My Wife’s Birthday Present

I have not published in a while because I have been busy.  Today is my wife’s birthday and it is an important birthday (but I am not allowed to say which one), so I thought I would do something special.

She enjoys gardening – but her favorite pastime has become less than enjoyable due to knee problems,  so I built her some raised planters.

1

I had saved some wood from an old deck knowing one day it would come in handy.  That is Scooter supervising.

2

First I built the ends.

3

Then the sides.

4

Next I pieced them together.

6

After I completed the box, I installed joists and laid down the floor.  This raises the garden to a comfortable height.

7

While I was installing the railings, someone came by to help.  Twiggy is a stray who wandered into our yard last fall and took up residence in the shed.

She soon returned to work on a project of her own.

8

This is what she has been up to.  The quintuplets are two weeks old.

9

After lining it with plastic, I used a two wheel dolly to haul it out to the garden.  The thing weighs a good 200 lbs.

10

Once in position, I laid drainage tile along the bottom and installed hoses to keep it from filling with water after a heavy rain.

20170510_114829

Last of all, I filled the planters with gardening soil and turned them over to my wife.

Update: the rabbits who count on our garden for snacks have informed me that they are not amused – and if you understood how big, burly and thuggish these rabbits are….  well… it is best to keep them amused.

Author: Almost Iowa

www.almostiowa.com

60 thoughts on “My Wife’s Birthday Present”

  1. What a thoughtful gift, something I would appreciate! Right now… Can you be my husband for a day and make me that exact gift?? Soooo… was she happy? Impressed? Delighted?

    Peta

  4. That’s very impressive! As for the rabbits, maybe just make a separate garden dedicated just to them. Cuz nothing good ever comes from making a rabbit angry…

  5. Nice job. Hope it was good for a few brownie points. Do your rabbits have ancestry from a certain Monte Python character?

  6. Greg. Not cool my friend, not cool. I thought we hubbies had an understanding for this year. “No gifts worth more than $10 unless they involve cleaning products and weight loss plans.” This was supposed to be our year. Now I’ve gotta take back the vacuum cleaner and Jenny Craig gift certificates. Way to go with yet another outstanding gesture of love and thoughtfulness. yeesh 😉

    1. I crossed the line, I admit it. Since I used repurposed wood, the planters cost about $38 in misc expenses. That works out to $19 per item, a full $9 over the limit. I expect a rep from the “Guy’s Union” to stop by any day. Maybe I can get the rabbits to defend me. I have been feeding them for years, there should be some consideration.

  7. How sweet of you to build those for your wife’s birthday. Wonderful, well designed, and they’ll last. I hope she’s enjoyed them on her 29th birthday 🙂

  8. Happy important birthday to your wife! What a great gift– practical, desired and crafted from the heart by your hands. I bet she was impressed. Were these planters a surprise as in you squirreled yourself away in the shop and forbade her to enter?

  10. What a great project! Looks like they turned out great. You are quite a supervised worker between wife, dog, cats, and thuggish bunnies. I hope you have proper hearing protection to thwart their advice and input.

    1. I have a five foot fence around the garden now and that keeps the deer at bay… but I’ve seen deer leap a five foot fence from a standing position.

  15. Those are great. They really are a wonderful gift, even if the rabbits don’t think so. Still, I’d be cautious. Old rabbits can learn new tricks, they say. And speaking of saying — happy birthday to your beloved. Tell her an old woman and a cat in Texas wish her well!

    1. Our futile attempts at protecting our garden have not amused the rabbits or the deer. I watched a rabbit run through that fence without even slowing down. The deer merely leap over it. You would think we would get a little consideration from the coyotes – but coyotes follow their own customs and norms. I will add a band of chicken wire around the perimeter and am considering a tier of electrified wire to surprise the deer – but it make you wonder what our ancestors did to fend off the wildlife… probably a very big dog. Scooter, apparently, is not passing muster.

      And yes, I passed along your wishes. It got a smile.

    1. It is surprising how little it cost. Between the 2×2’s, 2×4’s, tile and tubing, I think I spent $35. I like to repurpose old things. It is cheap and looks great.

      1. I did the potholder last year – and the dish towel the year before…. I still have the lump on my forehead from the later one.

    1. They turned out well. It is a wonder that they did – with so many opinions being offered. Especially the rabbits who kept chanting, “make them lower, make them lower”.

    1. I reviewed our marriage vows and marital contract. I also reread the relevant statutes. There is nothing in them that mentions garbage.

      1. I think it is understood that the husband takes out the garbage. It has been thus understood since caveman days. Don’t you remember Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble taking all the flack from Wilma and Betty when they didn’t take out the garbage? Even Dino was not their side.

      2. “in sickness and in health”…..not taking out the garbage could be bad for one’s health?

    1. It was fun and glad to have some warm weather to do it in. Around here, 60F is warm at this time of year. In a few weeks, it will be tropical…then arctic.

      1. I take out the garbage more than hubby…it has something to do with his home made bread and delicious pizzas. But if the green can is too heavy he will do that one for me,

Comments are closed.