Repurposing and edibles

This past week was a short one as I went up to Longview to visit my parents for an early Father's Day. We then spent Sunday and Monday with Jennie's family with some good bbq and a nice kayak on Townlake.   

Spent yesterday at Barton Springs because it was just to hot to work outside.  I think everyone else had the same idea. It was the most crowded I have ever seen.  

So this week I only had a few days to work on my woodworking skills.  One easy project I did was this giant star for the outside of the house.   

I also finished a project that I had started last week, my tree stump side table.   I plained it level, sanded, stained, sealed, and added some castor wheels on the bottom.  I think it turned out pretty well. I'm working on another one that I will remove the bark on.   

I was able to pick up four more stumps in Longview before heading back.  They are pine, so it will give me a chance to work with some soft wood.   

On our way to Longview, we stopped at a brewery in Athens, TX.   They had some local artwork on the walls and one caught our eyes, so I thought I would do my best to replicate it.  So here it is using just scrap pieces I had from other projects.  

Just fence picket pieces and a little spray paint.   

After the rain settled down this morning, I helped out my neighbor with a project of his. He wanted to build an enclosure for his garden to keep out the birds and squirrels.  I came across a similar idea online where a guy used the metal poles from a trampoline to frame a greenhouse. My neighbor had one and with some fence pickets, we got a lot of it built so far.   

 We just need to secure the poles to the wood and ziptie the netting over the top. 

Oh yeah, I also built an outdoor table for my neighbors out of pickets and some table legs I found by the curb in the neighborhood a few months ago.  Now we can take turns for our Saturday morning coffee and fellowship.  

A few weeks ago, the local HEB grocery store had fruit trees on sale for $10 each.  I picked up two peach trees and an apple.   I have planted them in a 4x3 grid pattern in the backyard.  This fall, my plan is to remove my vegetable beds to the front yard and create a small fruit tree orchard in the backyard.  

Yes, the fence is now about 50% still standing.   That will be a project in the near future.  Not as fun to do, but necessary, especially when we get our chickens.   

I finally got to eat my first fig from my fig tree.  

The rest of the garden has been mediocre this year, a handful of cherry tomatoes and some basil.  The basil has been good in my kombucha.   A little basil and slices of cucumber makes a nice refreshing summer kombucha.   I experimented and made a batch with ginger, turmeric, jalapeño, lemon, and just a drip of some local Round Rock honey.   Mighty tasty and healthy to boot.  

That's it for now, so until next time...

Go outside and get dirty!