The definition of "spruce-up" is to make smart and trim. Bob and I have been doing some stuff to my house and yard to spruce it up a bit.
First of all, I have so many tall, tall trees in my yard (somewhere around twenty-five) and the limbs are so high up from the ground that I have no place to hang anything like a bird house or flower baskets. These trees are pin oak trees and most of them are from eighty to one hundred feet tall. That is why I run to the bathroom whenever we have a storm or high winds because I am afraid one of them will blow over on my house.
They keep the house so cool in summer that I don't run the air conditioning very often unless it gets up near a hundred outside. I love the shade, too, but it can get scary during a storm.
We bought a landscaping post from Lowes, set it in concrete, got a birdhouse from Walmart and put it on the top, and added a couple wrought iron hangers for my baskets.
My sister had this little bench in the garbage in front of her house and I picked it up, brought it home and Bob replaced the boards, took the rust off the legs and painted it for my grandson, Thomas
Wyatt.He is going to just love it when he comes to visit.!
The bench is pictured before and after.
Next, some new paint on the storage shed that was beginning to show some rust spots, a few stones across the front and some pots with flowers added a whole new look to that part of the yard.
I saw some outside lights on sale when I was in Lowes the other day and bought a couple to go on each side of the patio doors. They are motion lights and replaced the old motion lights that were very unattractive. These really did make a difference in the back side of the house and "Hootie" likes them because they are off at night until something comes prowling around in the back yard. "Hootie" has been keeping the bird poop off my patio furniture for a couple years now. They think he is a real owl with his head that swivels and follows them around the yard.
It's amazing what a difference just a few updates can make in the looks of something.
I am adding a few more pictures I took of the trees and house so you will know where I am coming from when you read these blog posts.
I hope you enjoyed your visit, come back anytime.
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23 comments:
Judy, thanks for visiting me. Yes we have a lot in common.
I planted Leland Cypress on one side of my new home and in the one year I have been here they have grown 4 feet.
Have a great day.
I have 2 little ones 3 and just turned 6 and then 3 to soon be in college.
Have a great day in Kentucky.
From over the line in Tennessee.
Hi Judy, Gosh your home surroundings look absolutely gorgeous, I miss a real garden since moving here, we are in a four room flat with a tiny bit of grassed area to the side of us and a bit of ground at the back of the house. The downstairs folk are a good bit younger and able to cope with what garden there is and because the downstairs flat has patio doors out to the back area they do make use of the ground much more than us, so they take care of the outside areas for our half of the building. I will post pix on my blog soon to let you see what I mean. I do so miss my garden though.
Your place looks wonderful. Love the little bench too. thanks for letting us share a little of your life.
Hi Judy, your yard and surroundings look wonderful. Would you and Bob come and "spruce-up" my place? LOL I know what you mean about the trees. I also have big trees. I go to my basement if there is a bad storm.
Everything looks so nice Mom! You and Bob can come over and help Anne and I spruce up the farm whenever you like. :)
Love you!
Leigh
Lookin good.....isn't it amazing what a litle paint and a little time can do? I have been putting off cutting my grass because it has been in the 90's and very humid, but finally I went out this evening and cut it... I always love the look of a newly cut lawn....my excuse was "cutting it in this heat will kill it".... but I had to take my chances...LOL Have a good week end judy, judy
Your yard looks lovely. I am glad to see where you live and what you have done with your yard, Judy.
What a fun "extreme makeover" for the yard! The bench before and after is incredible! I love it when one person's trash becomes another person's treasure...very "green" of you, too! That beautiful little boy Thomas Wyatt will love the bench, but he will love it even more because Nana JuJu is there to share it with him!
-Sarah (TW's humble mom)
Judy, I love the pictures of your spruced-up home! I especially love the bench. That could be a definite before and after t.v. show episode. It looks brand new! There's no end to your talents!!
I have a patio set that is identical to your black wrought iron table and chairs! It's currently in storage and so I'm overcome with this nostalgic feeling! It must be so much fun to sit outside with all those beautiful trees and land and enjoy the company of family and friends! Thanks for sharing pictures of your lovely spruced-up home! I sure enjoyed it!
Kelly
be glad for the shade trees. I mowed our yard when I was a child with the old time push mower. It took me all week and when I got to the end I had to start all over again.
Hi Judy,
Thanks for stopping by my blog and I certainly am enjoying yours! I am enjoying blogging, can't believe I waited so long to start. Your pictures are lovely! We seem to share an interest in a number of things so I look forward to staying in touch. Kentucky is one of the few states I haven't been to, so I'll enjoy seeing it through your eyes.
Thanks,
Sylvia
Judy,
Yours is the kind of blog I look for, I'll visit you often. I look forward to seeing Kentucky through your eyes.
I'm new to blogging and would be pleased if you would click on my name and visit my blog "Texas to Oregon."
Hi Judy, Could you pass on a 'Hi message' to Leigh, she visited the other day and left a comment about the photographs of the wee ones dancing at the church door and I had missed her comment. I really appreciate folk having a read and saying Hello too. Thanks, Kate x.
What a lovely home and yard you have, Judy! It looks so cool and inviting. You are fortunate to be able to turn off the air-conditioning. I love having my windows open to bring the outdoors in!
Thanks for sharing your pretty place with us.
Judy,
Thanks for looking at my blog about Scott's Santa Fe baby birds hatching. You're so awesome to always check by blog and leave a comment! I really appreciate it!
Kelly
You and Bob have really done a nie job "sprucing up" your yard. I know what you mean about the trees. At the house we lived in until a few months ago, we had all kinds of tall maple trees that were all beginning to show their age and drop branches during storms. It seemed every year that we spent hundreds of dollars getting the deadwood trimmed out. However, Iloved the trees and miss them in our patio home. By the way, that room you saw is the sunporch, which was supposed to be an open porch. We paid extra to have it enclosed, but it seems as if I am outside when I am sitting there.
And Terry was not an engineer, but a Marine. His motto is "A place of everything, and everything in its place." (except for his clothes!)And the older he gets, the more of a perfectionist he becomes...
I LOVE all those trees!! I am big on trees and water. I just love properties that have trees and a creek. You've got those great big shade trees, and that is terrific. I see what you mean about those trees causing you some fear during bad storms.
That bench went through quite a transformation!
Your house and yard look very nice.
It's great that you don't have to turn on the air cond very often. Ours is on all the time.
Hey Mom,
Your place looks great! You and Bob are just busy, busy always thinking up soemthing to do and it almost always involves a trip to Lowes!!
love you
-Anne
Dear Judy,
Thanks for visiting my blog! It is wonderful to have friends stop by for a blog visit. I can feel like I know them. Beautiful pictures of the yard and surroundings! I know it takes a lot of work to make improvements. I'm having a great time writing, don't know why I waited so long! It is getting ready to storm here, so I have to log off right now. Thanks again to you and Clara for being such nice visitors.
Judy,
The Dog Days of Summer are here in Oklahoma City, over 100 degrees today. Our grass (Bermuda) is fastly dying. I am envious of your tall trees and lush yard. I have a bench like your before picture. Maybe I can paint and spruce mine up to look like yours. My house looks very similar to yours. You are an inspiration to all of us.
Judy:
You are hysterical!!! I'm not sure which picture would be better to have! Scott in a helmet or the baby birds (lol.......)
You are the Great! Thanks for the idea, I'm sure Scott will read this and take note of the helmet idea!
If he gets someone to take a picture of him with a helmet on, I'll be sure to post a picture of him!!!
I wrote this to you on my blog too, but wanted to make sure you saw it, we have all laughed so hard over it!!!
Kelly
Hi Judy,
I loved my first visit. There's a lot of reading for me to do here.We did a lot of "sprucing up" last year and are finishing it with the new lights etc.
I love your big, tall trees. We have wooded lots here, but our woods is across the very back of the lot...so our trees in the yard are smaller.
Thanks for visiting my blog today and leaving a comment.Come again.
I sure do like you yard. How is it that you do not have some leaves on the ground. My pin oaks are always dropping a limb, more leaves, or something. What king of grass in the shade. My son and I cannot get grass in our yards???
Enjoyed my visit. Sorry I ask so many questions....
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