Most people don’t know what a whirligig is…even though they date as far back as 1800 BC! Some folks might say, “Oh, that’s the thing with a propeller that spins around and drives some crazy mechanism that might show a chicken pecking at an ear of corn or, a house wife beating her husband over the head with a broom or, just a simple old man chopping wood.
The answer to WHAT’S A WHIRLIGIG? is endless and it’s only limited by one’s imagination and creativity but, they all have one thing in common—they bring joy and laughter and pleasure to those who have them. And, they have a very practical use in gardens and back yards as the vibration and funny noise they produce keep burrowing rodents and other undesirable critters far away from your plants and flowers, not to mention the added attraction of the whirligig itself!
Think about a windy day when company arrives and you can’t wait to take them in your back yard to show them the little old man endlessly cranking away on his Model A Ford next to a miniature gas pump as the propeller whirls! Or, you might prefer one of my sailboat whirligigs where boats spin clockwise and counterclockwise simultaneously on the same axis as the wind blows. Two boats revolving this way and two boats going like mad the other way! What a treat! Or, maybe you’d like six boats……or five…. or seven!
Whatever your choice, I use Port Orford White Cedar for boats and various hardwoods and marine plywood for my figures and puzzles. Boat sails are hand sewn with a zig zag stitch on rip-stop sail cloth on my vintage Pfaff Sewing machine. Boats receive three (3) coats of BEHR Premium Transparent Waterproofing Wood Finish.