In an effort to further develop this home-made project of Knees and Paws, I have chosen to post a weekly foray into the world of inventing. One month from now I will commence with the daunting task of writing the
official patent application.
Dear reader, please excuse me if this topic bores you, but I'm a self-declared geek, I'm skipping church today, I'm avoiding the laundry mountain and the
garage that needs organizing.
Today I'm thankful for Chester Greenwood, inventor of ear muffs.
One winter, a fifteen year old boy was ice skating in his hometown of
Farmington, Maine when he wondered whether tufts of fur sewn between a loop of wire would protect his ears from extreme cold. He asked his grandmother to sew them, then wrote a patent for the "improved ear protectors" in 1873. Once the patent was official, Greenwood began manufacturing ear muffs, providing jobs for people in
Farmington for close to 60 years.
The tiny article about him on
Wikipedia lists a few other of Greenwood's inventions which became more complex as he matured. Not only an inventor, he owned a bicycle
business and helped establish a telephone system in his town. He married, had four kids, engaged in civic
responsibilities and is remembered with
fondness and appreciation. The State of Maine declared December 21 to be the official "Chester Greenwood Day".
I'm not in this to get a parade day. But it's so cool to think about the
possibilities of what a simple, hand crafted invention can do. I personally did not enjoy wearing ear muffs, but the idea sold. It started
in the home with a simple idea. This, more than anything, excites me. Chester did not have
Etsy. (I wonder if his grandma would have started there?) He didn't have to learn online marketing. Without those avenues I do wonder how he got from point a to point z and every point in between.
And so I have a research project that promises visits to historical libraries. I am thrilled to do this. Despite connecting with many wonderful new online buddies I sort of feel like a loner in the patenting part of this. I need a historical guide. More on Chester as I uncover his story. Perhaps it will help to shape mine.
It's a case of species confusion. Sometimes dogs love to play people.
Sometimes kids love to play dogs.
This is the outside corner of my workroom, part of an enchanting little evergreen garden which the previous owners installed in an attempt to sell the home. Obviously, it worked on me, appealing to my need for a natural retreat in the city. My husband, however, would like to do something completely different with this area. He's often complained about the giant Hollies on the corners of this landscape design. The hollies have been a big problem due to the maintenance involved in keeping them at a reasonable size. This year, they had grown three times the size you see in this picture. I was worried about taking them down because the birds absolutely loved them. These hollies were prime real estate in our yard. All spring we were gifted with the show of three different species of birds fighting for nest building rights. Alas, this year the hollies took over the house and they had to go. And for once, procrastination was a good thing. As I cut the branches, I worried what would fall...egg filled nests? Babies just learning to fly? 
