Still Hard at Work

I thought it would be fun to write today's post in a fall color. I hope it goes with our pink background, but I always liked brown and pink together!

What an absolutely fabulous day it was today! My brother Glenn came over early for a cup of coffee and we ended up talking photography. He's quite the naturescape picture taker. He hikes a lot and takes his camera everywhere with him. I'm trying to convince him to make them into cards or calendars or do something with them to share with other people who love the great outdoors as much as he does. Our Dad was a photographer and I do believe my sister Angie and my brother Glenn inherited his eye for a good shot.

After my brother left, I got a visit from my friend Beth whose sons helped me work on my fence a little. They are hard workers and I sure do appreciate their help. After I fed them lunch they traipsed into the woods and cut saplings and branches to make what I call the "verticals" of my twig fence. When I first put the fence in about 8 years ago, I used saplings for the "horizontals" as well. I made a "panel" of two horizontals with 9 or 10 verticals and then screwed the panel to the fence posts. When a vertical or horizontal rotted out, it was not as easy to replace it as it would seem.

I got a brainstorm one day while visiting an artist up near Narrowsburg, NY while he was giving us a tour of his homestead. He had a wild garden outside of one small barn that had the neatest fence around it. Well, I tried to remember that fence as best I could so I could replicate it when I got home. It just made better sense than my fence. Twigs are still the main source, but I am now using 1" x 2" pine boards for the horizontals. I screw them to the fence posts, front and back, and slip the vertical twigs inbetween them.

Observe the picture of what we accomplished this afternoon in a few hours. I stained the nice boards with watered-down black acrylic paint to make them look weathered. We drilled guide holes in them to keep them from splitting and then we cut them to length and screwed them to the posts. I must say, it goes faster than building the panels and will be easier to replace any part of the fence.

I intend to fence in an entire section of yard now that my children are older and making that section-"mine" to use as a visiting garden and a sitting garden. The pool is nearby and there is plenty of place to play in the rest of the yard for any kids who come for a visit. I've been wanting to do this for years and am determined to get it finished.

Please, please forgive the messy, weedy garden. I promise that it'll look better come spring...I gave up on weeding after it got hot outside (after I got back from Illinois) and it shows! I have some pictures of how pretty it was early this summer behind my broken down twig fence. Alas, next year it'll be grande and primitive!

I am going to put more bulbs into the ground this fall in front of the fence. Last year the deer made a salad with the tulips I have behind the fence. Maybe if it's near the house they'll think twice-but somehow I doubt it! They were the prettiest shade of purple too and they knew when they were the sweetest. Sort of like raccoons know when corn on the cob is ready...they show no mercy!

Still no time for the jewelry whim...I guess my whim is the fence and yard done for the Harvest Party! Oh yes, I did spend time preparing the walls of my studio for paint and they're ready. I'll paint tomorrow morning if no one comes to visit...if they do, they'll have to stand in my hall and talk to me!

Now if I could only figure out this blog html so I can slip pictures inbetween the text near what I'm talking about I'd be very, very happy!