Got Worms?

Day 84: Given the opportunity, most of us collect something, whether it's rocks, stamps, old letters, comic books, antiques, and I'd venture to say that most people have more than one collection. I certainly do. My very first collection began with a single "worm," as I have always called this assortment of worms and caterpillars. In fact, my very first "worm" was the guy in the top hat in the bottom left. My mother gave him to me for my first birthday, with a cactus planted in the hollow in his back. Is it any wonder I have a somewhat prickly nature? It would seem that my destiny was appointed in that first worm. Many of the ceramics in the "Worm Box" are almost as old; I collected at least half a dozen of them before I was old enough for kindergarten. Some have been lost over the years, some replaced, but others gone forever. My foster sister's cat ate one of the tiniest ones. The large character in the lower right was a "house-worming" gift from my husband. You'll see a few birds in the Box, the occasional cat, a couple of sheep, a frog, two dogs I inherited from my uncle Lee, and even a miniature mediaeval harpist less than half an inch tall. However, "worms" dominate the scene. Why worms? I haven't got a clue.

Yellowstone Circa 1915-1925

Day 295: I didn't realize what a rarity I had here until I started trying to research the provenance of these old "penny postcards" after staging the shot to acknowledge a friend who is leaving for Yellowstone tomorrow. The cards and two totem poles were handed down to me from my mother, souvenirs from a family trip taken when she was very young, and I thought he might get a kick out of seeing what the National Park was offering for souvenirs almost a hundred years ago.

The box claims the cards are a "set of fifty," but I count 73, and a fair number of them are imprinted with "Haynes Photo." Only one bears a date, "1916 by Haynes, St. Paul." A few say, "Curtis for N. P. (or Northern Pacific) Ry." and one elaborates, "by Asahel Curtis for Northern Pacific Ry. Co." Digging into Wikipedia, I discovered that the Hayneses (Frank Jay and son Jack Ellis) were photographers for Yellowstone from 1884 until Jack Ellis passed away in 1962. Haynes Guidebooks continued to be published for a few more years following Jack's demise. Frank Jay Haynes was known as Yellowstone National Park's first "official photographer," and his son achieve fame as "Mr. Yellowstone" when he succeeded him.

Top left (slanted): "4293. Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone"
Top center: "4522. Angel Terrace"
Top right (slanted): "10072. Mammoth Hot Springs Terraces" (Haynes)
Second tier (left): "4261. Brown Bear Waiting for Garbage"
Second tier (right): "4314. Official Gardiner Gateway"
Third tier (left): "4504. Ten Minutes for Lunch"
Third tier (center): "4509. Fishing Cone, Yellowstone Lake"
Third tier (right): "4309. Silver Gate and the Hoodoos"
Lower tier (left): "10137. A Buffalo Head" (Haynes)
Lower tier (center): "4500. Handkerchief Pool" (N. P. Ry. Co.)
Lower tier (right): "4511. Old Faithful Geyser by Moonlight" (N. P. Ry. Co.)

My NPS colleagues will no doubt find  a few chuckles in the subject matter here. "Brown Bear Waiting for Garbage" refers to a time when garbage was dumped off in certain areas specifically to attract bears for public viewing. In "Ten Minutes for Lunch," the bear is drinking out of a glass. In "Handkerchief Pool," the ranger drops a handkerchief into the geyser where it is sucked down and then resurfaces some time later.