Since we moved into the house, the back gate has creaked loudly and it hangs so low that it scrapes along the sidewalk. It never provided, except for it's sound, a very dramatic entry to the back yard.
Saturday, I tried to remedy some of these things with a back gate renovation. I removed the gate from the hinges, re-oiled the hinges and cut about 2 inches off the bottom. I added a diagonal reinforcement to the gate and also cut a parabolic shape in the top.
It works very well now and no longer does the entire neighborhood know when I am going from the front to the back yard or vice versa. I did have one problem. I did not plan that the gate overlaps the corner post so my parabola looks off-center. In the future, I need to plan these things more carefully. In the coming months I will be adding a pergola/gateway feature above the gate.
While shopping for gate supplies at Lowe's, I noticed that the yard stuff is on sale. I decided to pick up three tiki
torches to add to the "white trash ambiance" of the yard. I think the ones I got are a little too nice so they don't really compliment the plastic crap or the see-saw gnome and frog sculpture. At night, the yard does look like an episode of
Survivor though and that's pretty cool. The final two pics are just for fun: me playing Martha Stewart (a secret fetish of mine) after cutting back the zinnias. The other is a huge dragonfly that was perched on the leaf of one of our sunflowers.
Saturday, I tried to remedy some of these things with a back gate renovation. I removed the gate from the hinges, re-oiled the hinges and cut about 2 inches off the bottom. I added a diagonal reinforcement to the gate and also cut a parabolic shape in the top. 
It works very well now and no longer does the entire neighborhood know when I am going from the front to the back yard or vice versa. I did have one problem. I did not plan that the gate overlaps the corner post so my parabola looks off-center. In the future, I need to plan these things more carefully. In the coming months I will be adding a pergola/gateway feature above the gate. 
While shopping for gate supplies at Lowe's, I noticed that the yard stuff is on sale. I decided to pick up three tiki torches to add to the "white trash ambiance" of the yard. I think the ones I got are a little too nice so they don't really compliment the plastic crap or the see-saw gnome and frog sculpture. At night, the yard does look like an episode of Survivor though and that's pretty cool. The final two pics are just for fun: me playing Martha Stewart (a secret fetish of mine) after cutting back the zinnias. The other is a huge dragonfly that was perched on the leaf of one of our sunflowers. 
6 comments:
Ha I knew you were Martha! Knew it!!
At least your tikis look metal or "antique-y"...wait a minute...
"White trash city" is what we have...the $2 special, 3-foot-tall bamboo ones. Light up the yard really nicely, but really are white-trashy.
Pretty zinnias too...I'll plant some of those next year. I planted them once before in a previous garden and they were great. Didn't have room this year. But next year, look out!
How's the rain barrel working out? We want to install one eventually. Where's a good place to find them?
We got the rain barrels through ebay. They were cheap - 45 bucks each. I bought them from a seller called Irspec. I just checked and it looks like his prices have gone up a bit - what a bummer.
YAY Rain Barrels! I am doing that too! Your yard looks great.
Hi, there!
Just found your blog, and have really enjoyed your last few entries-- I laughed out loud when I read "disheveled hole" :)
My husband and I live in a tiny 1949 Cape Cod and can relate to many of your experiences. In the past 4 years we've dealt with termite damage, rot, had Hardiplank installed, a couple of new windows... and have sooo much more to do.
Good luck with everything!
Kimberley
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