Catch of the Day

Yesterday Tammy mentioned an amazing tag sale we attended a couple years ago around Thanksgiving. She also mentioned something she and Angela both found slightly unbearable that I chose to drag home from that sale. You might remember this from a post about my bedroom about a year ago.

He was just $10, making him very hard to say no to. He works well with the eclectic yet masculine vibe I’ve cultivated in my bedroom and I’ve never regretted the purchase. Now, thanks to a couple finds from my recent trip to Pennsylvania, he’s got company.

At an antique mall I found two small fish—bass, I think—mounted to a piece of driftwood for $35. Unlike the giant colorless brown fish I have, these little guys are bright and graphic.

I removed them from the driftwood immediately. I like the element of taxidermy on my walls, but I don’t want it to go full-on hunting lodge. I’m going more for a natural history museum feel, or at least  roadside attraction. This last find definitely skews toward the latter, but it’s my favorite.

If I had found this with Tammy, I’m sure I’d be walking home with it in my hands. At around six inches long, this vintage taxidermy alligator head is not all that threatening in person. He’s kind of cute. Apparently these heads were and still are common souvenirs in states like Louisiana and Florida where alligator populations are actively managed. Not everyone’s cup of tea for sure, but for $10 I think he brings just the right amount of Adams Family charm to the top of my dresser.

The funny thing is, I’m not a fisherman. I never liked fishing or fish. I don’t care for the smell or the taste. But the wonder of nature is something to behold up close and the artistry of preserving something that seems impossible to preserve is enough to hold my fascination indefinitely.