What’s up with all the rusty stars suddenly appearing at an alarming rate on the side of houses?!
It seems like they are everywhere (join us, join us….) Eek!
Maybe this is just the latest rustic outdoor fad, like gazing balls, wooden bent over fat lady bums and dressed up concrete geese? (seriously, someone has waaaay too much time on their hands to be creating all these outfits and who knew there was a Gnome War going on!)
Are you seeing stars? Take a look next time you are driving around…I bet you spot these stars all over the place.
According to one commercial web site:
Barn stars date back to the 1830’s in Pennsylvania and were thought to be a sign of good fortune and luck to many farmers, particularly the German. They were painted directly onto the barns and were later built onto the barn itself. Then, crafter’s {their wording, not mine!} began to make them separate from the barn by making them from wood. Today they are made of steel and have become popular for interior and exterior decorating. Many prefer to allow them to rust by leaving them unpainted. The rusty look is very popular.
Wikipedia has this to say about barn stars. Of course, stars have a strong meaning in nearly every religion. Too much to put in this blog, so check out WP again here.
Oh, and apparently in heraldry a star is a “mullet”…unless you are using Scottish heraldry ’cause then it’s just a “star.” Something to ponder when you view this Scottish mullet:
Lawnchair Naturalist 