Our community uses a shared mailbox house, there are 84 boxes in a small covered house.  One upon a time, there was a recycling bin in it the one of the neighbors would periodically empty.  He stopped doing it because people were dumping their trash in it and abusing the nicety that our neighbor provided.   There is a small bulletin board on the wall of the house where people pin up keys left behind, or sometimes small businesses stick up their business cards. The neighborhood association will post meeting notices. 

About a year ago I decided to turn that space into my own, at first anonymous, photo gallery.  I would make a print that’s about 8x10 and put it up for a month.  

I try to make them topical, in November, I put up a photo of wild turkeys I photographed at Pinnacles National Park.  During fall color, I put up a photo of the yellow aspens that cover our hill sides. In July, I put up a photo of the Air Force Thunderbirds in formation.  Sometimes it is a photo from a recent trip.  People that know us get the reference, for our neighbors that do not, it is another nice photo to enjoy. 

This has been fun for me to do.  It forces a “look back” to find something appropriate  Of late, I have printed some information promoting myself, a QR code to this website, or to promo an art show that I may be participating in.  So far the work has been unmolested, and I appreciate that.  Also, I am suprised at the durability of the prints, they stay mostly dry, but are subject to temperature extremes, blowing snow and whatever else the wind might carry into the mailbox house. 

A few of my neighbors actually came to me for prints and more and more know that I am the one posting.  It has been fun.