Roadside whimsy: Re-tire meant for the birds

A flock of hanging bird planters roosts on the fence at Ladybug nursery in San Pedro, Belize. They are made from recycled tires.

Those who know me will be the first to say that I am no trendsetter.

“Hawkins? He may be  lot of things, but he is no trendsetter!“–  as quoted by numerous people who say they know him well.

See? Proof.

Marketing people do not follow me around with clipboards, observing the things that catch my eye. Clerks have been known to discretely tear off the part of the receipt that asks consumers to fill out an online customer satisfaction questionnaire.

Geese stand sentinel outside the gate at Ladybug nursery.

Take my word for these last two.

I also do not review products, restaurants or experiences. At least, I haven’t since I stopped working professionally for newspapers. This blog is about stuff that happens, stuff I see, stuff that I think will help others thinking about an expat’s life and …. well, you know …. stuff.

You need to know this because — how cool are these planters made from recycled tires?

They probably have been around for a long time and I just never noticed them before yesterday, when Rose and I stopped across from Island Academy to glimps a bit of the high school graduation going on under the big tent.

That’s when Rose pointed out these birds hanging out at Ladybug, a landscape and nursery center here on Ambergris Caye.

Um, yes, interesting.

Damien, the birdmaster of Ladybug, pauses to talk briefly about his planers made from recycled tires.

Wait.

Those are made from old tires!?

That’s when the cool factor set in for me. I love it when people can take the world’s trash and turn it into something either artful or useful — and maybe even both. Make it artful, useful and whimsical and you’ve completely got me.

You know, the way some people make votive lights, drinking glasses, ashtrays and wind chimes out of old beer and rum bottles.

Damien, who works at Lady Bug, is the craftsman behind the birds. The shop sells them for $75BZD each.

Like I said, artful, useful and whimsical.

More birds on the fence at Ladybug — hanging planters made from recycled tires and a bit of imagination by Damien.