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In August of 2002, mere weeks after moving in to my apartment in Kansas, I saw a lawn flamingo at Wal-Mart and decided I had to have it for the balcony.
(Took the picture to show my parents.)
In the two years I had it, it fell off a few times due to cracked plastic, was repaired both by duct tape and by using a soldering iron to melt cracks closed. I hung a wreath from it in December and a cheap trick or treat pumpkin bucket in October. Every so often, I'd find it laying on the balcony floor or on the ground nearby, and re-seat it.
Last week, some punk stole it. Possibly the same jerk who stole my Autobot car flag, which I'd cable-tied to one corner of the balcony.
Sadly, this is later in August than when I got the thing, so stores already cleared out their tacky lawn ornamentation. Thankfully, there's Amazon. I picked up a two-pack online, and it arrived yesterday. I was a bit disappointed that they're each only about half the size of my original...but hey, the two larvae were smaller than Mothra, right?
They're not as visible from the road, and I had to do some kitbashing to make them harder to steal, but now they look both ways steadfastly rather than spinning in the wind (they're attached to the railing with hose clamps and held together with coated craft wire threaded through holes I drilled in the base and the bird). And my Decepticon car flag has been reinforced with wire to make it harder to snag.
(Took the picture to show my parents.)
In the two years I had it, it fell off a few times due to cracked plastic, was repaired both by duct tape and by using a soldering iron to melt cracks closed. I hung a wreath from it in December and a cheap trick or treat pumpkin bucket in October. Every so often, I'd find it laying on the balcony floor or on the ground nearby, and re-seat it.
Last week, some punk stole it. Possibly the same jerk who stole my Autobot car flag, which I'd cable-tied to one corner of the balcony.
Sadly, this is later in August than when I got the thing, so stores already cleared out their tacky lawn ornamentation. Thankfully, there's Amazon. I picked up a two-pack online, and it arrived yesterday. I was a bit disappointed that they're each only about half the size of my original...but hey, the two larvae were smaller than Mothra, right?
They're not as visible from the road, and I had to do some kitbashing to make them harder to steal, but now they look both ways steadfastly rather than spinning in the wind (they're attached to the railing with hose clamps and held together with coated craft wire threaded through holes I drilled in the base and the bird). And my Decepticon car flag has been reinforced with wire to make it harder to snag.
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