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MENEHUNE BOOK
THE
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THE MENEHUNE BOOK Handiworks of Don Graydon at the Graydon Reserve
51303 Avenue A
PO Box 166
Index, Washington 98256
360-793-9148
dongraydon@gmail.com
www.graydonreserve.wordpress.com
Published November 2012
Front Cover: 18 Rocks (2006)
Back cover: The Straight and Narrow (2011)
Inside covers: Photo of river and rock
Index, Washington
Yellow Submarine Press
Babe Root
In Hawaiian folklore, menehune are the little people who
come in the night and build wondrous creations that the
islanders discover to their amazement in the morning. The
menehune (men-uh-HOO-nee) built fishponds and taro
patches and ceremonial religious sites and lava-rock trails
and other structures made of the island’s natural materials.
Here at the Graydon Reserve, I too like to build things
using the rocks and trees and water sources that are all
around us. And in a nod to the busy little folk of Hawaii,
I sometimes refer to these concoctions as menehune.
You can find my menehune here and there around the
property. Some you won’t find because they’ve disappeared
under our occasional flood waters. I create them because
they’re fun, because it feels good to be working outdoors
on a creature of my own imagination.
They serve no practical purpose. But I do love looking at
them, walking on them, poking at them, climbing on them,
showing them off.
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The Swirl July - October 2005
Take one guy with a shovel.
Add gravel, then top with sand.
Now get some river rocks . .
. . . and shape them into a spiral.
Get red cedar bark from the woods and fill in . . .
. . . around the rocks. Then crown it all with autumn leaves:
Set the rocks into the bed of sand.
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Build your own waterfall in 6 easy steps
Direct the creek out of your way as you build the lower pond.
Drive up on Deer Creek Plateau and liberate some granite. Get help from Gary and Rick Bott. Stack and cement the granite in an artful way.
Show off the progress to your granddaughter Sarah. Then finish the job . . . .
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7 . . . . wait for the rain . . . . and let the waters flow.
Fallingwater August - September
2005
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September - October 2006
14 rocks
5 rocks
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All suffered the same fate
as flood waters rose
in November 2006.
20 rocks
High winter waters carried an 80-foot-long cottonwood log to the shore near
our place. So of course I spent a week and a half with hand tools to clean the
mud , sand, rocks, flood debris, and broken arms out of the 12-foot-diameter
root ball. The result was a lovely long-limbed root sculpture that I enjoyed
admiring and climbing on—until a rising river three months later swept it away.
The root ball before I got my hands on it (above) and after its beauty treatment (below and at right).
Ba
be
Ro
ot
S
ep
tem
ber
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First you build it—out of dry sticks pulled from the nearby log jam—and then just three weeks later, Cocoa watches as it starts to fall apart and wash away.
The Pyramid
October 2006
Autumn leaves October 2007
What to do with nine big piles of flood
debris that had accumulated over the years
in Emily’s Park? The answer was to create
an earthwork known as the Serpentine.
Thirteen folks gathered at the park over
the July 4, 2009, weekend and
built it: Don, Jonelle, Paul, Lisa,
Anya, Sarah, Dana, Jordan,
Jennifer, Brad, Emily,
Rich, and Jim.
Fourth of July 2009
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A portion of the 110-foot-long Serpentine winds its way through the woods of Emily’s Park.
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Menehune mosaic
Spotted here, there and everywhere (clockwise from below):
Salmon Arch (2011; vine maple set above salmon stream);
Honeysuckle Fence (2005; rebuilt 2012; vine maple woven
between alder posts); Firelight (by Jonelle; 2007; river rock);
Autumn (2007; maple leaves in sword fern); Babe Root (2007;
shaped root ball of fallen cottonwood tree); I Heart You (2006;
cottonwood leaves on moss-covered tree in Rosebud Meadow);
Driftwood (2008; holder for walking sticks); Brad Music works on
his Order/Chaos (2009; vine maple twisted around bigleaf maple-
tree trunks); Order/Chaos (2009; restored 2012; in trees above
the Serpentine); Still Life (by Jonelle; 2006; apple on river rock);
Water Snake (2006; brown iron-oxide river rock); Screen (2011;
vine maple grid at Beach Cafe); Baja (2010; river rock in sand).
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The Straight and Narrow Just upstream from our place, a large flood plain of river-washed rock
lies between the main river and a side channel that is a favorite of
spawning salmon. Occasional iron-oxide-stained rocks stand out
handsomely among the masses of gray stone. To create The Straight
and Narrow, I spent four days collecting these gems and set them into
a solid rust-brown seam that extends across the plain for 121 feet.
September 2011
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The Grotto
We had long admired the huge old two-legged cedar stump down near the footbridge,
a remnant of logging from the early twentieth century. But I always saw something
more there, something both severe and serene, something sculptural. Eventually I used
a pressure washer to blast off the moss and rotted material, taking the stump down
to its rich ancient wood. Next came a couple of days with scraper, wood rasp, and
sandpaper, followed by a spray coat of clear wood sealer. What I saw then was
exactly the sculpted beauty I had hoped for.
October 2012
The Grotto stump before its facelift (below) and after (at right). Above is a detail from its south face.
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Osprey nest August 2011
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THE MENEHUNE BOOK Graydon Reserve Index, Washington