Monday, March 15, 2010

Are You Feeling Inventive?

Mom is still in hospital, but I am far away and so trying to enjoy the time away that I have.  She is okay, just wanting to go home, and since my sister doesn't seem to be able to drive, she will be staying another night in the hospital.  If she can't find a way home by the time I get home tomorrow, I'll be driving the 45 minutes over to NWH and then to her house.  I really hope not to have to do this...

In the meantime,  we went up to Fort Myers to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.  What a gorgeous location and setup these gentlemen enjoyed.




Among the estate we explored cottages, pools, a separate study, caretakers cottage, a laboratory and botanical research gardens, as well as farming and agricultural areas.


One of Edison's largest fascinations were his botanical discoveries.  Things like goldenrod and rubber trees were experimented with and later led to work in rubber, plastic and latex.  His list of patents is over 1,000 long, including items like a needle phonograph, electric lamps, waffle irons, generators, recording devices, and motion picture projectors. The list goes on and on.  As I walked the estate I thought of what his mind must have been like.  To always have something else brewing, ready to be discovered, ready to be questioned.  It was an amazing place.  History surrounded us, and it really fun to walk through the laboratory and see the items he touched and used on a daily basis, including his cot where he slept when he caught up in an new idea. 

Can you see there is still residue of the items he used in these great bottles?  There are thousands in his lab...


Doesn't it make you feel inventive too? :)

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the glimpse into his life and work space. You have some really great photographs here.

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