Gimme Shelter
PHOTOGRAPHY AND SOCIOLOGY IN A MAINE FOREST
Cathedral Woods on Monhegan island, Maine, is a naturally spiritual place. Densely packed with soaring pines, it covers a lush and wild stretch of the island and remains cool and serenely quiet throughout the day.
For decades, children have built small “houses” out of twigs, bark and fallen leaves that are intended to shelter the forest’s alleged sprite and fairy populations. The houses are creatively tucked into nooks, woven into low hanging branches, shored up alongside protruding roots and even hidden in stumps and behind rocks.
It’s a swell tradition, but one that also has its detractors – namely those that object to the aspiring architects’ urge to build newer, flashier and more blinged-out abodes. The fairy housing boom has unfortunately seen its share of unscrupulous contractors who disregard local zoning rules (translation, they leave litter behind, build new rather than renovate, and often kill living plants for their creations… just like in the real world).
While photographing these structures this summer, I thought about how they must reflect the homes and neighborhoods of the kids who built them. Pine cone paved driveways divide adjoining tracts along the main path, and countless other small details give them all a touch of individuality without ever straying too far from the norm. It’s a mini-suburb – of a big forest – on a tiny island.
© Markus Horak, 2011
Fantastic photos, Markus. Love the comments. Thanks for bringing this charming story to us.
My grandchildren spent much of this summer ‘bushwacking’ through the woods behind our cabin. They managed to hack out a path, then took the branches they sawed down and started to weave them into shelters. I’d be concerned about the ‘destruction’ except for the fact that about all they were strong enough to cut down was dogwood bush and that will grow back in no time. Now, if the beavers were only as mildly invasive!
I spent plenty of time inventing things to build in the woods while camping as a kid too – it’s why I love going there so much now. These little houses are great creative fun for their builders and mostly harmless because moving fallen pine cones and branches around doesn’t damage anything.
It would just be helpful if parents used the opportunity to explain why you don’t leave anything behind that doesn’t come from the forest and why a few living branches snapped here and there throughout the summer adds up to a lot of branches.
Wow, what a wonderful place for children. Thanks for posting this story! Whimsical and lovely.