New Gazing Ball: Inauguration Day

Gazing Ball 8:30am. I haven't gotten around to doing much yardwork yet this year, and the little I did wasn't anywhere near this spot. The new gazing ball really jazzes things up doesn't it? That birdbath base never had a top. The birds are on their own as far as I'm concerned.
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Well, I meant to post three more pictures as the light changed during the day, but I got distracted. Let me just say that this is the third gazing ball we've had. The first one was a huge 15" green mercury glass ball. It lasted about  6 years before it exploded and we found it in pieces on the ground. The second one was a 10" red glass ball that had some kind of shiny coating that got hazy as time went on. Now I realize that it was accumulating moisture and it just exploded one day. So far so good with this one at the end of one day.

Comments

[Erica]

A shiny blue “gazing” ball atop a wooden traffic cone. Ingenious! I wonder if it’s anything like what the Goracle’s Magic Crystal Ball looks like.

[Joan of Argghh!]

Good for you! Fuckin' birds.

[tina]

At least your gazin' balls don't get stolen by houligans...

[gregor]

Ah, a witch ball! We've always had one in our garden. Had a silver one for years, which we brought in every winter and sat in a little stand I made on our dining room fireplace hearth, which Tiger The Cat decided would be fun to play with. It actually exploded when it hit the floor. Bought a deep purple one last year, very pretty. It also sits in an unused bird bath base, which I painted with buttermilk and is now covered with moss.

[pops]

I've heard these things keep stray dogs out of the yard.

Any truth to that?

[The Proprietor]

Both aesthetically pleasing AND illustrative of the laws of physics. Sweet!

Anamorphosis anyone?

[Faith]

Um, I haven't had a yard in 20+ years so you'll have to help me out here. Why do these things keep exploding? Are they REALLY exploding or are they just, you know, breaking like normal things break.

[gregor]

if you were to look at one under polarized light, you would see the stress built into it. very cheap glass, blown into a thin sphere, with a drawn neck on it. all the tension causes them to explode outward when hit hard enough. or exposed to sudden temperature changes.
ever drop an old, hand blown Christmas tree ornament? they pop and spread shards everywhere. same thing on a larger scale.
damn. i sound like i know what i'm talking about after a few jars of stout...

[Teresa]

I love that color. I've never had one and I'm afraid out here in the woods the animals would get it before it was out there for long (either that or a tree branch... LOL).

[schmed]

Exploding balls.

Who *makes* these things - al Queda?

In. Your. Yard.

Has the Dept of Homely Security been informed of this?