Tuesday, April 12, 2011

R.I.P. Rooty caterpillar

You might remember my very first attempt at yarnification, back in February. . . a young caterpillar called Rooty, whose prime purpose in life was as a Health and Safety officer in the hospital grounds, drawing attention to a tree root jutting out into the path.
Rooty caterpillar, freshly hatched
His secondary purpose was to bring smiles to the faces of all who walked his way. Various people told me that he did indeed make them smile, and happiness was mine. . .

Imagine my sadness when I walked along the "Caterpillar Path" to work yesterday morning to discover this sight. . .
Rooty had been taken from his tree root, but that was not all. I could have lived with that, with only a moderate amount of distress. However, in a seemingly pointless act of eco-vandalism, the tree root has been ripped out of the ground on both sides of the path and is now much more hazardous to clumsy or distracted pedestrians than it ever was, even pre-Rooty. Maybe Rooty himself could be described as eco-vandalism, but not in my opinion, obviously! No tree roots were harmed in the hatching of Rooty. . . they just got a bit of protection from the elements and stumbling feet.

Why? Why? That's what I keep wondering. Why would someone rip a tree root right out of the ground? I don't know. The exposed tree root is now approaching 2 metres long whereas it was previously only about 30 cm. In an attempt to give me something positive to focus on, one of my colleagues challenged me to knit a snake cosy for the 2 metre long tree root. I might just do that!

The chainlink fence hearts were also removed in the same strike - I found a bunch of red fluff on the ground nearby, but not so much as a scrap of lime green acrylic anywhere to be seen. Rooty seems to have just evaporated!

I guess I could say Rooty "had a good innings" - 2 months is not a short life for a caterpillar. He had become a bit droopy in later life, but at least he was still cheery!

R.I.P Rooty, you started a local yarny revolution!! Look at this beautiful flowery doorknob cosy, put in place at work by my Accomplice recently. . . if it hadn't been for Rooty, this flower would never have bloomed!!

5 comments:

  1. That's dreadful that someone could just destroy it all like that

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  2. It's good he was there for as long as he was.. I am planning my first Yarn bombing for International Yarn Bombing Day and I have serious doubts that things will stay in place for even a day :-)

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  3. Oh no! Poor Rooty :(
    Don't let some mean-spirited person put you off. We will be hunting for more of your work on our next visit :)

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  4. It's terrible that someone would just needlessly destroy your work like that AND damage a tree in the process :( That makes me really sad. Go for the knitted snake idea and don't let one heartless, mean-spirited person get you upset!!

    xxx

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  5. Thanks Jenny, JacBer, Joanne and Laura for your comments. I guess at the end of the day Rooty was only a bunch of icky yarn and a tennis ball, but he used to make me and lots of others smile. What upsets me most is how the tree root has been ripped out of the ground, but yes, eventually I think I will snake-ify it, as my colleague suggested. In the meantime I really appreciate your kind comments, so thank you. . .
    JacBer, I hope your Yarnbombing lasts well past International Yarnbombing Day!

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