When I was a kid, these cable spools were everywhere. As kids we would try to run on the spool as it rolled down hills, competing to see who could stay up the longest. I remember having one as a card table in a clubhouse. In high school, I had a friend who had nailed in spacers to make it a table/book shelf. If you aren’t familiar with what I mean by cable spool, here is a photo of a full one. Â I never gave much thought to why these spools were in abundance, but now realize it was because when the companies were stringing cable everywhere during the cable boom of the 1980s, they were simply left behind. And they are still here. I came across this one near the river bank a few days ago.
When This Becomes There 
I’ve seen them as tables too. Last year a cafe I visited had them and they had inserted doors in the columns – possibly to store cutlery and table mats.
I like the way the weeds have accepted the old wood back into nature with them. 🙂
Great find. We always had one of these in the yard as a table. And when it wasn’t being used as a table, we would walk on it around the yard too. Never thought of trying it downhill though, now that would have been fun!
Colours, texture & light all beautifully used in this composition.
How very interesting it must be to run into these! Kinda reminds me of an old wooden shield (okay, a HUGE shield but meh). 😀
We *loved* these things and ran on them all the time! (my dad was an electrician so we always had a supply). Very handy as tables too 🙂
Great story with a great photo.
Nice shot. I like the idea of using one as a card table.