Category: Out of Doors

Backyard Dreaming…

…On such a winter’s day.

It is much too cold to spend too much time outside right now, but our bleak and boring backyard is begging to be spruced up first thing this spring.

I got my #1 inspiration when I saw this heavenly back patio from Prudent Baby.

Click the photo to be taken to Prudent Baby for the whole backyard.

I am crazy about the colors, the different styles of furniture, the textures… everything! 

I’m not delusional–I know that to dream about a yard like this in Kansas isn’t exactly, well, Prudent given the extreme winters, summers, wind, rain, etc. So, if I went in this direction, certain aspects would have to be enjoyed in the spring, summer, and fall, and safely stored in the garage during the winter.

The great thing about patio furniture is that due to its exposure to the elements, it is the perfect opportunity to take previously-loved items, give them a little refurbishment (and some weatherproof coat) and put them in the yard to see how they do. I’m talking picked-up-off-the-side-of-the-road stuff. Take a coffee table, turn it into a bench. Take an end-table, close it in and make a doghouse. Hmmm… not a bad idea! If I get my way and we have new dining chairs sometime in the distant future (that is, after Europe) I bet you know where the current chairs will be destined!

If you said “they’ll go on your new flagstone and grass patio,” you are correct.

I love the idea of flagstone and grass because it doesn’t have to be perfect. The stones just have to be big enough and even enough that chair legs and table legs don’t sink into the grass. The look they lend themselves to is elevated from a plain concrete slab into something more resort-like.

As for the fence, I would like to use wood and wire (wire is cheaper) in a variety of directions and configurations to create “zones.” In the “back forty” I am envisioning a garden zone, a dog zone, a dining zone, a grilling zone, etc. Let me tell you. Growing up in a Southern California tract home community with a low-maintenance strip of grass in the back, I almost can’t get over how HUGE the backyard is here. Big enough for a separate structure, as I’ve mentioned before, but this space could really be a clubhouse, studio, or just “hang out” covered zone.

For more backyard brain dump, make sure to
check out my Out Of Doors Pinboard.

Snow.

If you live in Kansas, Snow is the topic of the day. Last night, around halfway through an episode of White Collar on Netflix, it began to snow, big heavy flakes. It had been raining ALL DAY and frankly I was more worried about ice than excited about snow.

It’s hard to believe that Saturday we were taking an afternoon walk in the sun with light hoodies:

And now I’m bundled up wondering just how much we will get when all is said and done.

What really gets me is that yesterday everyone was panicking about blizzard conditions, school snow days, cancelled events, and such, and as you can see above… it’s really not a lot. From what I hear, people here in town love to make a big deal out of things, and this is par for the course. My friend who works at Wal-Mart tells me that every time snow is in the forecast, the masses come out to stockpile their pantries, shopping like it’s the end of the world. Like snow is going to bury their entire house and they won’t be able to come out until April. I’m not even a Kansan, I’m a Californian, and I am acknowledging while pretty, it’s nothing to really get worked up about. Unless it snows for days and days on end like it did this spring–that was a real blizzard condition.

All that said, I’m glad my sister, who flies in Saturday, will get to have a white Christmas–possibly for the first time since we moved to California from Colorado? Correct me if I’m wrong, Steph! I can’t wait for her to come!!

Also, the first half of our Christmas cards just went out (I brought them to work for the mailman to pick up). I hope when they arrive at their destinations, they aren’t soggy!

Compost Creation

This happened two weekends ago in a day of productive fervor. Then I was too tired to think about it.

We copied John of YHL and made a compost bin out of old pallets–our pallets are waaay older than John’s which either makes us vintage and cool or janky and ghetto. Take your pick (I encourage you to pick the former). Yes, after raking the front and back lawn and taking the leaves to the dump, I noticed a pile of pallets behind an old building. We snagged a few and were frankly a little paranoid about getting in trouble. Cops out here are bored and always looking for something to do.

inspiration! or PINspiration!

Unfortunately, our ancient pilfered pallets came in an interesting variety of shapes and sizes (including a cute and useful mini pallet) so the finished product looks much less polished than our PINspiration (yep, I went there). Also it doesn’t help that the photo looks like I took it on my cell phone… Come on camera, I know (at least I thought) you can (could) do better.

We attached the sides and the backs with (surprisingly expensive) L brackets at the top and bottom. You can spy one there in the photo. We had a hinge leftover from our other pallet project (they sell them in pairs but we needed 3 for the room divider) and we hinged the mini one for a kind of door. It’s a little wobbly and eventually we’ll strengthen and stabilize it with a second hinge.

All in all the project came in at $8. I thought $2 each was steep for L brackets but what do I know?

As for the stuff inside it, I didn’t really research composting so… if I’m doing anything wrong, world, please feel free to let me know. Inside the heap are lots and lots of leaves, some of them I’d raked into a pile a month ago and didn’t bag up… smelled like potting soil when I shoveled it up to transfer, which I think is a good sign. Also included is some paper, kitchen scraps (vegetables and coffee grounds) and a leftover half-bag of real potting soil. And I mixed it up well.

So… what do you think? It’s nice keeping some stuff out of the trash can…