There is plenty to do around here; never a dull moment. We armed ourselves with motivation to tackle a short list, mostly things that have been waiting – installing a window a/c for when the heat becomes unbearably dangerous, weeding out the garden, trimming bushes, planting corn again (something plucked all my corn plants, one by one), caulk porch columns, and do some minor painting retouches. The caulking and the painting had to wait because of rain that never showed up during the day, but poured at night. We will tackle those later on. However, I was able to do a quick and easy project with left over materials – a bird/critter feeder, and my husband was able to work on something for his trail project.
The bird/critter feeder was something that I thought of buying but instead I decided to give it a try by using some recycled items – old metal cookie plate, leftover 2×4 wood, and foam planter bottom. It was quick and easy, and it works – zero cost. We gave the wood a coat of paint. The planter bottom serves to prevent weeds and to keep it clean around the base. My husband drilled small holes on the metal plate for draining the water when it rains. Eventually, I might plant some flowers at the base. Could not have been easier.
My husband decided to make a sign for the lighted trail entrance. This is a project that he started last year, will be time consuming and hard work, but he is obsessed with it, and will work on a small part of it when he gets a chance. My vision for it was two 4×4 poles with a wood beam across and a burnt wood sign in the middle, but he wanted to go the more natural and less expensive route, and use the trees already there; after all, it is his project, not mine.
There is always time to admire favorite plants, and this garden has come a long way from the morass of abandoned overgrown vegetation it was.
We will continue to add to this garden; it has been a labor of love. I hope you enjoyed this project.
Inkspeare 
Speaking of gardens, thought you might enjoy this;
He’s an old friend and a little of my sweat is a part of it.
Thank you! I enjoyed it. So different and meaningful, and the guy reminds me of an mystical sage. Loved this -“Disorientation is the first path to enlightenment.” Did you collaborate in the making of this garden? It is awesome. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it.
No collaboration. Early in the project I showed up and helped him do a few things without knowing what was going on. Jim is one of the most interesting persons I’ve encountered. One day he showed me his button collection. I thought, “how do I get out of here?” He found the buttons by finding the grounds on which trading posts existed two hundred years ago. He went over the grounds with a metal detector. Buttons were made from metal by button smiths. Each smith left his mark on the back of the button and could be traced to the exact location in Europe. As Jim would say, “that’s some heavy s**t.” And it is.
“Disorientation is the first path to enlightenment.’ is not a credo I endorse but it’s interesting. He has a lot to do with me being a writer today.
Beautiful.
Very interesting indeed. It would be easy to get lost viewing his collections. I am glad you shared him with us. He reminds me of someone in my neighborhood when I was a kid. A man who view the world in a totally different way. You would see him building and inventing stuff out of the ordinary, or flying in some contraption he had come up with, that is almost 45 years ago. He even constructed big concrete windows on his house. They called him Crazy Simon (Simon el Loco). I think he is still living.
Thank you Kim. God bless.