Even though we pride ourselves not keeping stuff that is, well, not worth keeping, sometimes... ok... quite often we accept free things that have no immediate purpose.

That is where this fencing comes in.

In my head I had pictured this fencing as flower boxes or a small shed (that one actually happened!) But instead it sat behind the garage for years, years! And then i needed plant markers for the herb garden. I wanted something rustic (and free!) As I gazed out my kitchen window at my garden, it came to me! And here they are...

So so easy. Had my husband cut the top 8 inches off the fence ( I know, cheating, but I am terrified of saws... and dinosaurs... and big trucks...) Grab some left over paint from the basement and find a child's watercolor brush. Then in the most imperfect way paint the herb names.

Watch your spelling, or have some extra fence just in case!

90 Degrees & then some!

Well we have finally "enjoyed" some serious summer weather! I am being tested for so boldly proclaiming my love of the heat in my last post. I live for warm weather needs a clause before that statement in saying … I live for warm weather as long as there is a proper adjustment period. Gradually working up to 97 degrees would be nice! We have no air conditioning in our little farm house and let me tell you the humidity and 97 degrees calls for a bit of AC. We went from a cool 50 degree nights to high 90 days and everyone and everything was caught off guard. Only the Beagles seem unaffected by the extreme heat. My stepson Corey got this great picture of Lacey, the Wire Fox Terrier, napping in an unusual cool spot! Now you KNOW why I can't keep this dog clean!!!

We are getting closer to finishing the fence. With a half acre to fence in, our dreams of beautiful and private fencing was quickly thrown aside when we priced out options. It has instead taken the form of what can we get for FREE! When we bought the yard it was already partially fenced across the back and half way down the right side of the lot (if you face the back fence). This fence is in poor shape and needs some serious repair/replacement but with some continual patching it should hold for another couple years. To temporarily fence in a safe area for our dogs and now chickens we bought cattle fence and used metal angles and wood available to us occasionally for free. With these materials we fenced in most of the backyard. We still have a large portion of the yard unfenced up next to and behind the house and because we live on a very busy street and I worry that one of the dogs or cat will slip past us into the road with serious results.

This summer we were blessed to receive two rather large decks that were destined for the trash! Wood is never trash to us and we snatched them up. Now as hard as we try this project isn't entirely FREE. It will require some wood purchase, paint purchase, and additional cattle wire purchased. We hope to begin painting the fence shortly and have plans to wire and complete the fence project before winter. I promise to post our total cost and how it turns out when finished.