel very positive, energetic, and ambitious. This is the exact opposite of what I felt for the past seven days. Funny, how things can change so radically in such a short period. I celebrated with a solitary two-mile walk. It felt good.
The challenge will be to capitalize on this burst of energy with positive activity. The plan is to do so. I am studying details of a new challenge to myself. For many years, I have been amused by a device called a “whirligig.” Simply put, the whirligig is a wind driven weathervane. It is believed to be invented in China around 400 BC. Another earlier reference in Wikipedia is to a Sumerian wind driven weathervane dating to 1600-1800 BC. Whirligigs became an early American art form around the time of the American Revolution during the first Green New Deal movement dedicated to preserving air quality by using wind power. Most likely the devices were made by bored farmers, fishermen, during long dark winter hours.
Twenty years ago, I bought a couple of books on the subject fully intending to take it up as a hobby. My new goal is to take on the challenge to become a world expert on whirligig design and manufacture. It is one thing to picture an idea in your mind, it is another to actually implement it. I feel I have the skill needed to make these things, and I am creative enough to be able to invent some new ideas as well. I will begin with pure simplicity to learn the basics and work my way up to complicated designs with multiple movements. The very first effort is on the work bench in my newly remodeled work shop anxiously awaiting to come alive.
Watch this video to learn what a whirley-gig is.
Filed under: Aging, Biography, Education, Hobby | Tagged: Weathervanes, Whirligigs, Wind power |
Fascinating. Thanks for sharing the video. Somewhat like a pinwheel, perhaps on a grander scale?
Will look out for your creative output 🙂
Pin wheels were the origin
Delightful post. Delightful hobby.
Time will tell if I become a master of Whiligig art.