Brandy:

Particularly since I am eyeing that ice chest that is in the middle of the yard looking quite abandoned and thinking "it has a drainer".

 

Don't worry, I have two that I am using for rain barrels until we need them for otherwise!

swedluv:

I have two that I am using for rain barrels until we need them for otherwise!

That's a good use too.

 

Sometimes I think lawns are overrated lol.

There is a house in town.  Someone recently dug up the grass and dumped decorative stone.  Its a very tiny front "lawn" and they made a winding walkpath with different coloured stone.   Then they put in a nice decorative small tree.  It looks greats.   

Our neighbours took the entire back half of their property and put in a decorative rock garden with mulch, hostas and large boulders. 

I'd like to let our back part of our property go wild with native trees, bushes and shrubs.  We've already started it a bit, but it would be nice to just let the native species take over.    At the side of our house, there is a shaded area that grows a lot of native ferns.  Its kind of cool.

In a city nearby, they have banned pecticide use.  I suspect in years to come, folks will get more creative with perrenial English gardens and rock gardens vs. a lush green lawn. 

When growing up, we had a lot of Italian and Portugese folks in our neighbourhood.  They would pave the front yard for extra parking, and the entire backyard was a bountiful garden.   I think they have have been onto something

re-tired:

Guess which house we hung out at?  That's right--Brandy's

LOL!

 

onequarterdal:

Sometimes I think lawns are overrated lol.

We love the look of rock and water gardens. Compared to the homes around us, we have one of the smaller houses but the larger yards. The downside is that my husband is not home enough to help with maintenance so we struggle to keep it looking decent.

onequarterdal:

I'd like to let our back part of our property go wild with native trees, bushes and shrubs.  We've already started it a bit, but it would be nice to just let the native species take over.

That's what we did with a yard we have had. It was too much maintenance so only a small section was cleared and kept up. It made for a private lot and the kids enjoyed the wooded areas.

 

When I was growing up, we always gravitated to the homes where the cookies, pies and cakes were homemade .

I don't remember who had the nicest room, or the most stuff, just the moms who baked and the dad's who fixed things.

Dot

I wonder if someone had a small yard, and wanted to replace the lawn with decorative stone, if the municipal offices would sell it at their cost?  I know a city near us will deliver free wood chips to residents.  All they have to do is call.

 We may get to that someday, our one side yard is dreadful to grow grass, well except crab grass does well lol. 

D 

 

Momtwo - We know Robinette's Jewelers well, they've done all our repairs. My son graduated with his son. My son used to live/work in Buffalo but now resides in Central Square (north of Syracuse). Small World.

I asked at my local grocery stores if I could come in and get the "old" produce that they will throw away to use in my compost.  One said Yes.  While I was cutting up the produce to go into the compost barrel, I noticed that quite a lot of it was OK.  The apples maybe had a bruise, or an entire 5 lb. bag of sweet taters was thrown out because one was a little shriveled, etc.  Ya'll see where I'm going, right?  Yep!!  I started keeping the good stuff.  I just cut it up and stick it in the fridge til I have enough to something.  I can't tell you how many jars of sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, apple sauce, mushrooms I have canned.  For Christmas this year, the important folks got jars of pear jam.  Guess where all the pears came from. 

 

I have also discovered that bI can keep the peelings and the cores of the apples to make juice.  Once I get enough to work with, I put it in a big stock pot or dutch oven.  Then I just cover it all with water.  Then I boil until it is juice.  Same concept as making broth.  I strain the liquidinto a jug and hubby LOVES it.  Of course, then I run the pulp through the food mill to salvage the fruit from the seeds.  Can you say apple butter?

Ooh! Ooh! another one!!  Sour milk in my house means pancakes.