Abandoned

I came across these tyre swans on a footpath in nearby suburb St Peters. Tyre swans were popular until relatively recently for use as planters and looked good as hanging ones. One was more likely to come across them in working class areas, as around here used to be.

I have photos of tyre swans going back to the 1980s and have kept looking for them. Just when I thought they were extinct, I spotted these, abandoned, as if they don't matter. I have found a YouTube video on how to make them. 

Another enthusiast told me that they were made during the depression by unemployed men. The video shows that one step, turning the tyre inside out after doing the cuts for the beak, tail and wings, requires a lot of strength. Tyre cognoscenti will see in my photo that the tread is on the inside. 

I dedicate this blip to Trisharooni who first raised my consciousness all those years ago of the wonder of the tyre swan. At that time, she had a beauty, planted out with the tiniest red begonia. 

Thanks for hosting Marlieske.