Paint Sticks and Pumpkins

Before we head out for another camping trip next week, I've been working on our perennial gardens here at the "farm".  Since DH sometimes gets carried away on his new John Deere and forgets that my perennials are there, I discarded my little white plastic garden markers for these...good old-fashioned paint sticks. They're sturdy, hard to knock over, readily available, and...

You can easily correct your spelling on them.

Since my day was focused on gardening rather than crafting, my "garden markers" are as basic as you can get...but you could make them even more visible (and a lot prettier in the garden) by painting them...

And who would have thought paint sticks could come in handy for indoor gardening too? You can find the directions for making this cute little paint stick planter here. It would be perfect  in a sunny fall window when it's time to move the plants indoors.

While I was out weeding near the garden shed...

and gluing the ears back on my garden bunny...

DH was using his chain saw to cut up some old dead trees in the woods. When stacking the wood, he found this nest. The birds had abandoned it and he knew that I wouldn't, so up onto the back porch it came. Now it joins the small pile of other items that I absolutely know I need but haven't yet quite figured out a use for...like the water wheel (see previous post!).

Maybe I'll save it for fall decorating and do something like this...an inspiration photo I had saved from an online Seattle newspaper article in 2009.

From paint sticks to pumpkins...sometimes creative thoughts just get ahead of me...even in the garden!

I'll be linking this post up to the following parties:

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville

Cottage Flora Thursday at Fishtale Cottage

Under $100 Linky Party at Beyond the Picket Fence

Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life