Yard Art

One of my goals for 2022 is to restore our garage to an organized space that can hold at least one car. Ever since we moved to Oregon over two years ago, the garage has been more crowded with stuff than we feel comfortable with. Then when my mother-in-law died last year, our garage became more cluttered when some of her precious items became our precious items.

My mother-in-law was an incredible gardener. Hers was the most beautiful yard on the block. She was an artist/painter, as well. She brought that artistic sensibility to her home and yard through her decorations. Outside, she had something like five birdbaths, three or four sets of lawn furniture, and more cupids than a person can count.

Each of her kids and grandkids received some of her ornamentation. We got a birdbath, a garden bench, a bistro set, some plant containers, a side table, and a huge fountain. Today, Dale and I decided to place  the furniture and statuary in our yard.

We weren't sure where we wanted the big, heavy items. That's why they languished in our garage for months. We  haven't had many warm sunny days yet in 2022, so our yard is full of weeds and needs some attention. But we wanted to start making more order in the garage, so we temporarily placed my mother-in-law's items outside. They may live where they are. They may get moved when we do our landscaping. But at least we have a start. For now, done is better than good.

We set the garden bench, side table, and a piece of statuary by the front door. The birdbath now rests along the walkway in our front yard.

On the slab in the back yard, we placed the bistro set in a nook by the kitchen window. We have an umbrella nearby to shade it from the summer sun.

Our triumph was moving this huge concrete fountain into place. It comes in four pieces. Every piece is extraordinarily heavy. Figuring out how to move a 40 inch bowl through a 30 inch doorframe from the garage, over bark, and up onto the concrete slab was a feat of engineering -- especially considering we had to move that monster by ourselves. Dale did all the heavy lifting because I have a weak back. There were high fives all around when we finally got it into place and stacked properly. Let's just say it took several tries.

But look! We have a gorgeous fountain outside our dining room window!

All the furniture needs "a bit" of attention to get it looking clean and spiffy. 

But these kids! Wow, do they need a bath!

We still need to do some homework to find a suitable water pump and the proper tubing so that the fountain can flow. But that's for another day. For the time being, once everything's cleaned up and fresh water is added, the local birds can enjoy a bath in both the front and back yards.

I'm looking forward to some nicer, warmer Spring days so that we can enjoy our time "playing in the dirt." It won't be long until the daffodils will be blooming all over town. We want our yard to shine when we join in that celebration.

#cornerofmyhome