Yard Art . . . Enough is Enough--Or is it?

 Carolyn J. Rose

 

Thanks to the lockdown and hours of boredom-driven cleaning and culling, the inside of my home is approaching a state of stripped-down simplicity. The yard, however, is approaching a state of over-the-top decorating bordering on—dare I say it?—clutter.

 

I never intended things to go this far. But last year as winter loomed, plants died, leaves drifted, and rain fell, my spirits drooped. A few pieces of yard art and a little color, I decided, could brighten the view of the yard. And that might lift my view of life in general.

 I started with things I found at thrift stores. The giant lizard intended as a CD rack is one of my favorites. He has an owl and a cat for companion-ship. 

 

They’re all a basic black, but other pieces sport splashes of color. 

Sometimes it’s just a bit, like the water pouring from the dipper held by the cowgirl bathing in a washtub, or the shades of green on the leaves nailed up around the branches of a metal tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thanks to cans of paint left over from various projects and a friend with imagination, a gull once white and gray is now a psychedelic sea bird. I smile when I see his wings swing in the wind.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vases and bowls scavenged at yard sales and glued together offer water to birds and butterflies and LED solar lights hold the darkness at bay just a bit.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As I find new pieces, I move the older ones out of the prime viewing area or “retire” them to the homes of friends or to the street corner where we place items offered up for free.

 I estimate I have 25 feet of fence still undecorated, a few cans of paint that haven’t dried out, and maybe 30 dollars in my yard art budget. So, because winter will come far sooner than I wish, I’ll be off on the hunt for a few more pieces to add to the landscape within my fence.