Patchwork Patio: Free Wood

The other day, on the way to the chiropractor, my mother in law and I saw a sign. It was on crappy flat board, and the spray paint words read, "Free Wood."

Perhaps I should have started with an experience I had on Sunday while I was visiting yard sales. We stopped at one and saw that they had several boxes full of old bricks. I use the term brick loosely because they weren't actually bricks, they were manufactured blocks of salmon-colored brick-stuff of varying shapes and sizes. There were no prices marked on the boxes, and I was thinking I'd like a few pieces to make a perimeter around my plant bed. I asked the lady how many she'd give me for two or three bucks. I mean it's a yard sale, so making offers is part of the deal--especially when you're talking about items that are not marked with a price tag.

I don't want to make this story lengthy or boring (as the situation turned out to be), but in the end she wouldn't part with them for less than a dollar per brick, claiming the value of the bricks was upwards of eighty to one hundred dollars a box. Needless to say, I walked away brickless.

Now, back to the free wood. I stopped and dug around in the pile and came away with several boards. I did this with them:

I decided that although wood may not be as aesthetically pleasing as brick, it looks pretty darn good when it's free. Also, if I'm going to pay retail prices for bricks, you can bet I will be buying new ones.

Oh, by the way, the beans look a lot better now, I think. Is it just me? I think adding the potting soil helped a little. The soil was very woody, so I used it as a mulch, and they have perked up quite a bit since I did.

It's time to name a crookneck, and I am lacking creativity. I mean Squashy is too much like squash. I was trying to think of something that goes with crookneck. Curvy? Curly? I dunno. I'm goin' with Squishy Junior for now.

Anyway, the point is that Junior is up!

What a cute little bundle!

Yawn... Okay, I'm up! I'm up!

Since Junior was planted the same day as the cucumbers, it seemed only fitting that they should also sprout the same day. I guess that makes them twins. Cucumber, I dub thee Crunchy.