Bird bath, part deux

Last fall, right after I got back from Hawaii, I discovered that the patio umbrella had fallen over, taking the table with it and smashing the top of the birdbath.

And this tree was chopped down at some point by the previous owner, only to have it sucker back to life.

While I admire its tenacity, I think I want that stump to be the base of a new birdbath. So I gave it a little haircut.

And I took out a crummy day at work on the stump with my handsaw (which would have been so much easier with a chainsaw--YOU'RE WELCOME, ENVIRONMENT).

I was left with these funny guys. Hands in the air!

Then I grabbed this tray at Ikea. I like the size and the shape. It's swoopy. But I'm not sure about the pattern.

Now if the Nootka roses I have on either side would hurry the hell up and GROW the birds would have a semi-private area in which to bathe. And the thorns from the roses would deter any would-be predators. Modesty and security, just what every bird wants!

But seriously, does this look super lame? Should I stain or paint the tray (in bird-friendly ways, of course)? 

 

 Vote, yo.

Stump birdbath--yea or nay?

• Yea! Keep it as is.
• Meh. You need to do X to make it usable. (Gimme suggestions in the comments)
• Nay. That's just a bad idea.

Created on Apr 27, 2011

View Results

poll by twiigs.com

Closets! Now with more fighting!

These are boxes of Martha Stewart closet organizers. We're going to try and build them together next weekend.

Pray for us.

I have the coolest boyfriend

My friend T came over a couple of weeks ago to help me figure out what to do with the front yard. I was filling Greg in on her ideas and we got to talking about the backyard. He asked me if I'd want to hear what he'd do back there. He then proceeded to spew a bunch of awesomeness.

Despite the fact that he hates gardening and has zero interest in landscaping, and the fact that I've never really articulated what I want in a yard, he came up with a plan that nailed everything I want. It's a good thing he's so cute because that's frankly kind of annoying. I think about my yard constantly! Why am I not coming up with this stuff?

Basically his plan involves building a rather large (and low--think Japanese) deck off the second bedroom, which would eventually get French doors. BEHOLD, my superior MS Paint skills:

It would be big enough for a table that can seat 8-10 so I could have dinner parties back here. He'd shorten the existing rotten wood deck off of my bedroom so it was really just stairs, then put down large stone pavers. He'd build up the plantings between the two decks so I'd have a little seating area just outside our bedroom sliders. Think Adirondack chairs and martinis. The big bone planter would get dismantled and moved to the other side of the yard where the cement slab is (and it would have a new shape). The cement slab would get broken up and removed so we could expand the plantings in that weird back corner.

My one addition to this plan was to add a tree in the center of the yard for height and to provide a tiny bit of shade to one side of the deck. And I added a rain garden. And of course I mocked up these awesome plans in Paint.

Of course, he had to outdo that too. While I was out drinking wine with Bill, Greg measured the yard and built me a layout TO SCALE.

So instead of doing everything back there haphazardly, I can PLAN. And give the shrubs the right amount of space and whatnot. Mock-ups will be coming shortly--if we can pull off what we're thinking, we will have the coolest yard in the city. Of course, this could all be an elaborate plan to eliminate the lawn so he doesn't have to mow it. I conned him into doing it every week if he doesn't have to do dishes. Sucker.

(Have I mentioned I love living with him? He's a fabulous roommate and I couldn't be happier.)

Damn.

Remember how I was all, "I don't think I have an oil tank buried on my property!"?

Yeah . . . I do.

The real question is how I missed seeing this thing for two years. It's right in the front yard, alongside the driveway. Damn.

Squee!

I love plant sale weekends.

Erythronium oregonum

I don't mean to be hyperbolic but this flower is the prettiest flower in all the land.

And it's growing in my yard!

More grandparent spoils

I went home for my niece's birthday this last weekend and my dad agreed to let me take away his mother's Newton's cradle. Remember these?

It still has part of the "Scientific Demonstrators, Inc" sticker on it and apparently it was marketed as the Swinging Wonder.

According to the Eugene Weekly, this model was created by Lee Trippett for an assignment at the University of Oregon, where he was earning his certificate to teach physics. There's a section on him hunting Bigfoot (really) and a line that asks, "Are you the man with the swinging balls?" It's worth a read.

Boys' Life (March 1969) declared that "it doesn't anything useful."

It may not do anything useful, but I love it. Growing up we saw my grandma on my father's side pretty infrequently. The thing I remember most about visiting her house in southern California is this contraption. I loved playing with it, even if I didn't understand that it was demonstrating Newton's Third Law of Motion. I also have her sewing box, which still has her patterns for nightgowns that require four yards of fabric. Oddly, there are no instructions for adding words to the backside.

Now I just need to figure out how to polish the steel balls. Anybody know?