Thursday, August 27, 2009

Friday Photo Shootout -

Incongruous: discrepant, unsuitable, ridiculous, ludicrous, absurd. (per Dictionary.com)
A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged; it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (Shamelessly stolen from a comment to another blog)

I've been looking forward to this post all week. I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph. Then I went to Victoria the other day, and I had to amend my plans. I will still show you Nanaimo's incongruous spectacle, but first you must see what I found in Victoria's Beacon Hill Park. (By the way, check out the colour of the grass. A little rain would be much appreciated!) We were driving through the park, looking at the fountains, the green grass, and the beds of flowers in the centre of the park. On our way out, in the middle of a field of knee-high grass, we found these fellows. They were not only incongruous, they were noisy.



Fortunately, I was driving - so I was able to pull over at a moment's notice, leap out of the car, and walk across the field to take a picture of the drummers in the grass. Then my niece got out of the car and walked to the edge of the field, where she stood to take a picture of me taking a picture of the drummers in the grass. Our husbands stayed in the car, shaking their heads. A man - a total stranger - came along and said that he was tempted to take a picture of my niece taking a picture of me taking a picture of the drummers in the grass. Incongruity heaped upon incongruity...

And now I come to Nanaimo's contribution:

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.


You'll note that Masefield's wish list did include a grey mist on the sea's face, which leads me to believe that he considered water an essential part of his dream trip. Not so this Nanaimo sailor, who has seen fit to erect a ship - "The Pirate Ship", we call it - in his back yard.



I've never seen anyone actually trying to sail the ship, but I imagine the lord of the manor, transformed at intervals into the swaggering captain of his ship. Can't you just picture him standing in the bow, brass telescope raised to his eye, shouting "Ahoy there, you landlubbers!" and scouring the sea (or the Strait of Georgia, which is about half a mile away) for enemy ships? Maybe he's expecting a really high tide.

For more examples of incongruity, visit Friday My Town Shootout here.

25 comments:

Kat Mortensen said...

The picture of the drummers looks as if you're on safari (with the savannah grasses) and are experiencing the rare sighting of an elusive animal. How bizarre!

Kat

Unknown said...

Great photos! For some reason the ship puts me in mind of the sea captain in "Mary Poppins"!

Sandra Leigh said...

Kat, I figure Mom threw them out of the garage, and they figured that the middle of Beacon Hill Park was far enough from home to be safe.

John, don't you love those eyes? I'm trying to remember what they remind me of - some cartoon character. Road runner?

gigi said...

I just love the drummers, that's just to cool :)

Sandy said...

That takes the cake. Awesome picture!!

Anonymous said...

great shots. My son is a drummer and I could picture him playing in the field.

Sandra Leigh said...

Hello, gigi, Denise and Sandy. Denise, I once shared a house - briefly - with a drummer. It was nearly 40 years ago. My ears are still ringing. I was so grateful when my son chose to learn the cello!

Pauline said...

Love your drummers in the grass - and the ship! BUT, even more than that, I've been to that park and to Nanaimo. Why have I never noticed that's where you live? My daughter lived in Victoria for 5 years or so and I visited twice, once in spring and once in autumn and visited Nanaima both times - don't know which was the more beautiful.

Anonymous said...

LOL - oh did you do a great job with this assignment!

I especially enjoyed your commentary. :)

Kerri said...

Great stories and photos this week. Thanks for stopping by.

Sheila said...

My sister just moved to Victoria. She's always incongruous so she should fit right in. As for the ship, Mary Poppins is exactly right.

Bagman and Butler said...

I loved the drummers in the field. Wish there was audio.

Sara Diana said...

Thanks for leaving your comment on my shoot out, really appreciate it.

Your shoot out really really made me laugh. The thought of the photos of your neice taking a photo of you taking a photo of some drummers in the middle of nowhere and the guys shaking their heads. I really felt as though I was there with you!

Great pictures!

RedLan said...

I can imagine you took a shot of the drummers and your niece was taking a picture of yourself. I wish you share that photo. Anyways, Great photos indeed. Thanks for sharing!

Mary said...

You have wonderful photos for the topic this week. You just couldn't go looking for drummers in a field any old day, could you?

J9 said...

I love both shots this week! The drummers outstanding in the field (or perhaps out, sitting in the field) made me smile, but the pirate ship took my imagination on a sail! I imagine monds of kids at play on, in and around it, or really wild theme parties at night! Or maybe he is a practical sort waiting for the flood?

kent.. said...

Great photos and storyline. The ship is amazing. Once I clicked on the picture and could see more detail, I can understand why he would be reluctant to take it to sea. woodwork is too beautiful, and the sea would just beat it up, like it does with all ships. Truly incongruent though to have a ship in your backyard with no intention of going to sea. But to find the drummers by accident on your way to shoot the ship, that's just too cool.

Kathryn Magendie said...

Oh, I love this post...the photo, the poetry...the photo of the photo of the photo takers, the Aye, Ye Mates! ship -everything!

Kerry said...

These are really amazing, both of them! Drummers in the grass and a sort of flying ship, ala Swiss Family Robinson: crazy!
Sandra, after I proposed the topic of "Circles," GingerV (one of "The Team") said that I should ask you if you would like to have "Fences" and then I would have circles as a separate topic. Sounds like you had asked for Fences and Circles, but this would split it in two. Are you OK with that? If not, that's fine with me, just askin'! Email address is on my profile.

Sandra Leigh said...

Pauline - yes, I'm very fortunate to have found this place. It is very beautiful.

Jen, Kerri, Sara, Redlan, Mary, J9, Kent and Kathryn, thank you for your kind comments.

Mairi, just how incongruous is your sister?

Butler and Bagman - be careful what you wish for.

Kerry, please check your e-mail.

Harnett-Hargrove said...

Hi,
I love the breaking of the 4th, 5th and 6th wall of the picture taking! I am late with seeing your TT. The bus! -Jayne

GingerV said...

modern version of Noah's ark? great (GREAT) post. the drums in the open field is really good. I would say (I am 3/4 done with reading) that this is the best photo today.

Sandra Leigh said...

Hello, Harnett-Hargrove. Ha! You think you're running late? By the time I get through the TT posts, it will be Wednesday.

GingerV - Thank you so much. I am greatly flattered.

The Unbreakable Child said...

Awesome photos!!! Drummers, cool!
Owe you an email, will get it to you! x0

Carrie said...

I laughed out loud about a guy taking a picture of your niece taking a picture of you taking a picture of the drummers. Very funny.

Believe it or not there are several pirate "ships" parked in driveways in my town. Probably not too many of them are seaworthy - just remnants of Pirate Days, an annual festival we have. It's a bit odd!

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