It's November - no trick!

So what has been your best treat or worst trick of the year in the garden?

Zuzu's kitty knows it has only treats and no tricks in store from her!

The driftwood finds on the beach were one of our most fun experiences this year and just last Sunday we ended up with this piece, which I had lying down. Once I stood it vertically I realized it's a bird.

Or maybe a giraffe...

That's what my friend, Lynn, said!

I sent the picture to my grandson, he said giraffe, too.
And you know how smart grandsons are...

A giraffe with her baby for sure.

Here's the head. Does it still look more like a giraffe than a bird?

thats a pretty cool piece of driftwood. we dont get any of that here in san diego.

Definitely a giraffe !

Oh yeah, pirl, cause Mike says so.
It's a giraffe.

And it sure is a great piece of driftwood.

Found this on the beach a few weeks ago. From the side, it looks like a dog...or a gargoyle. What do you think ?

Here it is from the front (not as interesting, though)

Definitely a Schnauzer!

Yes ! Good one ! LOL

From the front, it looks like a kitty gargoyle.

Or maybe a seahorse.

Dogoyle

Love Dogoyle!

I think it's a Scottie!

A local restaurant is closing down and they have a 6' wooden giraffe I'd love to have for the garden but can't imagine where I'd store him for the winter.

You could paint it with clear spar varnish. That would make it waterproof...

Take it to a carpainting shop and have it "Clear Coated"

...and they'd have me white coated.

Juney - does that come in spray cans?

I don't know.

Seal it with a deck sealer or wood sealer of any sort. They come in spray cans.

Thanks. We've used Thompson's wood sealer for other applications and hated it so we'll try another brand.

i noticed blossoms on the quince bush
what da

M forsythia and quince did that last year (in the Missouri Ozarks @ Ft. Wood). They gave me one of the best Spring-time in Fall displays that I have ever seen and still bloomed OK last spring.

I have a really dark shady spot in my garden that I had been trying unsuccessfully for several years to brighten up with silver leafed foliage. This year I decided to try to find some non-plant item to use instead.

As I already have a number of concrete statues, I wanted something else. I thought maybe I could find a nice metal or glass sculpture. I searched many flea markets and auctions. I think that I had an abstract form most in mind. This is what I found.

How cute. It looks kind of like a cougar/ monkey.

That's a pretty area.

Thanks Polly. It is an African carved wooden monkey. Most people think it is a cat.

I think it's terrific...but I bet you'd have guessed that anyhow!

Thanks, Pirl. Yes, it does seem to fit in with your "menagerie". LOL DSO treated it it 3 times with that clear Marine Varnish that's used for sail boats. You might want to try using that on some of yours. It hardly darkened the paint at all. I just finished bringing a lot of the other garden "stuff" inside today. I need help to carry him. He weighs about 75 lbs. He's going into the basement for the winter.

I found the marine Spar Varnish in a spray can: http://cabotstain.com/products/product/Spray-Spar-Varnish.html I like the ease of using spray cans and you can't beat the cleanup time. LOL

That's good to know, stormy.

Thank you, JuneyBug. I think the spray would be much more effective getting all the nooks and crannies. I do appreciate your help.

My worst trick of the year was thinking that it was safe to let DSO go back to Home Depot to pick up the Brick Red paint that I wanted for my Bistro set. He had helped me to sort through all of the cans when we were there the first time and they only had one can. When they called me to say that it had been restocked, I foolishly let him handle it. Second worst trick, was my not going to check on the work in progress.

Actually, it fits right in with my neighbor's new fence.

Well it is an eye catcher!

I like it. A few magazines pictured everything painted blue, and everyone did it. I like the red, different.

LOL, I've gotten used to it now. When the Begonias grew and got as red as the table, it looked a lot better. But, it didn't fade one bit over the season. The gals in mid-atlantic called it eye popping. LOL

It is a wonderful set and the pottery planter looks home made.

Thanks, Ge. No, it was just a nicely priced buy at Home Goods several years ago.

Love the way you matched the reds. What are you growing on the trellises?