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

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ep

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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