Wind Spinners

BeGood | Mar 22, 2010 |

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Wind spinners are the equivalent of sculptures crafted by wind. Think of them as garden art, fueled by the natural world, and pleasing to even the harshest of critics.

The roots of wind spinners and other wind-powered garden ornaments can actually be traced to wind mills – those towering buildings of yore with swirling blades on their roof. Wind mills were power generators, but they also caught the fancy of those who saw them.

Still, even if the twirling blades were visually captivating, wind mills were nothing but practical. Their many side benefits included keeping predators away from both livestock and gardens. They were like giant scarecrows!

It was for this purpose more than as a source of energy generation that wind mills continued to be built. As water became a more feasible power source in Colonial America, for example, wind mills grew smaller and smaller, their primary use being to keep foxes out of the hen house and wolves away from the sheep. Not only that, they also kept crows out of the pumpkin patch.

As windmills shrank they eventually lost their status as buildings and became "whirligigs" - tiny hand held pinwheels that functioned mainly as children's toys. You still see them today at parades. They're brightly colorful and the slightest breeze sets them spinning on their axis.

These days we still find our imaginations captivated by those spinning blades driven by the wind, sunlight dancing on the bright colors, flashing in our eyes.

However, wind spinners have come a long way from the world of children's toys. Not only that, they've acquired a few new family members as well. There's the wind sock, for example. Its original function was as a weather instrument but it has become a staple of lawns and gardens and even sail boats. They're not just socks, either. Filled with wind, they're enormous decorative salmon or dragons with outspread wings.

The quality of these garden decorations has only improved with time – the future for wind spinners is bright indeed. Today's computerized laser cutting processes allows for a precision in creating form that was impossible four or five years ago. The wind spinners and wind socks of today can be large and complex – a welcome bonus to flower gardens, manicured lawns and back yard decks.

For that matter, you could even hang on in the bathroom so long as you've got a decent wind source!