The study of neighbors through their lawn decoration...

Photo by Kenny Be

Figure 59. South Park Hill: Rusty hummingbird hovers over wagon wheel daisy.

Old-timey farm implements and wagon-y westernalia are common in Denver's outback neighborhoods (Marston, Fort Logan and Bear Valley), where nostalgia runs as wide as a retiree's hinder. However, in the heart of the city, smaller yards and old crap are more often combined to promote personal expression over sylvan sentimentality.

Compared to the neighbor's greening lawn, the dead grass beneath the yard art pictured above indicates that the yard artist is in the midst of expressing a personal new landscaping plan that pays little sentiment to the traditional lawn. The confident placement directly on the ground hints that he will not water this patch of turf and can skip thinking about what a nightmare it will be to have to mow around the sculpture. The Little Tikes Cozy Coupe in the background suggests that a growing toddler will eventually climb on the sculpture, break it and the wooden pieces will be tossed in the chiminea, while the rusty hummingbird gets staked to a fencepost near the trash barrels out back.