Last Updated on May 30, 2006
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I love this cedar butterfly house.  Gary made it for me as a surprise for Christmas one year. The front swings open for easy cleaning, and it is mounted on a steel pole we had lying around.
I absolutely love this bench that Gary made out of a piece of wooden fence that used to be my headboard before we were married.  He mimicked the same slats in the front with some scrap lumber and it was all painted out with paint leftover from our new shed.  The paint is called Rice Cake.  The flamingos you see were made by a local artist in Niagara Falls, New York and are made out of PVC pipe.
This picnic table was one of the first things Gary made when we moved here.  It's made of pine and has since been stained a natural cedar color.  We put pressure treated "feet" on the bottom of the legs so that the legs would not rot as fast.  If it started rotting, we can just put on new "feet" rather than replacing the whole leg or having to make a new table. 
Ever wonder what you are going to do with those plastic kitty litter containers that you can't recycle.  Well recycle them in another way.  Gary made a decorative cover for the tubs so I could use them as planters.  He used some scrap cement siding (so it's quite heavy) and trimed it out with cedar.  I painted it to match our shed.  Two rails were put on the inside of the box for support, one to support the bottom of the tub and another to support the lip of the tub.  I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage and planted annuals in them.  Here's a picture after they were painted and planted.
April 2, 2006 - Today Gary made me a cold frame.  I casually mentioned that I had a feeling I was going to run out of room in the house for all the seeds I have started.  We have two french doors in the shed that Gary got for free, and I have been wondering what to do with them.  Because there are so many panes that would shade the interior, Gary put in a plexiglass window in the front to add more light.  A cold frame really should have more of a slant to allow more light to come in, but I needed the height.  I think the window in front will help a lot.  I will test the temperature inside before I put anything in there. 

This was made very simply using a sheet of plywood, scap 2 x 2s for the corners and scrap strips of molding to hold the plexiglass in the front.  The door is just layed on top (no hinges) and I can prop it open with some scap pieces of wood.  We did not hinge it because we wanted to be able to take it apart very easily when we are done with it for the spring.  Gary added a little strap to the front so I could pull on it when putting the door back down.

Update May 3, 2006 - The cold frame has been working out very well, but the door is very heavy to open and close.  It's not really an issue unless it is watering time, but in a pinch it works. 
May 3, 2006 - I am really excited about Gary's latest project.  It's a new bird feeding station, or "Bird Tree" as I like to call it.  It was made using landscape timbers that we had lying around leftover from another project.  He purchased plans for making this tree, but had to make some modifications to it because it didn't seem very sturdy to him when he was putting it together, but it is sturdy now.  The four wooden hangers will be used for two traditional style birdfeeders, one hummingbird feeder and a fruit feeder.  The top platform will most likely be for a bird bath and the bottom platform will be a platform style bird feeder.  I have some pot hangers I will use to hang some annual containers around the bottom and sides.  This is supposed to be sunk into the ground 12", but we are going to mount it to a deck so that the shells are easy to clean up and so it stays fairly portable in case we need to move it for some reason.
May 30, 2006 - Over the weekend, Gary made these two benches.  He had picked up some untreated landscape timbers some time ago, but didn't know exactly what he was going to make at that time.  We are having a party next month and are concerned about seating, so on the spur of the moment, he decided to make a bench and with the leftover timbers he made a cute little seat for in my garden where I can sit and enjoy the sites and sounds.