Rub-a-dub-dub, I want to grab this tub!

I found a tub like I was looking for in this post. But how I’m going to pull it out of this basement is a mystery.

I want a fountain like this one, which has been shut off to overwinter. It’s an outstanding example of repurposing, which I love to do. Keeping objects away from the landfill makes me feel virtuous.

This is a closer view of the entire fountain piping.

Here are a pair of views of the piping outside the tub.

This pump and tubing recycles the water back through the fountain. I can envision this fountain in my yard. I want it near our lawn chairs so we can listen to that peaceful sound while we’re sitting by our outdoor fireplace. Someday my tub will come…

Creative yard art

Earlier this summer, we noticed this beautiful home in another town. The homeowner had used her creativity to greatly improve her home’s curb appeal.

Homeowner was not home, so we did not get a chance to talk to her about her beautiful windows.

Neighbor said that windows originally graced homeowner’s grandmother’s church. When the church was demolished, homeowner bought the windows.

Since the homeowner was not present, we did not feel comfortable examining how the windows were hung. We can get vicious hailstorms here and we wondered how the windows were protected — if at all — from inclement weather.

We were very fortunate in our timing. The sun was setting at the time we looked at this home and its light filtered through the beautiful windows.

Homeowner also had an unusual gate. Instead of the standard gate, she had hung an old door. If we ever build a fence, I want a gate like that. The street signs shown in that picture were in the yard as well. I had wanted a street sign for our driveway before, but I really want one after seeing this.

Ideas exist to be adapted and used.

Just another brick on the ground

If you’ve read this blog for very long, you know that I love bricks. Red and yellow bricks are all over our yard as edging and pavers.

Monday I did a project I’ve wanted to do for some time. Apparently, our back door (just visible at upper left) was originally south of its current location. The sidewalk is just south of where the door currently opens, which means we must stand on the lawn to enter the door. Therefore, that patch is chronically bare. I hated the way it looked. I hated the mud and dust we tracked in because we had to stand on bare ground.

I took a stack of spare bricks and laid them out in that ugly place. As I anticipated, I didn't have enough spares. So I pulled the nails out of the fence posts I had rescued from the landfill. I removed the bricks I was using for edging the flower garden next to the back door and replaced them with the fence posts, now landscape timbers (shown at top in above picture). Those repurposed bricks weren’t enough, so I removed bricks from a straightway in other garden, replacing them with another fence post turned landscape timber.

The bricks sit up a bit too high. I am running a sprinkler on the newly-laid bricks. I hope I can saturate the ground enough that walking on them will push them into the ground. If that doesn’t work, I’ll dig out some of the dirt so they will sit more level with the ground.

I don’t like the pattern yet, so will tinker with it later.

Sunday, I added more bricks to the sidewalk running from the street to the back door. I didn’t like the pattern I’d originally used. I changed it and added more bricks. I’d like to add more bricks, but I’ve run out.

Unfortunately, I never run out of ways to use bricks. No stockpile is ever enough for all I have in mind. I’ll just have to keep my eyes open for more of them.

Rub-a-dub-dub, a fountain in the tub

This clawfoot bathtub is an outstanding example of junking. Somebody turned trash into a true treasure with a pump and some pipe. The stream comes out of copper tubing. I wish I would have taken better pictures. If I can figure out how to do this and can find a suitable junk bathtub, I want to have a fountain like this by next spring. Marilyn already has a bathtub, which she is currently using as a container garden. She is interested in turning her bathtub into a fountain as well. She’s a step ahead of me since she already has the tub. I think I’ve seen one near an abandoned building I photographed and I actually remember where that building was. That building isn’t all that far away, either. I’m anxious to see if the tub I think I remember is a suitable one.

I love the fish in the tub as well, but what would I do with them over winter? I’m not sure I want to have a goldfish bowl in the house. Mr. Kitty would probably go fishing, but then he’d likely go fishing in the summer, too. I found these fountain instructions at wikiHow. Hope they work. If anyone has ideas how to do this, I’d love to hear them.

Rhubarb leaf bird bath

I play with wet concrete and a rhubarb leaf.

Last summer, our Bible study group made rhubarb leaf bird baths. The basic idea was to take a rhubarb or other large leaf (hollyhock leaves would probably work, too), press it into a dome of concrete and make an impression.

Marilyn (front), Iris and I (back) mold our concrete into our leaves. Note the concrete bucket next to Marilyn.

Everyone else made theirs into a bowl as they were supposed to. I don't know how it happened, but mine turned out flat.

Six concrete blobs in a row. Note how rounded they are. All of them except mine (at the far end).

Once the shapes were made, we painted them. I went for a naturalistic look and carefully painted in the major rhubarb leaf veins. Others were more impressionistic. Once painted, we sealed them.

I didn't quite know what to do with my flattened leaf. It doesn’t hold water, so it was worthless as a bird bath. Then I remembered how butterflies need to warm themselves. OK, so I intended to make a bird bath, but ended up with a butterfly warmer. I can deal with it. But I didn't know where to put this warming stand.

I said something about my dilemma to Hubby's father. He said that he had found a bird bath stand without a bowl. It was too nice to get rid of, but he had no use for it. I certainly had a use for it.

Now my rhubarb leaf butterfly warmer stands on top of a bird bath pedestal. Ironic, isn’t it?

Having a father-in-law who shares my taste for turning trash to treasure is a pleasure.

The finished product awaits butterflies’ arrival.

iHanna's Creative Space has more complete instructions on making a rhubarb leaf bird bath.