Most unusual request

Just about anything can be painted and given a bright new life. 

This past week I was asked to paint an antique hand truck - once used in the pear orchards that proliferate our valley.

This monster of wood and iron must have sat in an orchard for years, judging from the petrified mud stuck in it, to it, around it. yeesh. Oh, plus old grease. Yessir, this beast was a pleasure to clean. Three of us worked for hours on it. One of us watched football. You know who you are.

Pears have long been a symbol of the Rogue Valley. The orchards are shrinking, giving way to wine grapes, but there was a time pears ruled!

 

The 'Naumes' name has long been synonymous with orchards.

This old hand-truck was to be a gift to a member of the Naumes family. It was only natural that pears be painted on it.

 

Picture all that iron encased in rock-hard mud.  

Old farm implements really are works of art. They have a beauty that just isn't found in the shiny new products.

I love the the textures of the old wood and rusty metal together. To my eyes it can't be beat. One of my upcoming projects is an old ladder that has seen better days. Working on the hand truck has made me anxious to get started on it!

Linking to:
the shabby creek cottage

my repurposed life
be different act normal
home stories a to z
miss mustard seed