Redneck riding mower?

The "riding lawnmower" above can be seen in Middletown. There are several other curiosities on display at this site which contains a lot of scrap metal items converted to yard ornaments. They are among a sign: Wanted yards to mow.

Decoration from Garden Walk

On Saturday, I worked and attended the Garden Walk in Pendleton. There were some beautiful yards with a lot of special touches. This is an example of a rhubarb leaf pressed into a cement cast and painted. This homeowner was the mother-in-law of my gourd patch hostess who had the fountain made from three of these in various sizes and stacked.

Toadstools. . . .

I painted my "toadstools" yesterday....I may give them a coat of polyurethane today. I'm not sure if I'll leave them in the garden or put them in the woods. Believe it or not, the weatherman says we may have 2 days before it rains again.

Learned something. . . .

Today, at Mounds park they were giving a demonstration on how to make a bracelet from basswoood, a product of the Linden tree. The bracelet was made using a technique called twining. It was simple. Fold the strip in half, twist to make a loop. From then on twist the top piece away from you, bring it forward and down. Now the other piece is on top. Twist it away from you, bring it forward and down. Continue this process while inching your thumb up on the finished area to hold it in place. There was some discussion about using Stinging Nettle for weaving. I guess the plant's stem will shred into long strips that can be used for twining.

Always room for more. . . .

There's a little town called Rising Sun south of Aurora. For as long as I can remember Chan has had this little enterprise going in front of her house. She puts her herbs and flowers on the picnic table and porch. If she's not there, just drop your money in the mailbox. I purchased some cinnamon basil, Greek fennugreek, toothache plant, sea grass (not sure what possessed me to buy this), sweet marjoram, true lavendar and anise hyssop. My herb collection continues to increase. I plan to make some labels today. I was thinking one of those enamel paint pens like they used to mark rejects at the factory might be a good permanent way to mark things.

Crafty driftwood. . . . .bugs, leaks, etc

I've been to Aurora again for a couple days for dental appointment and to check on the property. Bad news there. I noticed a roof leak over an overhang - not a shingled roof, but one of those metal covered with black goop. I thought it might be something I could fix myself....probably still will whenever it quits raining! But while investigating this....I notice that the termites I had treated the house for a couple of years ago, are back. They love the wet spot created by the leak. So, I had the pest man out and for .........$720 he will solve the problem! The aggravating thing is - last year I had the house pressure washed. I really think the goofballs pressure washed the old black goop off these porch areas causing the leaks! Guess I will just have to deal with it and hopefully get the house back on the real estate market. I don't do many psychic readings......but last year in connection with a medicine wheel reading - I asked this supposedly psychic guy about my house selling. He said, "Oh, don't worry about that. It will be sold by June....." I guess I had better get it back on the market if that is to happen.

As for the picture, there are two of these driftwood planters on a building in downtown Aurora. I like things made from driftwood and have brought several pieces back that I have collected along the river. I love to go driftwood hunting. The last time I did that I also found a book "Secret Societies" and a pair of pretty nice sunglasses. It's been too rainy of late to even get my work done - spraying, weeding, etc. There is also a bike trail close by and I hope to use it a time or two this summer.

Composting - worm farm . . . .

This is my shoebox worm farm. My neighbor, Ann, and I attended a program on composting at the Middletown library. About 30 people were present and we all made these mini compost boxes. I have to admit it was kind of fun. The lady who did the presentation was from the Waste Management District, New Castle. She was encouraging everyone to recycle their yard waste . . . . and just recycle everything. She quoted a lot of facts and figures.....I have forgotten the exact numbers, but I know yard waste was way up there percentage wise (70% +)in what is contained in dumps.

For attending, we will receive a free compost bin....they are supposed to call us when they come in......will have to post that later. We also got pencils, note pads and packets of flower seeds in addition to 4 fat red worms for our compost pile. I do remember she said to check our boxes in a couple days; we would have a lot more worms. I had no idea worms multiplied that fast.