Concrete reindeer

During the months of January and February, when we were still getting regular sizable snowfalls, Jeannine and I would go out and do a little cross-country skiing in the woods near our house. She was more adept at it, having used her skis like this for many winters, whereas I had not gone out on skis for at least ten years. 

So when she wanted to try a different route than we usually travelled, one which went down a long and pretty steep slope, I decided to put on my boots with their slip-on ice cleats, and walk along with her (at least until she started down the hill, where I would have to watch as she receded into the distance). It was a nice day, all snow considering, and the walk by myself through the woods was pleasant and quiet.

The route we took was one I'd been on many times in previous years, back when I would go dirt bike riding with my friends. It was what they call in these parts an "unimproved road" -- meaning that in certain areas it was mildly rutted and passable by just about any car, but in other sections you would need a gnarly off-road vehicle, a dirt bike, or something with feet to safely make it through. It was a nice five or six mile loop around a small mountain to the north of our house, and Jeannine only skied on the first mile or so.

So maybe if I had been on my skis, and trying to keep up with her, I might not have noticed this odd little artifact off to one side of the path, behind a single strand of barbed wire:

I am not completely sure what it is meant to be, but it sort of looks like a very stylized reindeer, rendered in concrete, between three and four feet tall. It is cracked in places, and the paint on it is faded and peeling. It looks as if it was created in a mold -- if not, quite a bit of care was taken to radius the edges for a smooth, rounded look. A large capital "M" protrudes from one side (there may be one on the other side too -- I did not look when I took the photo), chunks of the letter broken away, revealing in one spot a metal reinforcing bar (or "rebar" in the vernacular of the construction trade).

Near this artifact, there is supposedly a hunter's cabin or something of that ilk, back in the woods. I have never seen it, and have no idea who owns and/or frequents it. But I wonder if whoever has the hunter's cabin brought this strange thing into the woods for some reason. Perhaps the letter "M" is an initial for the owner of the cabin… or maybe it has nothing to do with that person -- maybe instead this reindeer was built as signage for a long-dead business, and someone found it in the trash and hauled it back here.

I have no idea.

But in its decrepit, decaying state, this odd little beast fits my definition of a ruin. -- PL