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Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Yard Candy
Chalk it up to the long commute, but my mind picks over some really odd topics while I'm on the road.
The most recent odd topic I've been thinking about is that, as a group, Israelis don't put 'things' in their yard. This isn't to say that Israeli yards/gardens aren't beautiful... they are! Israelis do incredible things with relatively little space; flowers, fruit trees, trellises, grape arbors, etc. But, as a rule, they don't put 'things' out there!
I know I'm not expressing myself well... I'm just as frustrated as you are.
By 'things' I mean the kind of ornaments and statuary that are common in many of the places I've lived and visited. These objects are for the home-owner what 'bling-bling' is to a rap star; It is supposed to focus the onlookers attention and provoke envy. Needless to say, the reaction depends heavily on the tastes of the observer.
For the purposes of this discussion, I'll simply call all of these 'things' 'yard candy'.
Here is a partial list:
Lawn Jockeys - These small statues used to be found everywhere around the US until it became very un-PC to have them. Those that held onto these cultural relics dutifully painted the Jockey's faces white... but very few are still out there waiting to greet visitors at the end of America's walkways.
Pink Flamingos - There are several areas of the U.S. where these are a very common sight on people's front lawns, but Maine seems to have taken perverse pride in making itself the Pink Flamingo capitol of the country.
Garden Gnomes - While these are also (or perhaps first and foremost) a European tradition, I have seen them in gardens and yards all over the U.S. and Canada. I had a sense that their popularity was waning... but the wonderful film Amélie seems to have created a revival of sorts.
Wishing Wells - In many rural areas these wooden wells with small roof, bucket and windlass actually sit atop functioning or defunct wells. But in more suburban settings people have inexplicably decided to place fake wells on their lawns. I don't understand this trend... but in truth it isn't any worse than gnomes or flamingos.
Windmills/Pinwheels - I've grouped these two together because they tend to give the same general impression; That the owner of the house really wishes deep down that he/she owned a putt-putt golf course but can't get the zoning changed to accommodate the dream. There are rarely just one or two of these wind-driven items. If there is one there are sure to be several dozen in dazzling paint schemes spread around the yard.
Wooden Barrel halves - We actually had one of these in our front yard in Connecticut. It was full of orange Day Lillies (long before orange became such a political hue), and its wood took on a nice iron-gray color as the New England winters aged it.
Wagon Wheels - Like wooden barrel halves, wagon wheels give the yard a rustic feel... even if you happen to live in South Central L.A.. The passage of time gives the item a nice weathered appearance and makes it nearly impossible to properly trim the tall grass and weeds that spring up in between its spokes.
Gazebos - Like the Wells, these tend to be the centerpiece of a yard. You need a lot of property to pull off a gazebo, so you don't see too many of these in suburbia. I've actually been dying to build one out in West Turdistan overlooking the vineyards in the valley behind our house. Maybe some day...
Old cars (up on blocks) and Appliances - This is mostly a tradition in the rural south. I haven't quite figured out the attraction of this 'look', but many people seem to find that the rusting chassis of a 1956 Ford pick-up or a couple of old refrigerators lends the family estate that certain je ne sais quoi.
But for some reason, you won't see this sort of thing in Israel, and I can't quite figure out why I haven't seen any real 'lawn candy' here. For the most part people seem content to let their flowers and trees be the focal point of their yards and not clutter up the place with 'things'.
So, I have two questions for you out there:
1. If you live in Israel, is there some lawn ornamentation I've overlooked?
2. If you live outside of Israel, what is the most common 'yard candy' in your area?
Posted by David Bogner on September 6, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Well, we do have the sukka, which gives people a chance to decorate outside, if only for one week a year...
Posted by: Dave | Sep 6, 2005 2:20:11 PM
Take a good, good guess....?
Ugly, icky, yucky garden gnomes. You have just talked me into taking a photo of the jewel of the hood...
Posted by: mademoiselle a. | Sep 6, 2005 2:27:35 PM
Don't forget status of the Virgin Mary. Very popular in the Boston area.
I live in Jerusalem and someone near me has a fake well in their yard. But you are right,I don't see much of that around here.
I think some of it may be related to a religious/cultural aversion to having something in one's yard that could be construed as an idol.
Posted by: Sarah | Sep 6, 2005 2:54:46 PM
Dave... Yeah, but one week a year doesn't really count. I'm talking about something that sits out in the yard year 'round.
mademoiselle a. ... I can't wait to see it. It can't be any sillier than the one I posted here! :-)
Sarah... How could I have forgotten that?! We used to call them 'Mary in a bathtub' (no disrespect intended here) because it looked so much like she was standing in an upturned old-fashioned tub. Also, I suppose if we were to allow Dave's seasonal yard decorations we'd also have to include the manger scenes during the Xmas season, right?
Posted by: David | Sep 6, 2005 3:05:00 PM
most private gardens in Israel have a facility for eating, yes a table and chairs, wooden and permanent or plastic and a facility to לעשות על האש.
Oh if only Yorkshire had the weather for it,( I could even cope with the gnome in my garden)I miss the lovely Israeli climate where you can actually invite people for a Barbeque knowing that you will eat in the garden. (with no umbrelas in sight)
Posted by: savta yaffa | Sep 6, 2005 3:08:36 PM
Sorry, Norway seems to be completely devoid of yard candy...perhaps a bench amidst the flowers and bushes, but no tiny deer eating nearby (one neighbor had a tiny herd in her yard where I came from in NY)
Posted by: nrg | Sep 6, 2005 3:08:45 PM
In my suburban Toronto neighborhood, wrought-iron benches or wrought-iron bistro-style table and chairs, and fancy coach lamps adorn the front yards of many homes.
Also one can see large boulders just plunked down on front yards and smaller rocks alongside them. Feng-shui for gardens perhaps?
Posted by: Pearl | Sep 6, 2005 3:40:19 PM
Thank you for making me laugh this morning. What a great post.
In addition to what you have listed, it's not uncommon to see two lions sitting near a front door...HUGE, STONE LIONS. I am thinking the owners are most likely Asian.
I live between a blue collar neighborhood and upper middle class neighborhood, and so we see it all depending on which direction we turn, and the time of year. I love taking the kids through the blue collar ethnic neighborhoods during Christmas, because they are the ones that go all out...and the tackier the better (even though we don't need it around here...I even love the fake snow and plastic santa w/reindeer that I so fondly remember from my upbringing in Florida.)
Posted by: Jaime | Sep 6, 2005 4:12:58 PM
Hmm, can't think of much 'lawn candy' in Australia, or at least not in my quiet corner. We probably make up for it by having huge concrete structures placed randomly around the country though, eg. 'big banana', 'big merino', 'big yabby', 'big pinapple' etc... Maybe not something to be proud of!
(see http://www.boomerangmagazine.com.au/travel/article24.htm if you're interested!)
Posted by: zemirah | Sep 6, 2005 4:25:57 PM
Savta Yaffa... OK, sure there are tables and stuff outside... that's connected to the weather. I'm talking about things that have no real function other than ornamental.
nrg... Of course up there you have real reindeer, no? :-)
Pearl... You mean to tell me that Canadians just plunk down a couple of boulders in their yard for decoration and that's it? No wonder nobody takes them seriously! [ducks as all my Canadian friends throw things at me]
Jaime... "...it's not uncommon to see two lions sitting near a front door...HUGE, STONE LIONS. I am thinking the owners are most likely Asian". Either that or they're going for that 'New York Public Library' look. :-)
Zemirah... If you're talking about big roadside oddities, there are still a bunch of them scattered along the old Route 66 in the US. Glad to hear that the Americans weren't alone in promoting large useless roadside eyesores. :-)
Posted by: David | Sep 6, 2005 4:27:23 PM
I live in a Canadian prairie city, and for some reason, waterfalls have been catching on here. They're horribly expensive to build/install so I think they must be the local status-symbol of lawn candy.
We do tend to be a dry area, though, so perhaps there is a water theme? The other day I drove past a house with an old motor-boat on the lawn. They'd filled it with dirt and planted flowers in it.
Posted by: Talmida | Sep 6, 2005 4:36:44 PM
This past March I blogged about the Origin of Garden Gnomes. Unfortunately Yahoo! has this nasty habit of killing the links to their news story really quickly so I cannot point you to the full story.
But if you click on the link you'll see a little blurb about their supposed hometown of GRAEFENRODA, Germany.
As for yard candy, well I don't notice too much crap out here in LA. Every now and then the occasional wagon wheel or lawn jockey, but for the most part I don't recall seeing too many items.
Posted by: Jack | Sep 6, 2005 4:45:42 PM
Ok. David I’m surprised…… if you know the ‘bling bling’ concept then you’re def. a cool dad (very rare to come about). Most of the Yard Candy I’m reading about is so artificial, back in Naivasha (Some remote town somewhere in East Africa) my folks wake up to a different kind of natural Yard Candy daily ….. Hyenas, Zebras…. the list is endless depending on the season and what the ‘lawn’ can provide. :)
Posted by: kakarizz | Sep 6, 2005 5:09:21 PM
AW! Come on, babe! It's not just the NY Public Library look! Don't you remember our friendly Brooklyn lions the neighbors around the corner had? Always good for a FLIP when having a Shabbat shpazir with Avromy's dad!
Posted by: zahava | Sep 6, 2005 5:14:04 PM
Uptown Minneapolis: permanent anachronistic political signs. If your man lost, leave the sign up. We still have Al Gore signs, Wellstone signs. If I looked closely, I might see a Dukakis sign growing into a tree. Anything not anchored to ground would surely be carried off by people leaving area bars.
*Sigh* I didn't realize how dismal this sounds until I wrote it down. :)
Posted by: Heidi | Sep 6, 2005 5:25:14 PM
I have seen creative use of household 'objects' as planters - I don't know if this counts
I once passed by a garden that had a sink, a bathtub and a toilet bowl as planters.
Posted by: Chavi | Sep 6, 2005 5:39:15 PM
My mom lives in a funny area of southern California. The houses there are all rather plain 1950s ranch style homes, but because of the housing boom, they're worth millions of dollars now.
Yet for some reason, yard candy is *huge* there. Almost every house has something, and they're fabulously kitschy. My personal favorite is a place with two big stone lions, wearing sunglasses. My mom actually bought a beautiful stained glass flamingo, but she hasn't quite gotten up the nerve to put it out yet.
BVMs are very popular on the lakefronts in Minnesota, for some reason (St Mary of the Bathtub), and I really like the weird planters that Chavi mentioned - especially birdbaths and wheelbarrows and antique sinks.
Posted by: Tanya | Sep 6, 2005 5:56:23 PM
"[ducks as all my Canadian friends throw things at me]"
David, look out for ugly gnome headed your way; no, wait, I think it's a giant ceramic frog; no wrong again -- it's a "sculptured" rock from a neighbor's yard. And there goes a solar-illuminating lamp headed your way, too. D....U....C.....K....!
*******************
"all my Canadian friends"
David, how many actually constitute "all"?
Posted by: Pearl | Sep 6, 2005 5:57:11 PM
Talmida... Waterfalls are nice. Although I once saw a front yard 'waterfall' that was actually a toilet bowl rigged to look like it was continuously flushing. I'm thinking that's not what you had in mind, right? :-)
Jack... If you send the URL that you had in mind I'll be glad to fix your link for ya.
Zahava... Doh! I'd forgotten about that! Thanks honey.
Zakarizz... We used to get wild turkey (the bird, not the drink) and deer in our Connecticut yard... and we have foxes in our area in Israel. But we don't have anything nearly as exotic as you described. BTW, you're making it easier and easier for people to figure out where you're from. :-)
Heidi... you make uptown Minneapolis sound like the poor man's Fargo ND! I hope for the sake of the Twin Cities that you don't work in the tourism industry! :-)
Chavi... The toilet bowl planter wouldn't work out too well here in Israel because Israelis would think it was there to be used! Hmmm, maybe there's an idea there... you'd never have to water the plants! :-)
Tanya... A stained glass flamingo??? I've never seen one that wasn't bright pink and made of plastic. I want a picture when she works up the nerve to put it out!
Pearl... Um, you mean besides you? Lemme see... uh... can I get back to you on that? :-)
Posted by: David | Sep 6, 2005 6:32:52 PM
Cows.
If you walk around my block, no fewer than five of our neighbors have various forms (life-sized painted plywood, 3-d plastic, a miniature flock of wooden ones on sticks, mailbox, etc.) of cows.
I live in Los Angeles. What's that all about?
Posted by: beth | Sep 6, 2005 6:52:23 PM
Have you been to Kibbutz Shaalvim? When they have parties, mostly weddings, they have a whole slew of agricultural yard stuff on display. Old kibbutz equipment, lots of waggon wheels, stuff like that. If any one in Nof Ayalon reads your blog they could send you cool pictures.
Posted by: Daniel | Sep 6, 2005 7:15:12 PM
Here in Northern California, we have the ubiquitous political signage. We seem to have three elections every year, so it's not just signs advertising candidates. Now it's signs asking folks to support our schools, our libraries, bond measures, etc. etc. And we seem to have moved on beyond yard candy. Now it's those ribbons on every new car saying "Support our troops". Some are red, white and blue, some yellow, some have stars etc. etc. Haven't figured out what that's all about. Magnetic decals for car rear ends and above the gas input. I've seen a lot of yard "shrines" featuring various saints --- St. Francis being popular here. And not to be outdone, Buddhists and Hindus put up their little god/goddess icons as well.
Posted by: Helene | Sep 6, 2005 7:26:03 PM
My wife & I are both from rural Kansas, and we took a family trip back there earlier this year for a family event (we've lived in suburbia, Ohio for about 10 years now, so it's all my kids know). While on this trip my younger son (10 yrs) asked why *we* didn't have old cars parked in our front yeard back home! We got a good laugh out of that one. It does seem to be the rule rather than the exception in some places. Actually, there's a home not far down the road from me that has old cars & trucks in the front yard; the south has no monopoly on that.
I can't say that there's any definite yard-candy in my area. If anything, people here tend to put their energy into front-yard landscaping.
Posted by: Steve Bogner | Sep 6, 2005 8:54:16 PM
Beth... I'm thinking that either you have a bunch of transplanted Vermonters in your neighborhood or Ben & Jerry's is very popular out there. Just my guesses. Of course Angelinos never really need an excuse/reason to be eccentric. :-)
Daniel... Kibbutzim are perhaps the only exception to the dearth of Israeli yard candy. Kibbutzniks recycle nearly every old bit of junk and turn it into lawn sculpture and toys for the playgrounds. I'd love to see pictures if you can lay your hands on some.
Helene... Well, that's the price you pay for having 'government by referendum'. The rest of the country seems to be fairly content to let their elected officials make decisions for them. You guys for some reason elect your officials and then tie their hands with referendums. I'd have to say that the signage is the least of the problems! :-)
Steve... I've always wondered if the large number of rusting cars up on blocks in a community's front yards is indicative of the poor used car market in those areas. And yes, I'm aware that I unjustly maligned the south with my post. :-)
Posted by: David | Sep 6, 2005 9:03:41 PM
The neighborhood I grew up in didn't allow most lawn candy. It violates the "neighborhood covenant." But I've always wanted a waterfall. Now that I live in Jerusalem, I'll just be happy with a lawn.
Posted by: amechad | Sep 6, 2005 9:52:20 PM
Around Jerusalem one can find many gardens with all sorts of unconventional and eccentric decorations. Old appliances used as planters, odd looking sculptures, scrap metal bent into unusual shapes, etc. For example, on Ramban St., midway between King George and the bank is one of them. With your permission, I can email some photos I have of such gardens.
Posted by: The Hedyot | Sep 7, 2005 1:11:11 AM
What about all the ceramic jugs strewn about randomly? I see them everywhere here in Israel, "perfectly-imperfectly" placed at various places on the lawns where they connect to the stone decking. Pink, beige, cracked, with plants inside or, even more often, just empty and tilted!
Posted by: yonah | Sep 7, 2005 1:15:37 AM
I live in a rural area of Maryland, plenty of wagon wheels and fake wells. Do the year round Christmas lights count as "yard candy"? I don't have it, but I see it often. The funniest "yard candy" movie...My Big Fat Greek Wedding, now that yard had it all.
Posted by: ac | Sep 7, 2005 2:37:56 AM
Amechad... "neighborhood covenant"? What the heck is that? I understand the unwritten law of 'if you lower my property value by not mowing your lawn I'll come and have angry words with you'. But your neighborhood actually had a legally binding 'covenant' that spelled out what you were and were not allowed to put in your yard? Yikes! Did you need neighborhood approval when picking a color to paint the house too?
The Hedyot... Permission granted!!! In fact, if they are as promising as they sound I may (with your permission) use them in a future Photo Friday... whatayasay?
Yonah... Now that you mention it that might be the one common thing you see here; the ceramic potts. Some are shaped like urns and amphorae and others are shaped like giant Arab coffee pots and oil lamps. You're totally right... this might be the Israeli version of Yard Candy on which I've been trying to put my finger. Thanks!
ac... No, I'm sorry... the judges have ruled that year 'round Xmas light don't qualify... but thanks for playing! :-) Seriously, every neighborhood has at least one house like that. Among the Jews the equivalent would be the family that leaves their sukkah up until just before pessach. :-) Needless to say, if your neighborhood had an official covenant (as Amecahd's old 'hood seems to have) this xmas light offender would probably be tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail!
Posted by: David | Sep 7, 2005 9:29:23 AM
Visiting southen Spain I have seen the odd full-size bronze bull or two in yards or on terraces...
Posted by: NN | Sep 7, 2005 4:36:55 PM
You know when you're driving to the Dead Sea from Jerusalem, and just before you turn right (or left) onto Rd. 90 there are those few shops that sell the hideous pink/terracotta planters of all types? Well, someone must be sticking those somewhere, presumably in a yard, right?
Although, now that I'm writing this, I am reminded of my friends Rachel and Ezra who received a gigantic pink/terracotta stone turtle as a wedding gift, the kind you get from those roadside stands. When I say gigantic I mean that it weighs a couple hundred pounds. Anyway, whoever got them that as a gift must hate them - because not only do they live in an apartment and thus have no garden, they also live on the 5th floor with no elevator. Now there's a handy wedding gift.
Also, one more type of yard candy that I *still* don't get. Have you ever seen those stands that are holding what look like a shiny, metallic bowling ball. The stand is about waist high, and the balls are usually metallic blue, red or green. What are they supposed ot be?
Posted by: Noa | Sep 7, 2005 4:43:27 PM
NN... OK, that makes a certain amount of sense seeing as bullfighting is closely tied to Spanish culture. Of course by that rationale most of my friends should have big Starbucks signs in their front yards.
Noa... Yeah, I see a lot of the 'karamika' vendors along my route as well. So you're saying you didn't like the turtle Zahava and I got you guys? No problem... I'm not hurt. :-) BTW, I have no idea what these balls are that you are talking about. Can you find me a picture or something... or maybe someone else can help me out with an explanation?
Posted by: David | Sep 7, 2005 4:59:05 PM
Dave -- yes, in fact we do need permission from the neighborhood upon painting ones exterior house. Only certain colors are permitted too. And any sort of outside (and I believe some inside (when there will be construction workers all over and the like), would have to ask my parents) renovations require permission from the neighborhood commission. And lest you think I grew up in a million-dollar neighborhood, this is an average middle-middle (upper-middle?) class neighborhood built in the late 1970s. Most houses, I think, are worth around $500,000 now (but remember that this is with the housing boom). And while I absolutely hate government regulation and overregulation I am a HUGE fan of neighboorhood covenents and codes (as annoying as they can be at times, particularly when your neighbors make mistakes like saying they didn't approve something that they already did).
Noa -- I'm sure Ezra and Rachel appreciated it. Or at least Ezra. Maybe if it was covered in Hawaiiain shirts instead.
Posted by: amechad | Sep 7, 2005 5:05:55 PM
Amechad... What possible good can come from putting yourself at the mercy of some random stranger who can veto your renovation plans just because he doesn't like you. Neighborhood covenants are an invitation to abuse for the same reason that an overly intrusive government can make life unbearable. My parents have a house on the beach in Westport CT and are part of such a neighborhood association. From what I've witnessed it is more about settling scores and screwing people than protecting property values. Mom & Dad had wanted to add a deck behind their house and had to have approval to proceed. Their next door neighbor tried to veto it because he said that there was no guarantee that a future owner wouldn't throw loud parties out there on the deck. The only thing that finally saved my parents was that the neighbor forgot to show up to the hearing. Look, I can understand creating an organization/association if you are part of a coop/condo or some similar arrangement where your money is tied up very closely with others. But a private house should be yours to do with as you wish. If you have a problem with the fact that your neighbor has just painted his house bright pink... just let your dog sh*t on his lawn for a few months and see if you don't start feeling a bit better. :-)
Posted by: David | Sep 7, 2005 6:58:51 PM
But in a sense a house is like a public good. So if my neighbor paints his house bright pink, my property values are lowered. This affects my standard of living as well as my economic outlook when I choose to sell the house (and I may choose to sell sooner, because of lowering property values and its effects). It depends also how active your neighborhood association is. My parents' really isn't that active except for the architectural thing and trying to control surrounding businesses and was successful in preventing the expansion of the county jail (which is in the middle of a series of upper-middle class neighborhoods). I wouldn't want to live in a neighborhood in which my neighbors have ugly additions or odd exteriors. It ruins my quality-of-life. From the covenent (which is, of course, like any other sort of thing, marketing):
"[Subdivision] is a cohesive community of 106 homes developed in such a way that there is unity without crowding, economic land use, and a well preserved feeling of ample space. It is recognition of this concept, which is one of unity and not mindless conformity, that guides the Architectural Control Committee (referred to as the ACC) in ftilfilling its responsibilities under the Covenants. The ACC recognizes that there is a threshold beyond which the conununity cannot go without affecting the individual's right to enjoy the reasonable privileges of ownership. On the other hand, the ACC also believes it is equally important to realize that the full and unconstrained reign of individual tastes impacts on the rights of others.
The ACC has made every effort to continue an equitable policy of architectural control for this community which:
a. is fully compliant with the regulations contained in the,Covenants;
b. establishes and maintains basic standards;
c. preserves the right of the individual homeowner to reasonable unrestricted use of the homeowner's property;
d. preserves the basic aesthetic standards which are both explicit and implicit in the architectural design and the builder's rendition; and
e. prevents construction of additional structures which are out of harmony with the community."
---
Of course the beauty is that if one doesn't like it, they don't have to live in the neighborhood and can move to a neighborhood without such covenent or a different one. Hence the wonderful nature of voluntary agreements. (Though part of the covenent is both stating that one has to obey the local laws as well as a committment to enforce such laws, including on trash, dogs (we are strict on pooper-scoopers and all that).)
While letting the dog sh*t on the lawn (if we had a dog) may provide a few moments of personal satisfaction it doesn't deal w/ the issue of quality-of-life, neighborhood atmosophere and (what this is all about, of course): property values.
Posted by: amechad | Sep 7, 2005 8:57:24 PM
Noa, that turtle fits right in in their home! I've been in their apartment (in Baka right?) and it's only one of the many eclectic and interesting adornments in their lovely home. I think it fits in way better in their living room than in any old garden.
Posted by: The Hedyot | Sep 7, 2005 10:13:46 PM
Darn, I miss one day, and look what I missed. Oh well, If anyone drops by late, here is my contribution to Israeli "yard candy". Larry and I dug this this summer while our changling was on a trip! Good therapy!
http://community.webshots.com/album/445711768GXqLPq
Fun post! Thanks, David!
Posted by: Carol | Sep 8, 2005 3:40:01 PM
Amechad... I can see you and I will have to agree to disagree on this. I don't have a problem with giving elected government limited authority over my daily life. This is inevitable in an organized society. But to give my neighbors the authority to tell me how I should tend to my own property (without any legal recourse to resist or appeal) offends my sensibilities. You have described the way such a system should work under ideal circumstances... but we both know that neighborhood politics/intrigue is far from what anyone would call ideal circumstances.
Carol... Great shots... thanks for sharing. Where is that? I ask because there already leaves on the ground.
Posted by: David | Sep 8, 2005 4:25:21 PM
David, shame on you. To forget the two most common sites on front lawns in your own home town (in southern Connecticut)! I recall lots of yards with statues of Mary (as previously mentioned). However, I would add that it is necessary that she be standing in what appears to be half a bathtub turned on end. I think this protection from the elements entitles one to skip church occasionally. The other regilar yard candy is ceramic deer, usually a doe and several fawns.
I now live in New Hampshire and can attest that yard candy, when it exists, is likely to be all-previously-owned-vehicles. ;)
Posted by: Andy | Sep 8, 2005 5:24:32 PM
oo david - you get sooo many comments these days.
but i had to add - italians (as we are) are 'required' to have a plastic Mary statue.
just thought you might like to know.
Posted by: lisa | Sep 8, 2005 7:07:10 PM
Yup, here is a picture. Never underestimate the power of google. And apparently, they are called "gazing balls", though lord only knows how that works. I mean, do I drive by and decide I need to check my front teeth so I get out of the car, to gaze into the ball in someone's front yard?
http://www.statue.com/itemdesc.asp?CartId=12505-EVEREST-999HILUW73&ic=CHS7739GR&cc=&tpc=
Posted by: Noa | Sep 8, 2005 8:20:28 PM
Thanks :-) The watergarden is in my little garden in Ra'anana - the leaves are from one of those big trees with all the little red blooms that are dropping all over the streets right now. (They look great in other people's gardens, but miserable to have in one's own.)
Posted by: Carol | Sep 8, 2005 10:29:01 PM
Andy... If you look back over the comments you'll see that someone already pointed out that particular oversight. By your description I'd say you live pretty far out in the 'sticks'. I really wish we'd been able to pop up there to see you guys before we moved. What kind of car(s) do you have in your yard? :-) BTW, The Lisa who commented after you is also a THS alum (she was in my class). Small world, huh?
Lisa... I had no idea it had to be made of plastic! That must have been one of the things they charged in Vatican II. :-)
Noa... I can honestly say I have never seen one of these before. It looks like a bowling ball! [shrugs]
Carol... Beautiful! I looks like you guys are settling in nicely... ooops! Am I allowed to say 'settling' to someone who lives in Raanana? :-)
Posted by: David | Sep 8, 2005 10:54:22 PM
This doesn't exactly fit the definition of "yard candy," but what about "porch candy?" I mean specifically those large banners that hang somewhere near the front door and seem to say "this house is its own kingdom, with its own royal crest and flag."
Posted by: savtadotty | Sep 9, 2005 7:47:58 AM
You guys are catchin' on.
Shalom...
8o)
Posted by: YC | Dec 2, 2005 6:53:19 PM
