Weathervanes are not without function, especially in communities where farming or sailing are important.  That said, anymore they are generally decorative.  The most common motif is the cockerel. Cock is the short form of cockerel.  Think – rooster.  Think – a male gallinaceous bird.

In this post, that is the only cock that you will see.  Here I feature weathervanes that are not roosters.  Maybe I’ll do a whole post of rooster weathervanes.  Good idea?

I know – weather vanes are not unique to Berkeley, or even all that prominent in Berkeley. But – I find them quirky and they definitely are material culture.  And, as we know, my opinion on this is all that matters.

For the non-roosters, here are a bunch. Not all.  Not almost all.  A bunch:

This very well might be my favorite weathervane in Berkeley.  The allusion is obvious:

 

After I published this post, Phyllis Rothman sent me a photo of her weathervane.

A squid!!!! Phyllis explained that a friend of the former owner made it. It is really good, no?

Great photos!  Decorative!

My friend laughed when he got to the pelican on Euclid.  He went to his living quarters and returned in not very long with this postcard:

His aunt sent him this postcard from Florida in 1963.  I don’t know where his aunt lined up in the family drama that engulfed him and his father.

I can’t think of “weathervane” without thinking of “weatherman” which leads me to think of “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”

And that, of course, makes me think of the Weathermen and the Weather Underground.  I just read Arthur Eckstein’s Bad Moon Rising.  I never knew a Weatherman and they weren’t my cup of tea, but boy this is a great book.

My friend met Eckstein recently.  He was in Berkeley.  My friend had a high opinion of Eckstein based on their encounter.  I value my friend’s opinion.  Eckstein apparently had a high opinion of my friend, based on the inscription in the book that he gave my friend.

Okay – Days of Rage and The Whole World’s Watching and Prairie Fire and all that – but what about the post?