Usually, whenever there's a natural disaster clean up crews are dispatched and dozers clean up the mess and it's hauled to landfills and such. On September 13, 2008 Hurricane Ike came ashore in Galveston and covered most of Galveston in a tidal surge. The combination of powerful winds and pounding surf uprooted and/or killed thousands of the city's oak trees. The Galveston Tree Conservancy along with hundreds of volunteers worked to ensure most if not all, Galveston's trees were kept out of landfills. Over 100 tons of wood were kept to be used to restore a whaling ship, and another 200 tons were shipped to Malaga Spain, to be used in the completion of a replica brig, The Galvestown, there, while tons of other wood was used for local projects. But there's more....many of the left over stumps were kept in place and local artisans carved sculptures using the stumps as a pallette. There is a walking tour, although I believe it's more of a driving tour, around the downtown area to see these works of art. We found them really interesting. The detail was impressive.
What could be more fitting than a fire hydrant carved outside the Galveston Fire Department?
Adjacent to the fire house is this Dalmatian. Jasmine did her best to copy the pose.
This toad sitting on a stump was great! Notice the small turtle at the base of the stump.
This "tree" had birds of prey on all its' branches.
Like a treasure hunt, we found this great dane looking over this fence.
All kinds of interesting things here. I see a mermaid, several dolphins and a clam shell.
Elvis lives !
This geisha in the front represents the homeowner's trips to Japan and love of the Orient. The angel carving in the background is not rooted in the ground. It was the top of the tree from which the geisha was carved.
This yellow Lab was watching over the front yard of this home.
We found these three pelicans behind the Mosquito Cafe. Funny name for a cafe, but....
This is a close up of the pelican you can hardly see in the above picture.
In Sherman Park you'll find this sculpture of a grandmother reading to her grandchildren. The detail in this sculpture was outstanding. There's Humpty Dumpty on top, the Cheshire Cat, Lion King and more.
A mermaid holding a clamshell represents good luck.
Here's a pelican doing what they do best...he's holding a fish in his beak.
My favorite from the Wizard of Oz...The Tin Man and ToTo. We're not in Kansas, that's for sure.
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