Pink plastic flamingos have been popping up on people’s yards for decades (say that fast 3 times). I’ve only got the china kind. At some point in my Art-Deco-to-Midcentury-loving past I must have acquired a flamingo figurine and tended it lovingly enough to inspire friends to give me flamingos. We hoarder-types are always appreciative, so thank you friends, but now I need to downsize. My fabulous flamingos must fly to new homes.
Conflagration of flamingos…
A few flew away earlier – there were souvenir flamingos on my desk at work through a few moves, finally given to an especially nice office-cleaning lady who admired them. My sister in law gave me a feathered one who brightened up flower pots but eventually succumbed to the damp, and an early-inspiration plastic lawn ornament.
As for flamingo lawn ornaments, they were born in Massachusetts in 1957 and achieved their ironic celebrity with the opening credits of John Waters’ film Pink Flamingos (1972).
“The real plastic flamingo is in a sense extinct, Waters says: ‘You can’t have anything that innocent anymore.’” — Smithsonian
Oh, and just in case you’re wondering: I don’t have any garden gnomes — do you?
More on the Weekly Photo Challenge: Graceful
More on pink-flamingo lawn ornaments from Smithsonian
Certainly not!!!!
… and no self-respecting Wild Daffodil would have them, right? (makes me wish the daffodils were up with that first lone crocus out front)
No pink flamingo ornaments. Do have TWO garden gnomes! Both of them are painted orange with Clemson insignia. I bought multiples as gifts for my family members who are Clemson graduates. One person left the reunion without his gift, so I kept his with thoughts “I will send it to him”… hmmm, so that was about 3 years ago, and two Clemson gnomes remain in my front flower garden. Not so many people in Ohio appreciate my Clemson ‘heritage’!
Too funny! I can think of at least one film and one book that feature garden gnomes posing for photos on their travels. If you have an extra, maybe s/he could accompany you sometimes and you can send photos to your friend. (and should I keep a flamingo travel-companion?)
Such a pity your flamingos have to fly to new homes. I’m an awful softie about those kinds of things.
Oh me too — a couple of those are ones my mother gave me. I will keep pictures of them, and that will do.
I suppose that’s a good compromise so long as you don’t go and dump the photos.
I was thinking about that last night – not dumping on purpose, but accidental dumping by failure of equipment, or even equipment upgrades that make our current media no longer useful (think floppy disks – so glad I didn’t archive to those, or new software that requires a different format). In so many ways, photo prints are better.
Yes, definitely photo prints in albums!
I started clearing out some more cabinets — guess what I found? — photo prints in albums. (some things I had even forgotten!) Nice to sit and have a look, but doesn’t make for speedy packing up, that’s for sure.
No idea that flamingoes are popular garden gnomes. Garden gnomes strike me as fierce. Than again, each garden had different decor…
I think statues of St Francis (patron saint of animals) should watch over all pink flamingos to protect them from hungry garden gnomes.
Your pink flamingos are lovely. Much better than plastic. You can still find the plastic ones in some gardens in Melbourne. Not mine. But there is a small pottery gnome discreetly hiding under a Bay shrub. There is a place in Western Australia called Gnomesville, where gnomes can find sanctuary. There are are thousands of them sitting in a bush setting sent from all over the globe. Kat
Oh my – I love the garden gnome sanctuary! I’ll see if I can find a picture of that — thanks!