July 9, 2013

The Guardian Bozeman, Montana 2013

I always called these things gargoyles, but then just read that it’s more correctly called a grotesque; the term gargoyle being reserved for grotesques that function as rain spouts. Grotesques and gargoyles are traditionally thought to ward off evil and otherwise protect those it guards. We placed this grotesque on a boulder along a trail that runs through the woods up back of our house several years ago. Time has not made it any less grotesque. Given their protective powers, what is this one guarding us against? Well, these days I wished it scared off the spruce bud worms that have been attacking our trees relentlessly. Alas it doesn’t seem to be doing the job as they keep coming back each spring. So far though it seems to be doing a good job preventing forest fires and a host of other maladies we haven’t been visited with (yet).]]>