Unexpected Find in the Woods
So I decided to go check out a trail in a forest nearby. I was told that it was actually wide and stable enough to take a good baby stroller down so it was perfect to take the little one out for a long walk. Generally I can get him to walk for quite a bit on his own, but eventually he gets pooped and needs to get back in the stroller.
About 20-25 minutes into the walk, I veered off on another path that looked interesting. I was a little worried that the trail would be too narrow, but I managed to get the stroller down it with out much effort. After another 15-20 minutes down this trail, I came upon a very random little 'elf' village.
I have no idea how long this has all been here, but judging by how a lot of it is falling apart, I think it might have been a while. I found myself wondering if it was the act of one person, or if multiple people have been adding items over time. It is a real hodgepodge of items to be sure.
I love the random castle there in the back. Because, you know, a castle really goes with the whole aesthetic here. This is the sort of thing that made me wonder if people were bringing things and adding to the scene. Look at me trying to rationalize this nonsensical arrangement.
I mean, we have Santa Claus and the Snow Man for heaven's sake. I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to this. This all brought back memories of when I was a little kid and used to fantasize that all of my toys would come to life after I went to sleep. I used to set up crazy scenes in my room and imagined that after I went to bed, the little world that I made would wake up and go about their days in the economy and environment that I had arranged for them. I have no idea why I did this.
Of course it made perfect sense to paint a rock with a cartoon skunk and put it along with the village. This kind of reminds me of the randomness of Toon Town on Roger Rabbit. That actually gave me nightmares when I was a kid. You know, when the real people drove through the tunnel and entered Toon Town? That was the exact moment when I realized that no, I don't want to live in cartoon land.
As you can see, the entire village is protected by an impenetrable wooden fence. It must come in really handy to keep out all of the miniature predators that lurk around these woods at night. This reminds me of that Will Ferrel movie about the Eurovision contest. When he went to that little elf hut and was attacked by that bad guy who fell down dead. When Will Ferrell looked at his body, there was a tiny little knife in his back, and the he looked back and saw the elf hut door close. That shit made me laugh for like 10 minutes.
The scene comes complete with a swinging ladder that both leads to nowhere, and is completely impossible for any of the residents to reach. My apologist mind says that this is a result of a hurricane which destroyed most of the ladder and whatever structure it used to lead to.
Well that was an interesting little find. My son had a blast looking around this thing. His eyes got super big when he saw it since it stood out from all the surrounding plant life. I had to stop him from wrecking the place though. I will be interested to see if it is still there, or looks different the next time I take a trip down this hidden trail!