BBs Blog

Funky muses, and recycled garden totes

Although the muse has been in a funk the past couple of weeks, my green thumb has been producing some lovely flowers, and a well manicured lawn. There are times though as I am weeding, feeding, mowing, trimming, pruning, and watering the yard, I do wonder what on earth possessed me to make all this work for myself. Then I notice a new bloom on one of my flowers, and I understand what is was that possessed me to make all the extra work for myself.

Right now, there is a lot of work involved with getting my garden to grow. Even with the most easy to care for hardy perennials and bulbs, there will always be some work involved to keep them growing. And the grass, including that really green stuff growing over the septic tank, will always have to be mowed. In order to help make doing those chores a little easier, I have been experimenting with ways to keep the things I use the most in the yard within easy reach, yet out of the way when not in use.

In my infinite blonde wisdom, I decided the easiest way to keep up with my sunhat, and keep it out of the way when not in use, would be to hang it on the back of the door. I attached small clear plastic hooks to the back of the doors so that I now have a handy place to hang my hat when I come back inside. After discovering I could fold my shades over the ribbon ties that secure my sunhat to my head, or suspend it from a hook, I now have a groovy way of keeping both hat and shades handy, yet out of the way. “Decorating” the crown of my sunhat is a white dust mask. Keeping that dust mask strapped to the crown of my sunhat insures I always have it handy for mowing, trimming, and spraying.

As I was trying to figure out a handy place to keep my pruning shears, I had another one of those moments of clear lucidity, and recycled an old canvas purse that had been gathering dust in the bottom of the closet. My recycled garden tote is roomy enough to hold my pruning shears, several small garden tools, a pint bottle of insecticide, a 6oz can of Off, a couple of pairs of gloves, extra hose washers, another dust mask, and other miscellaneous items that come in handy while working outside. With hat and shades on, and garden tote in hand, I am ready for nearly any lawn and garden chore.

I make the constant chore that watering a yard here in west Texas a little easier and more efficient by making sure after I’ve done the evening watering, the sprinkles are set up where I want to start watering in the morning. I have installed hose butlers close to the front and back door, so now I can just step outside and turn those faucets on while I am waiting for my first cup of tea to brew. When I’ve finished the morning watering, I move the sprinklers to where want to begin the evening watering process.