Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Backyard spaces

We did a little Fall-ifying in the backyard, looking forward to spending some cool evenings out there...
I recovered some pillows that had mildew spots.  The big cushion is from the "Ginamac" - a fishing and ski barge we owned before kids....and hubby cannot part with it...
 
The photo doesn't do the colors justice - it's really pretty.
 
The stripey one is for my chair.  Not sure if I will make more pillows for the swing - 
more pillows equals more things to clean....
I gave up on trying to grow herbs in this pot on the table - the heat here is relentless.  And that IKEA fabric runner was on the small side and grimy.  As were the coasters.  So I potted a collection of houseplants instead.  I used a piece of burlap to make a new runner - it'll do, for now.
Hubby purchased this giant umbrella to extend the patio shade.  We added some wind chimes that have beautiful low tones - very relaxing.
And I potted a cactus that might bloom one of these days.
Hubby also extended the patio, removing a small fence.  The result is a longer patio, with breezes that blow across the length of it, allowing the wind chimes to make their pretty music.
But the biggest change was a new space for the smoker and two bbq pits to live.  Notice my barely there hanging to life fig tree in the background.  Poor fig tree!
 I still have to work on the yards a bit - but they are discouraging people in Austin from planting new landscaping due to the on-going drought and temps.  For now, it will have to be enough that I water the grass every three days or so...and I need to clean up the red rocks and power wash the patio slab.
And what to do about the cow heads?  I'm thinking of painting them.  Maybe a different color for each of them and hang them in  various lengths.  
Maybe the squirrels won't want to chew on them if they taste like krylon.
Whatcha think?
Can't wait for the weather to get cooler so we can be out here more often!






4 comments:

Holly said...

Your patio looks like a great spot to relax. Love the new pillow fabrics!
I think painting the skulls would be fun and funky...go for it!

Angie@Echoes of Laughter said...

I love all your changes to the patio! I wish I could think about Fall, but I am still hanging on to summer! We have had a very wet summer, so I am still hoping to get some more sunshine days! I love the sausage skillet you posted in a previous post! It looks so good! I love bratwurst, either with potatoes or on a bun with sauerkraut..german style! Have a wonderful week! Angie xo

Marie said...

You have a lovely back yard and the cow heads are sooo cool! Love it.
Very Georgia O'keefe!
:)

a.M. said...

I love your cow heads and they would be cool painted! I commend you on getting all that yard beautifying done in the midst of this heat. I have been pretending I don't see my yard and all it's weeds and dead grass. It'll all have to wait until the weather takes a chill for me to get back out there. It's just so so so sad.