2014-08-09

We found Bird's Farm more or less by accident, driving Alabama Route 43 south from Eutaw, as a scenic diversion off the highway, to New Orleans.

Not a lot happening in those back-country parts, so it can be a bit unsettling to suddenly see a row of surreal creatures lined up in a field, all fashioned from hay bails and assorted junk. Or the towering Tin Man, assembled from 55-gallon drums painted silver.

Jim Bird, the namesake of the farm, had been forging this rough art at least since 1993, when he made for his wife, who was off on a trip, a caterpillar from misshapen bales of hay. The wife was "was pleased when she saw the caterpillar, but not all that surprised," dryly notes a Web site for rural southwest Alabama visitors.

Yes, yes, Bird does indeed seem like a creative sort...