Projects

REMOVE LAWN - ADD BEDS, ongoing (started 2006)

The goal is to get rid of a lot of the watering, mowing and edging a St. Augustine lawn requires.

This project started the summer chinch bugs got into the lawn in the back. Instead of reseeding, the dead lawn areas were turned into flower

beds.
The lawn under
the mulberry tree had survived so I ended up with a perfect circle there.

All the lawn near the patio was eliminated. Some pathways were added using flat stones that had been used to border an older flower bed.

Then I moved on to the back yard, where I used the lasagna method . . .

. . . and finally, the front yard.

SIDING REPLACEMENT, 2008:
Off with the 100+ year-old wood siding and on with the Hardie plank. Thanks to Integrity Works of Brenham whose crews did a good job. Insulation added has helped reduce heating & cooling bills.

FENCE RENEWAL, 2008:
Turned a sorry looking 1980-style fence into a picket fence, by reshaping the old slats. Hoping that the new color will blend into the background better.

Before . . . . . . & after.

MASON BEE HOUSE, 2008:
If I build it, will they come?
Just put it up the other day, so we'll see.

Spring 2009 update:
I saw bees going in and out last fall and 3 of the chambers have been filled with mud since then, but nothing's hatched yet.

PAINTING THE FRONT PORCH, 2008:
Scrape, sweep, sand, sweep, wash, glaze, tape, paint. Not happy with the color difference, so...sweep, wash, tape, re-glaze. More like it!

SHADE SAILS, 2009:
I wasn't going to count this as a project since it was just a matter of placing an online order. But installing them---what an ordeal! Now we have shade on the patio which we will all enjoy this summer. They're pretty highly tensioned . . . we're hoping they won't pull the carport over.

BIRD HOUSES, 2009
These are from gourds I grew a few years ago . . . bushels gourds one year. I ended up with only one. Birdhouse gourds the next--got a crop of two that year!

RAINBARRELS, 2009:

$5 each from a recycling center, plus about $50 of plumbing fittings.

Now you see them . . Now you don't.