This morning on our way back to Leeds from our b&b in Bowness in the Lake District, we went to Tarn Hows, a lake 2 miles northeast of Coniston.
Walking around the lake we came upon this felled tree which for some bizarre reason, had been used as a money tree by hundreds of passing visitors.
From this distance it looks like cuts have been made in this tree but those aren't cuts. Oh no, those are coins. Coins embedded into the tree.
And here is the proof.
Most were pennies and I suppose they might as well be shoved into a tree as you can't even get a 'penny chew' with one these days.
It certainly made for an interesting curiosity and it could be argued that it deserves a place in an art gallery as why is it any less of an art exhibit than a pile of bricks.
Bricks with no money in them !
The Italians can have their three coins in a fountain. We've got hundreds in a tree !
That's class.
From this distance it looks like cuts have been made in this tree but those aren't cuts. Oh no, those are coins. Coins embedded into the tree.
And here is the proof.
Most were pennies and I suppose they might as well be shoved into a tree as you can't even get a 'penny chew' with one these days.
It certainly made for an interesting curiosity and it could be argued that it deserves a place in an art gallery as why is it any less of an art exhibit than a pile of bricks.
Bricks with no money in them !
The Italians can have their three coins in a fountain. We've got hundreds in a tree !
That's class.
And will archaeologists of the future find a pile of strangely bent coins there, when the tree's rotted away? If so, I bet they'll spend ages making up theories about strange 21st century rituals involving coins: and all the theories will be wrong, I expect!
ReplyDeleteI'd go out on a limb and say you wooden have shoved a penny in that tree.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. That tree is very bizarre. How did the practice get started? Why did it continue? (For more questions, see my comment on Daphne's blog.)
ReplyDeleteHey - now this was a cool find!!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun! I love it. Thanks for this post Ian!
ReplyDelete