Trash to tile table

When the neighbor across the alley moved away, he left quite a pile in his driveway. Of course, I had to see what he had left. This table had lost the glass panels in the top. They had cut a piece of particle board and laid it on top. I wanted to use it as more counter space for Hubby’s grill area. Particle board does not stand up to outdoor conditions and, besides, it’s ugly.

The wood was very dry, so I oiled it multiple times with linseed oil before painting it. I also primed and painted the under boards, attaching them with outdoor-grade deck screws. I put corner braces on each corner for added stability.

Hubby’s dad had given us some tiles he had obtained. The yellow tiles looked better than the white ones, but I was three tiles short. I asked Hubby what I should do. He suggested that we lay the tiles in two differing checkerboard patterns. I did.

The sealer bottle said I’d only need 2-3 coats. I ended up using seven.


All I bought for this project were the deck screws, under boards, braces, adhesive and sealer. Donna loaned me the grout.

We’ll have to put this in storage over winter. We learned that from our tile-top cupboard. I intended to touch up the cupboard’s grout and found that all the tiles were loose. Winter was not kind to the tile.

Just another brick on the ground

If you’ve read this blog for very long, you know that I love bricks. Red and yellow bricks are all over our yard as edging and pavers.

Monday I did a project I’ve wanted to do for some time. Apparently, our back door (just visible at upper left) was originally south of its current location. The sidewalk is just south of where the door currently opens, which means we must stand on the lawn to enter the door. Therefore, that patch is chronically bare. I hated the way it looked. I hated the mud and dust we tracked in because we had to stand on bare ground.

I took a stack of spare bricks and laid them out in that ugly place. As I anticipated, I didn't have enough spares. So I pulled the nails out of the fence posts I had rescued from the landfill. I removed the bricks I was using for edging the flower garden next to the back door and replaced them with the fence posts, now landscape timbers (shown at top in above picture). Those repurposed bricks weren’t enough, so I removed bricks from a straightway in other garden, replacing them with another fence post turned landscape timber.

The bricks sit up a bit too high. I am running a sprinkler on the newly-laid bricks. I hope I can saturate the ground enough that walking on them will push them into the ground. If that doesn’t work, I’ll dig out some of the dirt so they will sit more level with the ground.

I don’t like the pattern yet, so will tinker with it later.

Sunday, I added more bricks to the sidewalk running from the street to the back door. I didn’t like the pattern I’d originally used. I changed it and added more bricks. I’d like to add more bricks, but I’ve run out.

Unfortunately, I never run out of ways to use bricks. No stockpile is ever enough for all I have in mind. I’ll just have to keep my eyes open for more of them.

The pond garden

Pond Garden looking northeast. Coral bells and pepper plants are in foreground.

Pond Garden looking southwest. Blue spruce, pampas grass and volunteer green beans are in foreground.

The Frugal Gardener and her hubby have two main vegetable gardens. The narrow rectangles south of our house are the vegetable garden, currently planted with the Three Sisters on one side of the sidewalk and tomatoes and herbs on the other side of the walk. The other, an irregularly-shaped chunk of our backyard, is “The Pond Garden”.

The only water in that garden fills the bird bath. Hubby named it “The Pond Garden” because it’s shaped like a pond.

Our friend Kevin had shown us how to lay out natural-looking landscaping by using a garden hose. The hose marks sinuous curves for a relaxing, free-flowing appearance.

At that time, we had a large, ugly weed patch in our backyard. I hated it. I tried to avoid looking at it because I didn’t know what to do with it.

Then the mental light bulb turned on. I would turn that nasty patch into a garden, using the outlines of the weed patch to create natural-looking curves.

Instead of using a hose, I bought the cheapest can of orange spray paint I could find. I outlined the awful weed patch with the spray paint. Hubby tilled within the lines. I laid down salvaged red bricks for the border.

Previous owners had planted cedar trees and I had received a blue spruce from my brother and sister-in-love for my 40th birthday. We planted pampas grass in the gap between spruce and cedars for privacy, then scattered flowers in various parts of that garden. Flowers include coral bells and irises from my mother's garden. We have purple bee balm and lilies from Hubby's aunt's garden and coral hollyhocks from his parents' garden.

In the spaces that are left, we plant various vegetables each year. Volunteer buttercrunch lettuce returns every year.

An eyesore became something beautiful and productive for almost no money.

Snowfall in July

“…Sometimes the snow comes down in June
Sometimes the sun goes ’round the moon…”
— Vanessa Williams, “Save the Best for Last”

Where in the Northern Hemisphere, other than the mountains, does the snow come down in June — or July?

Here in cottonwood country.

Our summer white stuff isn’t the precipitation skiers love. It’s cottonwood seeds. They fall in great profusion, drifting along in the breeze, spreading little cottonwoods wherever they fall.

One of the lawns I mow has a beautiful, huge cottonwood tree. As a consequence, cotton is everywhere in that yard. And every time I mow, my nose runs and my eyes water. I must be allergic to that cotton.

In cottonwood’s defense, no tree produces better shade. I don’t understand why, but sitting under a cottonwood feels cooler than sitting under any other tree.

I would have loved to have planted a cottonwood in our backyard, but we didn’t have enough space for that large a tree. Tree can grow 50-100 feet tall with a trunk diameter of 2-5 feet. If we had planted one, we would have bought a cottonless tree.

Stay on the track

We have a wayward sprinkler. That tractor often jumps the guiding hose and goes wherever it pleases.

The last time I watered, I caught it heading straight for the street, not once, but twice. Blessedly for everyone, it had gotten the tip of an arm caught on an obstacle both times. I would hate to think of the liability we could incur if our sprinkler ran into the street.

Didn’t it listen to its mother? “How many times have I told you not to play in the street?”

I just want the sprinkler to follow the very clear path I’ve set for it and do its job on this planet. Just spread water on the grass and gardens — not the sidewalks, not the street. That’s all I’m asking it to do. It has all the direction, all the power and all the equipment necessary to do its job, but it tends to be wayward and disobedient.

I get so aggravated when I have to rescue it and set it back on the proper path. I want to tell it, “Can’t you just follow the path I’ve lain out for you?”

The last time I picked up that sprinkler and replaced it where it belonged, I realized that I am often just like my annoying sprinkler.

My Savior tells me, “This is the way; walk in it.”

And I do – for awhile. Then I get alarming tendencies to jump the guidance hose and wander willy-nilly. How many times have I been saved by an obstacle he has placed in my path to stop me from going headlong into catastrophe? How many times has He had to pick me up and put me back on the right track? How many times have I missed an opportunity to spread Living Water in the right place because I was wandering instead of working?

Does He get as aggravated as I do when my sprinkler does what it shouldn’t be doing? Does He sigh in exasperation as I do when I find that my sprinkler has taken a useless path instead of being of service?

He must have a lot more patience with me than I do with my sprinkler. I’m so grateful for that. I’m so thankful that His mercies are new every morning and that His faithfulness is unbounded.

So next time I see that my sprinkler has jumped the track, I’ll try to examine myself to see where I’ve jumped off track.

Rhubarb leaf bird bath

I play with wet concrete and a rhubarb leaf.

Last summer, our Bible study group made rhubarb leaf bird baths. The basic idea was to take a rhubarb or other large leaf (hollyhock leaves would probably work, too), press it into a dome of concrete and make an impression.

Marilyn (front), Iris and I (back) mold our concrete into our leaves. Note the concrete bucket next to Marilyn.

Everyone else made theirs into a bowl as they were supposed to. I don't know how it happened, but mine turned out flat.

Six concrete blobs in a row. Note how rounded they are. All of them except mine (at the far end).

Once the shapes were made, we painted them. I went for a naturalistic look and carefully painted in the major rhubarb leaf veins. Others were more impressionistic. Once painted, we sealed them.

I didn't quite know what to do with my flattened leaf. It doesn’t hold water, so it was worthless as a bird bath. Then I remembered how butterflies need to warm themselves. OK, so I intended to make a bird bath, but ended up with a butterfly warmer. I can deal with it. But I didn't know where to put this warming stand.

I said something about my dilemma to Hubby's father. He said that he had found a bird bath stand without a bowl. It was too nice to get rid of, but he had no use for it. I certainly had a use for it.

Now my rhubarb leaf butterfly warmer stands on top of a bird bath pedestal. Ironic, isn’t it?

Having a father-in-law who shares my taste for turning trash to treasure is a pleasure.

The finished product awaits butterflies’ arrival.

iHanna's Creative Space has more complete instructions on making a rhubarb leaf bird bath.

Chaising the lounge

In a previous post, I told you about our oft-repaired chaise lounges. saw wood rot on one leg, but couldn’t tell how much was rotten.

The wood rot on the leg was so bad that Hubby finally amputated them both. This drastic solution is not one that we can repeat, but drastic problems do require drastic measures.


The chair looked very sad without either of its front legs.

We also took the opportunity to add backer boards to strengthen the frame. We also wanted to add a piece to the front of the chair to both lengthen it and give it more stability. Previous front piece was so rotten that it nearly fell off in my hand. Since it was between the side frame boards, I thought that perhaps the lack of airflow might have hastened the rot. Hopefully leaving the ends exposed to air will prevent or slow rot in future.

Hubby cut the scrap wood to size. We had salvaged some boards from a construction site, including some 2x4s that had been screwed together. That gave me an idea. I decided to screw together two boards for the legs, giving them more stability.

I painted and primed all the boards. Original builder only painted and primed the surfaces that showed. I hope that priming and painting every surface will at least slow the rot.

I had nearly finished painting when I ran out of paint. The paint company had changed the paint color to something more like blood red instead of our signature brick red. Even though the color difference does show, I just didn’t feel like repainting everything. I am very meticulous, but sometimes a person has to decide what amount of effort is just too much.

Original builder had used carriage bolts to attach the legs, which proved impossible to remove. The nuts merely spun around instead of coming off. We used 6-inch long socket screws instead. We attached the replacement slats and the end piece with deck screws.

After all that work, we surely did enjoy lounging in front of our fire pit! Enjoying our outdoor living room again (below) is such a pleasure.

Bells will be ringing

When I [Marilyn] was little, my mother’s father rang the bell in our old country church every Sunday morning. How I loved hearing that big old bell ring, beckoning all within hearing distance to come and worship! Back in those days, a rope was attached to the bell, as it hung way up high in the belfry. The reverberation caused by pulling that rope would make a slight vibration in the building. I always shivered pleasantly when I felt it. As a small child, the ringing of the huge bell made a lasting impression on me. I was always amazed at how loud the bell sounded!

Listening to the church bell ring gave me a lifelong appreciation for bells and chimes. I love them. I have wind chimes hanging all around my yard in the summer time. As the High Plains winds blow, as they so often do, I can stand in almost any spot in my yard and hear wind chimes in the background.

Some churches still ring their stately bells, announcing the start of their services. As I work in my yard on a Saturday evening, I can hear the bell ringing in the middle of town at our local Catholic church. That sound can wing me away instantly to a time long ago as I stood watching my beloved grandpa pull that bell’s rope.

My yard without wind chimes would be like a church’s bell tower without a bell. Empty. Soundless. Lost. Sad.

As my wind chimes gently jingle and sway in the breeze, peace enters my heart. Precious memories from days gone by and loved ones passed on surround my soul in love and peace.

When other people's trash talks

Hubby is an amateur chef who loves to cook outside. Food tastes great and heat stays out of the house! But we really needed more work space out there.

One morning last year, Marilyn and I were driving alleys. We saw a battered wooden cupboard that was obviously headed for the landfill.



















Even though the cupboard didn’t look very promising, I immediately knew I had to have it. It was telling me that it wanted to be part of our outdoor kitchen. When other people's trash talks to me, I know I’ve found a treasure.

We loaded into Marilyn’s truck and took it home. Sometimes Hubby does not see what I see in other people's junk, but he knew immediately what this piece was saying. It must have been yelling. He was excited.

We replaced the rotten wood with sound wood — all scraps of course —, primed and painted it to cover the icky crayon marks on the front.



I didn’t quite know what to do about the top. It was made from two boards and had a gap between them. Gaps are not good in an outdoor cupboard. I got some free large tiles that a home center didn’t want, but I hated the way they looked. Another friend suggested that we use black and white tiles in a pattern. I loved the idea. I already had the tiles, which were left over from someone else's project. She cut the tiles and helped me grout them. I later sealed them.

Hubby was delighted with the final results and started using the cupboard as soon as it was finished.

I was delighted that he was delighted.

Woman's work is never done

I spend a good part of each summer painting and fixing lawn furniture and ornaments.

Our first trash to treasure project was a pair of wooden chaise lounges. Hubby's father rescued them from the landfill and brought them to us. And we are still maintaining them today.

I started scraping off peeling paint yesterday, thinking that I would have an easy time of fixing them up this time.

Famous last words.

One chaise lounge needs just a bit of paint.

I thought the other was in better shape. I thought I only needed to paint a few slats and reattach one of the arm rests.

A closer inspection showed very differently. It requires a new slat, which is no big deal. The wood has rotted away on the right frame under that slat. So I'll just do as I've so often done before: Cut a piece of scrap wood to size, prime and paint it, screw it to the side piece and screw the slat to the patch.

It also needs a new leg, which is more of a concern. Both leg and frame are partially rotten. I won't know how bad the rot is until I remove the leg.

We've almost completely rebuilt both chaise lounges in the 10 or so years we've owned them. Rebuilding them is one of my annual chores. And I wouldn't trade them for new ones, either. Well, unless I have to.

Mowing

I started a job last week as head of a mowing crew. I had forgotten the biggest advantage of mowing: Think time. No one can talk to me when I'm on/behind a mower. I can't hear them. I can hear my own thoughts very well.

Mowing time is a chance to pray, a chance to reflect, a chance to turn my mind completely off. Kind of like driving in the country, except the scenery isn't so great.

The mower's roar often fades into the background as my mind turns to whatever topic interests it.

Mowing is also a kind of instant gratification. My work's results are immediately apparent. I find that deeply satisfying. Crazy, I know.

Now, if I could just figure out how to keep the Weed Eater from beating up my hands, elbows and shoulders.

A perennial gift

My peonies are a perpetual gift from my mother and grandmother. Mother planted some of her mother's peonies in her backyard when I was a girl. After Grandma died, my parents moved to her house. Before they moved, my dad and brother dug the peonies for me.

The Frugal Gardener in me loves divided plants. They are generally free and are wonderful reminders of the people who gave them to us.

We nearly lost our peonies, which would have been a catastrophe. Our roofer nearly killed them when he drove over them. After several years of trying to repair what he'd done to them, I moved them. They are now happy and covered with blossoms each spring.

When we were children, my brother, our cousins and I tried to remove the ants from the peonies. Disgusting bugs! Or so we thought. Somehow, the peonies didn't bloom without ants. Some of the websites I've seen say that peonies don't need the ants, but that's not true in my family's experience.



Apparently, peonies produce various ant attractants. The ants eat a waxy coating, helping the blooms to open. The Heartland Peony Society and GardenWeb's Peony Forum have all kinds of information about the flowers.



If a person wants to use peonies as a cut flower, the ants can be removed by dunking them in water. Personally, I prefer to enjoy the flowers in their natural state, remembering the heritage they represent.

Green Gold

Water is at a premium in our lovely windy, semi-arid climate. Keeping our plants hydrated is a strenuous task. The Frugal Gardener also intensely dislikes weeding. So she has a solution to both. It's called mulch. Merriam-Webster defines "mulch" as "a protective covering (as of sawdust, compost, or paper) spread or left on the ground to reduce evaporation, maintain even soil temperature, prevent erosion, control weeds, enrich the soil, or keep fruit (as strawberries) clean."



Once mulching is done for the year, we start filling our mulch bin. To make the bin, Dad wired together six pallets that were headed for the landfill. (Rescuing items from the landfill always makes me feel virtuous.) Voila! Free mulch bin! Construction took about an hour.



We fill the bin with yard waste, mostly grass clippings. However, we do save leaves as well.



To suppress weeds, we lay down cardboard and newsprint before covering them with grass clippings, leaves or whatever else will degrade. I get the local newspaper's extra papers just for the asking.



I used to lay down just newsprint, but the cardboard stays down much better. That's very important in our high winds. My friend and I Dumpster dive until we get enough cardboard boxes to cover our gardens. We break down the boxes and remove all plastic tape. Plastic tape does not degrade and will just have to be pulled out of the garden later. Then we lay the flattened boxes on the ground. Weeds are smothered and the ground is better insulated than if we just used yard waste.

Do not use any coated paper or boxes. They don't degrade well, so you miss the soil enrichment. Make sure to completely cover the paper/cardboard to keep the wind from getting it.



Once I finish mulching, I water the new mulch to compact it as well as make it heavier.

Happy mulching!

Recycling all over again

The Frugal Gardener is always looking for something to rescue from the landfill. Our landfill doesn't allow recycling, so the Frugal Gardener has to grab items before they ever get there. Previously, this garden's boundaries were marked with red bricks taken from an abandoned school building that had been knocked down. The red bricks kept falling into the street. The Frugal Gardener got tired of picking them up.

Last year, Hubby and I were visiting his aunt and uncle when their neighbor began carting off wood. The Frugal Gardener was appalled at this potential waste. We rescued the wood for our purposes, some for firewood and some for landscaping. Most of the rescued landscape timbers had already been put to use. Our stockpile did not have enough landscape timbers to completely frame this flower garden. But we had salvaged fence posts from other places.



Weeds had taken over this garden. I dug the worst so Hubby can till in here. Our tulips have about died down and the hibiscus has yet to leaf out, so it looks pretty bad. Once he tills, we'll plant more flowers in here.

After digging, I picked up all the bricks and placed the boards where I wanted them. Unfortunately, they are just a bit short, so I had to leave a few of them in place. But I'll keep looking for more boards. Buying some just seems like cheating! Turning other people's trash into our treasures is much more rewarding than buying something.



Previous owners planted cedars rather too close to the sidewalk, forcing us to walk on the grass. Not much grows here because we continually walk on it and several trees take up most of the water this patch receives. So instead of patchy grass, I took the replaced bricks and began a red brick walk. We'll truly be Walking the Red Brick Road once it's finished.

"Lawn-gaine"

Our lawn suffers from baldness.

So what does The Frugal Gardener do to cure lawn baldness?

She uses the "Lawn-gaine" Treatment.

First, identify misplaced grass. Grass definitely doesn't belong in my strawberry bed.



Second, dig up misplaced grass and place in wheelbarrow.


Third, overturn soil in bald spot.



Fourth, Place misplaced grass into its new place and step on it.



Fifth, water daily until grass is established.

Presto, the cure for lawn baldness.