Another sure sign of spring – the elephants on Lawson Common are released from their winter cover! These bronze pachyderms have stood on Lawson Common since 1919, and are covered with a large, wooden box-like structure to protect them from the snow and ice.
I love that someone tucked a flower into this fellow’s trunk.
This fountain of three elephants comes from Thomas Lawson, who made his home in Scituate and who left his mark throughout town. Lawson thought elephants were lucky and collected them; people would send him elephants of all shapes and sizes from all around the world, and Lawson’s collection grew so vast that he actually had an employee whose only job was to count them all every day.
The elephant in the first photo looks like he’s wearing a little top hat, and the second photo is just too delightful for words. Love it.
These pachyderms are adorable. I really like the perspective in the bottom pic. They look as though they’re dancing with excitement to see the blossoms.
Great shots! The second photo is beautifully focused.
On that second photograph – I stood under a flowering crab apple tree across the common and photographed the elephants through its branches, which provided a natural vignetting effect. What I love about that shot is the angle completely obscured the main road on the other side of the common behind the elephants!
The elephants are special to folks in Scituate. In 1980, workers opened the box for the season to discover one of the elephants missing – someone had broken in and hacksawed him free. He was later recovered, thank goodness – hence the bigger, more obvious bolts that create a top hat effect.