Beats Me 2
May 7, 2018
Scroll down to see what I think the purpose of these things might be. And if you are curious about the iridescence, look at my reply to Bluebrightly’s comment on yesterday’s post.
The long story about the possible purpose of these things starts with the following two photographs.
I took the photograph of the centaur and its home on the dumpster before walking from the parking lot into the Oberlin Dollar General store. While I was paying for my purchase, one of the store employees came up to me all grins and asked if I was with “the remodel team.” When I conveyed total puzzlement, she went on: “We saw you taking photographs of the dumpster and wondered if you were with the remodel team; this store is about to be remodeled.” And that’s why a dumpster was parked in the parking lot. Try saying with a straight face that you just like to photograph dumpsters. I had to add that I photograph other things, too.
So, back to what beats me. I wonder if these things are used to move everything out of the store while it is being remodeled. I can’t figure out how they would work, but they are another new addition to the parking area of the store. I could have gone back into the store for clarification, starting with, “I just took some pictures of those . . .” Nah, I didn’t think so. Why push my luck.
Romancing Reality 
My guess is these are dollys for moving large objects like display cases during the remodel. A Target near us underwent a similar operation a few years ago and it took about a year to complete. I love your detail shots, they’re outstanding. You may now have a reputation for being a bit eccentric with the store employees but eccentric is good, imo!
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May 7, 2018 at 8:14 AM
So I guessed sort-of right! Yay. Thank you, Ken, for your confirmation. And for your support to continue my eccentricities.
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May 7, 2018 at 8:58 AM
Love both yesterday’s post and this one. I like the repetition of the detail shot. You always teach me something!
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May 7, 2018 at 8:35 AM
Thank you, Clare. Repetition can be really cool (when it’s not boring), can’t it.
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May 7, 2018 at 9:41 AM
They may indeed be dollies, or new display racks of some kind, but I notice there are labels in #2 and #3 that may hold clues to the answer. Can you check your higher res files to see what they say Linda?
Have to admit that whatever fantasy I entertained about the town where Oberlin College is located was completely destroyed upon learning it also has a Dollar General store 🙂
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May 7, 2018 at 10:36 PM
I’m afraid that I already tried to read those labels at 100 percent in high res and couldn’t make out anything useful. I guess my lens just isn’t that good. The clearest words are “Danger” and “Warning.” One label would be helpful if it weren’t obscured by the netting. One word on that label starts with “Roll” and ends with “er” with maybe three letters between. The word below it starts “Licen.” If it helps maintain your original fantasy, the Dollar General is on the outskirts of town, not on Main Street. It’s a pretty cool town, but it isn’t all upscale by any means. Oberlin, city and college, were founded on ideals of plain living, and we lack, for example, the huge old Victorian gingerbread houses that populate Wellington, the next town to the south. We do have a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house, now owned by the college, as well as a lot of notable college architecture. More than you ever want to know about Oberlin, town and gown, can be found in the Oberlin College archives (http://www2.oberlin.edu/archive/) and at the Oberlin Heritage Center (http://www.oberlinheritagecenter.org/).
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May 8, 2018 at 10:15 AM
Made me laugh, Linda. Love Alan’s comment about the dollar store being in Oberlin, too. I’m tempted to task you and Alan to find ten distinctive commonalities between Beacon and Oberlin….heck, let’s throw in Webster too, to make it all worth living (for).
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May 8, 2018 at 6:06 PM
Let’s see: dumpsters, trees, parking lots, shadows, flowers, rust, snow, grafitti, fog, and windows—that’s ten. I think Alan, Ken, and I have all made photographs with these elements. The only one that may not be in the others’ portfolios is dumpsters.
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May 8, 2018 at 7:07 PM
And these are all impeccably photographed….I like the reflection in the puddle to the right of the dumpster, and in front….and the acid green trees in back. The straightforward framing on all the photos, too.
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May 8, 2018 at 6:14 PM
Thanks, Lynn. It had rained not long before I photographed the dumpster, which accounts for the extreme green.
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May 8, 2018 at 7:10 PM