Tag Archives: garden

Insects

Butterflies, a caterpillar and a dragonfly in the garden today.

Our Garden Spring 2017

Minnow Bucket Patio Table Light

Many years ago I converted this old minnow bucket I purchased at an antique store into a light to hang over the table on our deck.

Materials used…
Inner portion of a minnow bucket.
Outdoor light socket.
Extension cord.
Plumbing strap.
Eye bolt.
Washers – 2.
Wire nuts.
Fish stringer.
Electrical tape.
Light bulb.

The light socket is made of rubber suited for outdoor use.

I drilled 2 holes in the bottom of the bucket. One for an eye bolt to hang the bucket by and the other to run the cord through.

I made an L bracket from plumbing strap and attached it inside using the eye bolt. I then used zip ties to attach the socket to the L bracket. To wire it I cut off the female end of an extension cord, ran it through the hole I drilled and then wire nutted it to the socket. I wrapped electrical tape around the cord where it goes through the hole. I’ve had no problems with this but it might be better to use an electrical box cable clamp. The light is hung by a fish stringer which also helps to hide the cord.

The cord runs to an electrical outlet on our deck which we just plug in to turn the light on.

Our Friends Garden

I quickly snapped a few pics while at a friends house the other day. They have such a beautiful and fun yard (and house). I hope to get better photos some day.

No More Fish Pond

I decided to fill in the small pond in our back yard. It was in bad shape and I was tired of maintaining it.

Now what to do with the fish? I put them in this small stock tank we had. I think we may keep this as I expect it’ll be easier to clean than the pond was. Being above ground I’m sure I’d need to get a pond heater for winter though or the thing will freeze solid.

THe old pond is now a temporary compost pit which I think I’ll eventually cover with grass once it’s settled.

Bird Houses

I put this one together out of cedar, drawer knobs, drawer pulls and a tin can.

This one was recently given to me and I believe made by an uncle. I repainted it 2 shades of green and added the small knob for a perch.

Garden Bench

I just come across these photos of garden benches I made a few years ago. They are a simple design I come up with on the fly. I made 2, one for ourselves and one for our Daughter. Ours is the painted one which eventually started to rot and also needed to be moved from its location so we just got rid of it. Our Daughter gave hers to a neighbor when she moved and no longer had a place for it.