When I was a child, my parents purchased an old but formerly grand small hotel in cottage country. After one season in that strange structure with a giant kitchen and tiny winding staircases, creaking floorboards and peeling white paint, my father had that sad hazardous fire trap of a building torn down and worked with an architect to build a modern winterized cottage in it's place.
One thing I remember distinctly from one of the drawing rooms in the place was the two mounted Stag Heads on the wall. They had been there for decades likely, with sad looking glossy glass eyes and majestic raised heads. I am not now nor have ever been a fan of taxidermy. I don't know anyone who actually owns a gun, much less hunts, and I care far more for the ecosystem and all it's creatures to ever dare approve of hunting for sport alone. But there is something very rustic and traditional about having these sorts of items in a cabin or cottage setting.
Our family, though no longer cottagers, still has one of those mounted stags, long ago named 'Charlie". It resides in my sister's family Ski Lodge, with a place of honor. It reminds us to respect the animals, wild and otherwise around us, and makes us aware that the number of those majestic animals is in serious decline.
However you feel on the subject, you cannot deny that sometimes a little reminder of the traditions of the past, the whimsical side of our natural environment is often something we are missing. We mostly live in the city and rarely see wild animals, unless you consider the odd squirrel or chipmunk, even a raccoon raiding your garbage bin 'wild'. Today's strange stuff post takes a fun look at a much more magical 'faux' taxidermy that while strange to some, definitely has it's share of charm. Check out these wonderful offerings and consider if there is a place in your home for a little faux friend on the wall.
