It's not all Radio, Electronics, and Bodywork on old cars here. Occasionally we do Home Improvement Projects, like this one, a part of turning a "house" into a "home".
A few weeks ago we decided that the stone "steps" our handyman guy installed when he put in the edging weren't quite what we needed. They were too small, and too few, for our old bones and shortened strides, and needed replacing. So I figured out what we needed, and we drove up to the Rock Garden on the North side of town, and picked up a bunch of replacements.
We now have a very solid path through the mulch over to where the water spigot is, and another "Little Kid's Path" over to a steel yard-art goat. Don't ask why; SLW thought it was cute, so I planted the flagstone where she directed me to....
When she thinks things are cute, I just (very quietly!) sigh and say "Yes, Honey..." and let it go.
I think it goes with her front porch "Fall" motif....
And her other whimsical art, placed in various positions around the yard...
While we were there picking up the new stone steps, we looked at the other rocks in the main yard, looking for a decent sized slab we could attach some house numbers to, like an entrance rock alongside a driveway in the neighborhood. This led to discussions with the yard guy, who indicated we could also have the numbers, and a design, etched into the rock. After going through several iterations of the design, and picking some suitable "prop rocks" to position the slab, the "Stone Writer" guy did his thing, and all the rocks were delivered this afternoon.
From the back:
And from the front:
I wanted to use the city's logo underneath the address, but it's copyrighted, so SLW said no.
Reproduced here for your perusal, all rights reserved by the copyright holder....
The "notches" in the mountain on the left signify Horsetooth Mountain, a local landmark and nav fix, while the blue "wave" represents Horsetooth Reservoir, another local landmark and recreational area.
So the stone engraver guy and I came up with a mountain with a couple of notches in it, and SLW approved.
One of the types of rocks I saw when we were there are "Moss Rocks", which come from wet places, and still have all the dehydrated/fossilized moss and lichen stuck all over them.
The ones we bought weren't as "fancy" as the one in the picture, and this one still has to be moved a bit. I think a simple application of a suitable lever and fulcrum will allow us to wiggle it over into the depression it's pretty much in. It just has to be "adjusted" a bit...
And since we couldn't get this little one placed where we wanted with the forklift, we just dumped it here alongside the garage door. Hopefully it'll sink it a bit over the Winter...
Back to bodywork.......
At least you got little rocks... Like the house number, that looks good!
ReplyDeleteThanks! The "prop rocks" and "moss rocks" we wound up with aren't the ones we originally picked out. Somehow "our" rocks got the tags knocked off and disappeared. To make up for it, the vendor gave us the slab the number was engraved on, along with all the small rocks. So aside from paying the engraver, the sign was free.
DeleteTotal cost for everything including delivery was under $600.
HAH!
ReplyDeleteThe whole process was a bit of a Charlie Foxtrot because the didn't stack the stone where the engraver normally works on it, so he had to go back THREE times before he could cut the stone, and they "lost" the really nice moss rocks I had picked out.
Considering we got out of this for about half of what I guesstimated it would cost, I guess that's a fair trade for it taking two weeks longer than we expected.
SLW still hasn't fully adjusted to "Mountain Time"....
Nicely done, sir. Given the average depth of the snow here, we finally opted for a plaque on a tree within viewing distance of the road. Most folks still don't see it, but at least we tried. The large rocks in the yard, here and there, were placed by the previous owner (or the builder; it's hard to say).
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was reasonably priced, makes the wife happy, and they (eventually) did a very nice job. We'll probably pile up some coarse gravel and soil around it, and maybe plant some of that clump grass that grows tall and almost looks like wheat, like what we have growing by the front window.
DeleteLooking good, love moss rocks. My mom had big ones around the house she built in RB. Her landscaper did a great job of placing them. They were partially buried and looked like they had always been there.
ReplyDeleteLike your sign rock.
Thanks, Brig!
DeleteThe Rock Garden has quite a large collection of moss rocks, some that are gigantic.
Tactical considerations: Rocks in the front yard ... ammunition for rioters to break your windows and doors. Every rock should be too big for someone to lift.
ReplyDeleteI was joking with the guy at the rock place, saying the big ones were not only concealment, but cover!
DeleteWe have some tossable-sized ones, but most are too big to move, much less pick up.