The Man's Shed

The shed is just about done! A record 2 weekend project! Well, it still needs paint and landscaping, but, it is already in full use.

The guys put the roof on Saturday. Sunday the stuff got moved in... Let's take a look inside....

It is already filled up....I guess we should have gotten a bigger one!

This Year's Yard Project

A few years ago my Hubby "tricked" me into a swimming pool. First he said he was going to get an above ground pool...I told him - NO! because ..."if I ever have a pool it will be in the ground" And he made it happen. I love the pool, but I guess I did not learn how he gets what he wants by making sure that it what I tell him to do! So this year he wants a riding lawn mower....and I told him - NO! because "we are not getting a riding lawn mower when we do not have a shed to put it in" And he is making that happen...

Before: Well actually before this area was overgrown with bushes and vines... Kit from Home Depot:
The kit was missing a few important pieces and included a rat's nest- I'll spare you the pictures of that!

The workers- I am not included in this Father/Son project! And it is wonderful!!! I love seeing the boy working with his Dad. He is learning to use power tools!

To be continued . . .

Random Weekend Photos

Most weekends we are happy to go to the backyard and putter around. Ever since we moved into the Swamp my Hubby has worked to make the backyard our refuge. I wish I had a before picture to show how desolate it was when we moved in. Just picture a large yard with big trees and 3 years of leaves and weeds covering everything. It has come a long way!

This summer he has added this walkway from the "grilling" patio to the pool. We had some temporary stepping stones that were not wide enough.

The stepping stones have been repurposed to make a place for the ferns. The ferns started out near the gate on the cement until they grew so big!

Last year's project was a raised planter that is still not filled up. But it is coming along. The hostas will fill in and we put some saliva and coleus in the empty spots.

This little fountain is the focal spot. It needs some more plants to fill around it.

This plant stand is a piece of "road kill" I found . It looked like a tree had fallen on it! Hubby just bent it back into place and it is as good as new! I really like the bright green coleus and sweet potato vine this year.

The pond plants have been abundant this year. We added the pond one summer when we had two teenagers that were grounded for something long forgotten. They got to dig a pond while they served out their ssentence.

The waterfall is completely covered in this water plant this year. We can still hear the water trickling but can't see it.

Speaking of covering.....this is the ENEMY.....covering the trees....KUDZU! We battle it daily! It is rooted in the neighbor's yard and grows over on to our trees. It does provide privacy for the pool! Every time a vine gets to the pool fence I hack it off.

Here is the ENEMY. I take out my frustrations by twisting it into this basket. I have also made a wreath.

Finally, the outside dog, Big Jeff, does not get much blog time. Here he is hiding under the table! Have you ever heard of a lab that is afraid of the water? He is a big baby! We do have a plastic baby pool for him.

Just to show you how big this baby is.....his paws are bigger than my hands!

Weekend Pictures

As usual, when the weather warms up, all inside projects go on hold and we return to the backyard! We had beautiful weather this weekend so we made the most of it. We started with a little "yard sailing" where the hubby was more lucky this weekend. He got a weed eater, a tool box on wheels, and a Japanese Maple.

We stopped and got a few more bedding plants and spent the rest of the weekend planting and spending pool time!

Someone got carried away when he filled up the Tiki torches- OOPS !!!

Last summer we bought a gazebo/bar. It took up too much real estate around the pool so this year we expanded the concrete around the pool. A couple of weeks ago he tore out a chunk of fence and WE poured a new concrete pad for the bar. His vision for the bar is a Tiki/Pirate look! I know, I know..... we are stuck in the Disney mode!!! He put up a flag pole with a Pirates of the Caribbean flag! And I made him this sign-

He had some of his deputies take the wood out to the range and use it for target practice before I painted it!

He found some bar stools at a yard sale and I recovered the seats. We won't leave these outside - they are just for company.

Jack Sparrow

Davy Jones and I have one more to finish - Will Turner!

So now we are on the hunt for more props for the bar before it's Grand Opening on July 4th! I'm hoping to bring some back from the Bahamas!

How Do You Clean a Flamingo ????

I can only imagine my neighbor's conversation today!

"Dear, what IS Swampgirl doing now?"
"It looks like she is either strangling her plastic flamingos or trying to brush their teeth!"

I was only trying to clean them. With a toothbrush. As I held them by the neck!

With all of the unusual rain we have had this year we also have black mold/mildew on everything....including my flock!

It has gotten much worse in the last two weeks!

I tried everything I had in the house and found that this did the best job! I am not doing a commercial for this product, but it did work much better than any of the other 5 things I tried!

When you spray it on-

-it foams up where the mold is! Then I grabbed them by the neck and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush to get in the grooves!

There- much better - but the neighbors are still laughing. I have also used this product on some of my outdoor cushions. While they still have a few stubborn spots, they do look better and it did not fade the fabric. So the answer to a stressful week is to take out the stress on your poor innocent yard decorations.............

He Promised Me a Rose Garden....

When we were dating DH sent me lots of roses. So many that I was a little afraid that he was getting some kind of kickback from the local florist or that he was going in debt to win me over! It worked. But the real clincher was that he promised that if I wanted a rose garden that he would plant one! Over the years I've had several bushes that barely cling to life, but, he still indulges me!

This weekend he planted these Knockout Roses on our hillside landscape project. I have been told that they are drought resistant and grow quickly in our area. I sure hope so!

I am not sure what these are...??? A friend gave me these to root last fall. She said they look tropical and will spread. I can take cuttings in the fall and root more. I'll have to ask her the name again. She has them around her pool and they will help screen the area.

And here is the Great Wall...complete with junipers and pine straw. Now if we could just have a little warm weather we will spend every possible moment out here!

Back in the Backyard

The weather was beautiful this weekend! We spent every moment out in the backyard. The Dining Room Project took the backseat so we could make the most of the sunny days!Last summer we ran out of energy and time on the pool landscape - so we put hay on this hill and left it for one of this year's outside projects.

Two trips to Home Depot, 224 cement retaining wall blocks, and 2 days hard labor. Each block weighs 22 pounds! I am really sore tonight - but we have a wall!

The hardest part was laying the base row level , a job for DH. The youngest boy, his friend and I unloaded the blocks. After that the wall went up pretty fast...until we ran out of blocks.

Blue rug juniper ready to be planted on the hill. Today, after church, we went back for more blocks. We finished the wall and put down landscape fabric. I'll take a picture of the finished wall when we plant the junipers.

This week I finished a sewing project for the backyard. The patio swing got a face lift. Here is the before picture of the canopy....

Pretty bad, huh? Well ...after 10 years outside....pierced by tree limbs...covered with sap, pollen....faded by the sun...

The cushions had been slip covered once, they don't look so bad- but I could not find any green outdoor fabric to match them.

And here is the after... I'm happy with it now...but I know it will show more dirt than the floral print did!

The canopy was much harder to get to fit the frame than I thought it would be. It needed to be tight and I made it too tight. I had to add some extra pieces to get it to fit. I hope it lasts a while because I think that we will have to just get a new swing next time!!!

The peach trees are blossoming. Last year we had a late cold snap and only had 1 peach! We did build a raised garden bed behind the pool last fall - so the tomato and pepper plants went in today! Not sure yet what else will go in there- summer squash and maybe some okra!