$5 Flamingoes

I went on a bit of a spending spree this weekend. For no good reason other than I get into spurts where I barely spend at all, followed by spurts where I let loose with no abandon. This was one of those no abandon weekends. :) Most of what I snagged was practical - clearanced clothes for the kidlet, a new hair dryer, thrifted sheets. Not necessary, but certainly useful. One of my favorite purchases was of the impractical variety. Check out what $5 (plus tax) got me in the Target dollar spot:


Oh yeah. These two hot pink beauties. Please... run, don't walk, to get yourself a pair (or more). Even if your husband and/or father doesn't understand. Lord knows mine didn't. But I was so enamored with them that as soon as I got home I set out to find the perfect home for them. Let's take a look at the options:


First up, the west part of my yard. They look pretty cozy tucked in with those peonies (which badly need to be dead-headed) and primrose. Trouble is, this is in the far end of my long and narrow yard. And even though it's nearest to the back door, they're still a bit hidden. And that will not do for Chester and Norman. Yup, that's what I've named them.


So onward to bigger smaller and better substandard things. Our blueberry bushes. You can only see one in the photo, but there is a second bush off to the left of Chester. While I appreciate that these two sentinels would guard those bushes with every fiber of their plastic beings, truth be told, there's not much to guard. The bush in the photo has nothing but leaves and the one not pictured has a bumper crop of seven whole berries. I kid you not. Chester and Norman's valuable time is wasted here.


So I thought that instead of putting them to work, I'd put them in a spot where they could relax. Here they are in a shadier area of the yard, living it up amongst the creeping geranium (thanks Jacqi for identifying that!), lilies and lemon mint. And loads of grass that is in desperate need of a trim. While I'm sure they were quite at home here, something about their rosey color combined with the red of the birdhouse was making me itch. Blasted eye pollution. So on they went...


... to their permanent home, next to the shed. Perfect right? Not only do they get to cozy up to some ornamental grasses and lilies, and not only do they get to guard some grape hyacinth skeletons (yeah, I really need to do some yard work), but their bright pink plummage looks smashing with the aqua color of the shed. Success!


Besides, Chester was tired of moving and said this spot was it. And really, how can you say no to that face?