Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

home projects

Who Is Building A Fairy Rock Garden?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                               (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

I am! It decided last Fall while looking at the tired corner of my backyard that’s overgrown with raspberries who refuse to grow in pots. Plus other cast off pots with blackberries. And the dumping area I use for my old potting soil; aka my backyard fence corner.

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The before mess in the corner.

 

I’m getting lazy and want more time to enjoy the patio and potted flowers instead of weeding all the time. On our trip to the Richardson Rock Ranch last Fall I even brought back a good selection of Rose Quartz for the Fairy Rock Garden. But it appears you actually have to take action to make this kind of thing happen.

So on Saturday of the long weekend it was time to charge the backyard mess and go for it. The ugly before picture a case in point above. I moved aside all the pots which will be downsized and then replanted The Fairy rose from a small pot to a bigger pot then moved/dragged it to a better position. The rose had a dirt and root clump the size of Nebraska. That was an interesting exercise in gymnastics, let me tell you.

Next up was weeding and considering the lay of the land. My hairdresser and I discussed using a raised bed on Friday for the garden. Figured I would need to level out the ground, which sounded like work. Went online for some ideas Friday night and got distracted on Pinterest. Found out there is quite the Fairy Garden underground, which was good for ideas.

While putting down the landscape fabric on Saturday afternoon, it dawned on me I could use some of the ideas from Pinterest and keep the lump of potting soil. Yeah! It would be the hill of my Fair Rock Garden with a Fairy home on it plus no digging dirt. Brilliant.

My goal is to use stuff/things I have and repurpose them. The stump in the middle of the Fairy Rock Garden will get a roof from my former cedar fence boards. I might even put roof shakes on from the pine comes left from the holiday wreaths.

Then I remembered my neighbor had given me a bunch of clay pots and those would make perfect Fairy Houses. (See Pinterest for rock, glue and Fairy house door construction on clay pots) Another old garden pot is the perfect shape of a large bee hive and I can spray paint it yellow. It appears I’ve become a Fairy Rock Garden real estate developer. Perhaps I do need another vacation, but I’m having fun!

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The Fairy Rock Garden development construction site in progress. Now to get white rock, 

 

I’ve made good progress but ran into trouble since I decided to go with white rock instead of river rock. Doing the rock math I need about a half yard. It comes in 50 pound bags at Home Depot. Good gravy, I have enough trouble hefting the 30 pound kitty litter bags. I need about thirteen bags! Nobody’s gym workout is that good. Must see about delivery……

Stay tuned for updates. Guaranteed this project will take years. Have you built a Fairy Garden?

 

What Do Plastic File Cabinets, A Cement Rabbit And An Electric Chain Saw Have In Common?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Those are the items I used to cut up the old cedar fence boards in my garage. Having a creative mind really helps when some of my home improvement projects go sideways. Besides using orange extension cords and yellow Caution tape when the fence blew down, I reckoned the leftover cedar boards were perfect for my fireplace. Just not in six-foot lengths.

Bunny working very hard on the job. Bun power!
Bunny working very hard on the job. Bun power!

Those who are keeping track remember the Skill Saw debacle, it worked but was too heavy for my right hand and lower back. In the interest of hoping to be able to use my right hand again, the fabulous recommendations of an electric chain saw from friends on this blog seemed the ticket.

Saturday afternoon I set out to take a shot at getting at least half of the boards cut up. Already had the shiny new Black and Decker electric chain saw. Read the manual. Poured in the bar and chain oil. Geared up with ear plugs, face protector and gloves. Then realized I had a problem. The chain saw requires two hands. Whose going to hold the boards?

Where are the minions when you really need them? Figured I could use the leftover plastic file cabinets stored in the garage to put the boards on and cut between them. Didn’t really work; boards moved and so did the file cabinets. Spotted the wood barrel from my Dad’s shop. Turned it over. Not the best working height, but it was stable. Next I needed something heavy to hold each board.

Bunny! Of my many yard art finds, I have a fabulous cement rabbit heavier than sin who made the perfect bunny wood weight. Bunny did his job, I fired up the new Black and Decker and soon there was cedar sawdust everywhere. I got so inspired I cut up all the wood.

Fours hours later with concerns I might not be able to walk or use my fingers on Sunday, I tidied up the garage, including saving the cedar sawdust. My friend Joann, pyromaniac that she is, uses leftover candles and sawdust to make fireplace starters. Nothing goes to waste! Got all the wood neatly stacked, put bunny back out on the patio and I was done for the day.

Somehow the wood pile looks a lot less impressive when it’s all cut up and stacked. But I’m ready for winter. Right in the middle of summer. Every girl needs her very own electric chain saw. And a cement rabbit!

To Saw Or Not To Saw?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Ever started a simple home improvement project that turns into a monster? I had this great idea about using the leftover boards from my replaced fence for firewood. Sounded like an easy thing, right?

The pile of fence wood stacked in my garage. I think it's growing. Like wire coat hangers in the dark.....
The pile of fence wood stacked in my garage. I think it’s growing. Like wire coat hangers in the dark…..

Now with 60-feet of fence replaced, first I had to break down each panel and then stack the wood on the patio to dry out. Had nice sunny weather for the weekend and decided to use Dad’s skill saw and cut those boards up no problem. Tried the first skill saw and I couldn’t get it to work. Not sure if it was a button thing or a power issue.

Not deterred, I’d brought another skill saw from Dad’s shop and that one started right up. Sucker was heavy. And noisy. Started in on the boards and the going was a bit rough. Seems 15-year-old cedar boards are a tad tough and I must be a tad weak. It appears you actually have to push the darn skill saw to make it work. Who knew?

I even called my brother-in-law to make sure I was using it correctly. It looked SO EASY when I watched Dad use it. Mom’s comment to me about the whole thing was, “He was strong!”  No kidding. I need three men and a boy to help me with this pile of wood.

Decisions. After about an hour of pushing, shoving and some interesting language, I had one bin filled with wood cut for my fireplace. Egad. With an aching back and kinda frozen fingers, I decided the better part of valor was to put the wood in the garage and work on it over time. Like probably the entire next year.

One bin of firewood cut to size, 5,864 to go. Give or take a few.
One bin of firewood cut to size, About 5,864 to go. Give or take a few.

I will get it done! Maybe by Fall. Maybe not. There must be videos on YouTube on how to use these power tools. Of course at the day job this week one of my co-workers had to rush to the emergency room because her hubby cut off the tip of his finger with a skill saw. I didn’t do that!

Maybe I should hire woodworking elves. Or a herd of woodchucks…..

Got monster home projects? Or skill saw tips?