Disappointing Trip to the Scrap Yard

Sigh…

I really wanted to make more wind vanes in the Galaxy series this week, but I've used up all my good shapes. So, even though I probably shouldn't be spending any cash on sculpture supplies just this week I jumped in my wheels and roared off to my favorite scrap yard.

Sadly, the pile where all the cool bits live had been sent off to the smelter. With the price of steel at an all-time high, the yard has found new inspiration to ship stuff out as quickly as possible. They even got all the bits I had kind of hidden for later by the back fence. The ground was picked bone dry. I'm actually kind of amazed to see how clean those big crane magnets can get the place.

Which is not to say that there wasn't anything interesting to be found… It's kind of like going to the grocery store when you're hungry. You really have to watch your impulse control. I wound up with some nice big sheets of copper which are usually quite hard to come by, and some brand new angle iron that will be useful for framing mosaics. Oh, and some very groovy bits of farm machinery that will make beautiful legs for chairs or a short table.

But what I really wanted was pieces for more Galaxy sculptures. I have this vision, see,  of lining the entire roadside here with great spinning sculpture. Between that, and discovering yesterday that I had let an entire tank of oxygen bleed out by forgetting to close the torch tanks I'm in a bit of a mood.

The owner of the scrap yard was very cool about saying he would set stuff aside when it came in if I told him what to look for, so at least I'll be able to keep my supply of circles up. But the more unusual bits that make the wind vanes are sort of difficult to describe since no one is the same as another. I'm not too optimistic about turning the selection process over to someone else… I guess it might all work out if I can get him to just call me when the trucks come in.