Garden Art?

Garden art.

Agreed?

This picturesque scene can be found

at the Toledo Botanical Gardens...

and I don't think anyone

would disagree if I called it...

Beautiful.

Enchanting.

It's fun to tour friends and

neighbors yards to get a feel for their

artful expressions.

Today...

we're going to take a walk around

my garden.

Art?

That's a man's name!

An old wooden wagon

holding garden trays to be used

or returned to the garden center.

A rusty trike...

also serves as a hose guide. A "my man" made cuke trellis... a one-of-a-kind original. Tomatoes... in old (10 years) metal cages. A carved tree stump (circa 1998)... made into a sundial. This is truly a work of wonder designed and created by my nephew Mike Manore... who, in my opinion, should be doing this for a living! Weathering beautifully!

A gated milkweed community.

Monarchs Welcome!

This idea was presented in my newest read...

Modern Homestead

Grow, Raise, Create

by...

Renee Wilkinson.

Utilizing garage and attic finds

to create an eclectic

container garden.

Not a statue...

our dog Zoe.

Always standing (or in this case lying)

guard.

More funky gardening.

Creating space for herbs, pole beans, and lettuce.

Right outside my back door.

I just love this piece of sculpture!

After only 3 days...

my lettuce spouted!

Can hardly wait for that yummy salad.

Same here...seeds really do grow.

This is my newest revelation.

More beans...

for making music.

Cans?

"Rusting up" for a project I hope to work on

soon.

Little bird houses...all in a row.

Maybe that's why I've been getting visited

recently by the finches and blue jays...

they've been scoping out the real estate!

Each house was made/ given to me

by a family member.

Not your typical art.

But art none the less!

So ends my garden tour...

have a lovely day.

Find the "art" in your garten.

For The Love Of Art

Does anyone know Dave May?

There's one thing we know about him for sure...

he enjoyed art.

He may have resided in Toledo, Ohio.

Well, we do know one more clue surrounding this mystery...

this belonged to him at one time.

An ordinary wooden box?

Hardly!

The paint splatters told of a life filled with art.

When James spotted it at an antique store...

he was drawn to it like that moth to the flame.

Closed wooden boxes are somehow surrounded by thoughts of treasure and adventure.

Upon opening, James found miscellaneous

old art supplies.

He just so happened to have purchased some acrylics

and paint brushes recently...

Now Dave May's Wooden Paint Box

houses a mix of old and new.

There's more...

The suspense mounts...

a secret compartment lies beneath.

A place to hide all his finished masterpieces. He's eyeing it up...

He can barely wait to get at it!

Twelve-year-olds.

The adventure of a lifetime!

Enhancements

enhance /in'ha:ns/ v. intensify (qualities, powers, etc.); improve (something already good)

I found this cute top at the thrift store...$3...a before picture

would have been good here (sorry).

Easy to imagine...if you will..all green...as the bodice portion.

I performed my magic...but in a free-form way...

no stencils...

like coloring outside the lines...a bit scary for

a symmetrical thinker such as myself.

Paired with a denim maxi that I've had for years...

only recently morphed with my more traditional

stenciling technique.

Still debating the addition of a calico pleat insert.

Thinking that would give it an old-school-cool look.

Any comments/opinions would be appreciated.

Improving something already good.

Old Maid New.

Go ahead...be brave...get a little funky with it.

Wood For Sale

Welcome to the cutting block.

After downing a tree and major branches...

the boys decided to get into the campfire business.

Joe demonstrates his technique for splitting the wood.

Next up... James.

This is a joint venture... Equal work load...

equal share of the profits.

A substantial workout...

a substantial pile.

Phase Two...

Bundling.

After careful consideration...

James came up with an excellent idea.

First load a five gallon bucket to capacity...

This one is waiting for a few more pieces...

Where's Joe during the demonstration?

He's riveted.

On with the demo...

Once filled,

you tip the bucket on its side...

Slide the wood out a few inches

and...

Duct Tape together!

(We love the duck tape!)

Slide out completely... to tape the other end. He's a little genius!

Don't you agree, Joe?

Secure the bundle...

with a little more Duct Tape.

Repeat the process. Ready to go to market.

Open For Business.

If you are headed up north...

don't forget the s'mores fixings...

and stop on by for the best campfire wood in town.

This brief commercial interruption

was brought to you by

Ondrus Enterprises.

Perched On My Porch

Come Perch On My Porch...

The old adage on a country sign-post

that my Mom just loved.

As I recall, one of those she passed-on at the time

and regretted not buying many times over.

Her yard is a bird sanctuary...so it just made sense.

My yard on the other hand,

is filled with boys on bikes and quads...

barking dogs and roaming cats.

The desperate sparrow will occasionally

stop at my feeder for a quick nibble

before heading to Mom's.

So...

imagine my delight

when I looked outside my open window

(while talking on the phone to Sue, no less)

and saw this...

A Sweet Yellow Finch had stopped to say hello.

My voice didn't frighten him.

In fact, he seemed intrigued with me.

Not nearly as intrigued as I was with him.

(Not to be sexist...the bright yellow one is the male)

I left for a moment...

and got an even sweeter surprise...

He brought a friend

to introduce to me.

They hung around for a while... before flying on with their day.

Such a joy...

right outside my open window.

Not A Care In The World

Ah...

The Life of a Seven Month Old.

Every need attended to...

not a care in the world.

People...complete strangers even...

will do the goofiest things...

just for a smile.

No worries...

no doubts.

The beautiful life of the innocents.

"Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows

but only empties today of its strength."

--C.H. Spurgeon

Scrap Artists

Idea: Check.

Pick-up Truck: Check.

Motivation: Check.

Advertising: Check.

Word-of-Mouth counts...right?

And so it began...Trash 2 Cash!

Normally, a filled-to-capacity-trailer is hauled behind this

loaded pick-up.

This day, a smaller load is taken to the

scrap yard to clean-up "my yard".

And we're off!

Excuse these "top quality" photos

taken through the windshield.

On our way...to getting weighed.

The tough part...

watching Rudy unload while I take pictures.

I decided to pitch-in and give 'im a hand.

(round of applause here)

Wouldn't you know it...

I spotted the best

"American Picker's"

photo-op.

Four guys...rummaging through

hoods...looking for needed parts.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera on.

When it finally readied-up...

the scene had changed and I got this instead...

Busted!

One of the guys spotted me and said,

"I've just been violated by a camera!"

LMAO

(seriously...

okay, maybe I still have a little one left.)

I explained that I was a crazed blogger and he was cool with it.

I gave him the address.

Yeah...

I'm sure he's visiting everyday now!

Moving on.

Final weigh...on our way to getting paid.

Just another service we Ondruses offer.

If you got the junk...

call us...

we've got the trunk!

Garden Miracles

It's Nothing Short of A Miracle Folks.

Let me say right off the bat...

my garden usually begins with "starts".

Cute little plants that I put in the ground.

Instant gratification.

What is it about those dried up seeds that

fills me with doubt?

But...I followed package directions.

Plant and Water.

Add sunshine.

My little backdoor herb garden is under way!

The chives survived the winter in the pot.

I added Cilantro and Basil.

The three herbs that I use most often.

Conveniently located...

right outside my door.

When I was at the Toledo Farmer's Market

this past Saturday I found this...

A Handmade Wooden Garden Tote.

It just looks cool...and wanted to come home with me.

The branch handle and old re-purposed wooden sides

were calling..."take me...take me..."

Yep...it's toting a basil plant.

It's not that I didn't have faith.

Really.

It's just that I needed

some fresh basil for a recipe...now.

Faith...Yes!

Patience...No.

Faith of a basil seed.

Miracles...

they're all around us!