It’s not everyday that you come across a conceptual hot dog and so I couldn’t resist recording this image. What follows next are some recent river treasures I’ve discovered on my wanderings throughout the Falls of the Ohio State Park. We haven’t had any flooding recently which is the easiest and quickest way to find stuff. I still subscribe to the theory that the objects you are meant to find call you on a subliminal level. I will happen by some spot and for some unvoluntary reason will look down and there “it” is! Here are a few more lucky finds courtesy of the cosmos.
The majority of what I’m going to present in this post are toys. Take for instance this bright yellow toy truck that rode in with the river’s waves and nearly buried itself in the sand. The yellow color practically screams!
For those of you who occasionally follow this blog might recognize that I have photographed many of the petrol containers that I have come across. Those images can be found in my special collections area under the About section. To me, gasoline is one of those substances that define the times we live in. By far, this is the smallest such container I’ve come across and has a treasured place on my windowsill with other favorite finds.
For awhile there was this pirate craze inspired by the Johnny Depp movies and I can recall my sons and nephews being enamored by the Jolly Roger. I came across this plastic skull mixed among the driftwood and after taking its picture…picked it up and dropped it into my collecting bag.
There’s a nice patina forming on this Tasmanian Devil character head. The use of popular cartoon characters to sell stuff is a tried and true marketing strategy. I will guess that this is the screw on cap to a bottle of children’s shampoo? I’m surprised that I found this mingled with the neutrally colored driftwood since it doesn’t possess a color that screams at you.
Honestly, I’m not sure what this is? Yes it’s a toy, but from what cartoon series? For now, I’m just calling it a yellow plastic “star” toy. It’s quite small and the grains of sand speak to that. Anyone have a guess?
I have a collection going of these small plastic figures meant for the smallest among us. After so many years, it still disarms me somewhat to find toys meant for toddlers and babies mixed with the driftwood. It makes me feel as though there are unsupervised kids playing by the river which in our hyper fearful times seems inexplicable. Here’s something else…
I find many toys meant for infants such as teething rings. This one features a leaping happy cow with colorful plastic keys. Now all this stuff is what can be found on the surface of the driftwood. In places the deposited wood can be several feet thick and you just know that scattered in between those layers are more potential discoveries.
I also have a penchant for photographing lost footwear. I believe this is one of the two smallest shoes I’ve come across thus far. I nearly saved this one for “The Shoes You Lose” collection, but couldn’t wait to post it!
This could be either some exotic blue fruit or seed pod…or potentially a prickly chew toy for your dog? I’m leaning towards the dog toy idea.
As doll heads go…this one isn’t as frightening to me. It’s very cheaply made and the painted blue eyes aren’t very convincing. Over the years, I have found many, many dolls and doll parts. Practically every time I visit the river I find a doll arm or leg. The frequency never ceases to amaze me. To end this post, here’s the latest image. I found this plastic hubcap for an expensive and real truck and liked the play of light over its surface. Seems like it should be made of metal? Well, dear readers…where ever you go…happy finds to you! I’ll bet you have found a few interesting items in your corner of the world?
Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog 
Great finds as usaul Al, I like the idea of there being more treasures lieing between the layers of driftwood – and also the randomness of these finds! I still can’t get over how babys toys end up in the river either – perhaps they’re dropped from a boat or something… (no, more likely just dumped delibrately over the side with rubbish).
I love the skull and the tiny shoe and the BRIGHT yellow truck, but the one that stands out for me is the cow (teething ring) that jumped over the moon – and landed in the river………..I find that very eerie.
Yes, the lost toys still get to me. I remember vividly as a toddler leaving a cherished plush monkey toy on a train in Amsterdam and not being able to retrieve it. Once I had a dream that it was still on that train going around and around the city in perpetuity.
[…] (like todays post) it is influenced by a comment someone has made. The comment was made on artistatexit0′s great blog. The post was about found objects – a lot of them being toys. This brought […]
I was thinking the same thing about toddlers near the river before you mentioned it in your blog. Creepy.
cinderella shoe might be in there too!
i make bag chains out of drift wood
and will be working a curtain out of it too
🙂
Such small and colorful objects. Even the youngest amongst us leaves such tracks that surface in Natural places. Water surely carries every thing possible, doesn’t it?
Oh that tiny yellow shoe—O!
Great post, Al. Thank you.
In contrast to you, I ‘find’ moths and butterflies ‘dead’ on my walks–some times I notice them unmarked on the bare ground of a path, some on asphalt among cars, some on sidewalks or the edges of streets. Some I gather up. Others I transport to a group of plants nearby where they can continue the process of ‘decay/recycling’ in relative peace. Unlike your discoveries, mine ‘disappear’ very quickly unless placed in plastic containers.