Many motorists driving along Highway 43 between Demopolis and Eutaw have done a double-take when they see Bird’s Farm for the first time. Bird’s Farm is a large field beside Highway 43 that contains many amusing and imaginative creations, most of which were made with large bales of hay. The hay bale creations include a ship on rough seas, a rabbit, a helicopter, an army tank, a matador in trouble with a bull, three monkeys that represent “hear no evil”, “see no evil” and “speak no evil”, an octopus devouring a seaman, a pink muscle car, and several other amusing creations. Bird’s Farm also has several creations that contain no hay bales. These include Snoopy crashing the Red Baron’s airplane into a tree, and a towering 32-foot Tin Man that was made with bathtubs, 55-gallon drums, an old fuel tank, a rusted out fertilizer spreader and other scrapped materials.
Bird’s Farm is the work of Jim Bird who is a master of turning junk into art. He uses large bales of hay and whatever else he can find to produce these creations. The other materials include any type of junked material that you can imagine – discarded tires, bathtubs, hubcaps, pieces of wood, buckets, 55-gallon drums and whatever else that is needed to create the image that Bird has in his head. Jim Bird vowed not to spend more than $5 on any of his hay bale creations and has pretty much stuck to it, except for the 32-foot-tall “Tin Man” which required $40 of aluminum paint. The Tin Man was not made from hay, so Bird can still say he hasn’t exceeded his “budget.”
Bird’s Farm began in 1993 as the result of malfunctions that Jim Bird encountered with his hay baler. Bird’s hay baler started spitting out bales that were rejected because of their out-of-round shape. Jim Bird used some of the rejected hay bales and created a caterpillar to surprise his wife, Lib, who was out of town. Having lived with Jim for so many years, Lib was pleased when she saw the caterpillar, but not all that surprised.
Bird’s Farm is located approximately 8 miles north of Demopolis, AL on the west side of Highway 43 (32°37’45.2″N 87°50’49.8″W – Google Maps).
Provided are pictures that show some of Jim Bird’s creations. The video below also shows some of what you will find at Bird’s Farm.
Source: alafarmnews.com
Bird’s Farm at Forkland, Alabama