Summer Projects

We were very pleased with our garden.  We were a little surprised that it has produced anything at all, because we planted so late, but here it is looking very productive.! Of course, I already put it to bed for the winter, these pics are from August.  We planted only things that grew quickly, so we didn't have  lot of variety, but we did have A LOT of kale, cucumbers and zucchini.  This was my first encounter with kale, a whole army of it too.  I learned how to make kale chips! kale tart! sauteed kale!  and had a lot of kale smoothies.  This a a very versatile and noble plant indeed.  Next spring though, I will not plant so much of it.

Well, this summer was the summer of  yard projects as we both were excited to turn this bachelor pad into a home.  Here are some of them,

This used to be a dead patch of grass, we are very happy with how it turned out, and
cant wait to plant early next year!

Corey put in a fire pit!  YAY!  He did in in only an hour too!  What a man!
 We've already been able to enjoy some good
times by the fireside.

The patio was pretty messy, with recycle bins and BBQ stuff hanging around looking sloppy.  So
we decided to make some boxes to store the stuff in, and redo the patio furniture which used to be an
orangey-browney faux bamboo.  It didn't match... anything.  Sorry, I don't have a before pic.  

The table had a glass top, the problem with this is that there was some bamboo
looking iron work right underneath that was very hard to clean and always dusty, so
it was gross to look at through the glass table.  So Corey tore apart some pallets and
 put the boards under the glass, while I spray painted the table and chairs black.
We hoping it would look like something you might find on a ranch.  It turned out, not
too bad, and it certainly matches better!

Next, we wanted a little gated box for the recycling.  Corey went and found some old
fence wood on the side of the road out in the country. Then he took it!  But not before finding the
owners of the land and asking them first.  So honest.  We built it together!   Corey did most of
the building but I did do the sanding and some of the design. 

We also made a box for the BBQ implements, and I like how rustic they turned out.
Not only does this hold wood pellets, but it also serves at the kitty cat's favorite
outdoor lounge.  We also decided that there needed to be some art outside, so
Corey cut me a piece of wood and I painted a blackbird surrounded by sky.
The blackbird is in honor of Corey's Mom, who passed away this summer.  In every season
Kathy had this section of old fence outside the front door, that she would decorate
with wreaths or garland or whatever matched the season, and there would always
be a little blackbird on the fence.  Corey made a frame for the piece out
of the same fence wood and since then we have hung it up, but you'll just have to imagine
what it looks like.

Well, we did more than this. I put in a couple of flower beds and an herb garden, we organized and fixed up the garage and lean-to and finished up the chicken run.  YES, we have chickens! It is very satisfying to see the house shaping up so nicely, but even better, it is wonderful to have a husband that loves to do projects with me! YAY!