As summer draws to a close, I can say that the raised garden beds are 98% finished. We need to construct 2 more beds to make the end, however that is only a couple of hours worth of work. The beds have been lined, and we actually got dirt in them thanks to one of the best landscapers in the world Steve from S&D Landscaping. He is GREAT. Not only does he do our landscaping, but he is really a nice guy and I have never met anyone that works as hard as he does, and is the perfectionist that he is. He dropped probably close to 4 yards (maybe more) of screened top soil in the yard for us. Talk about a huge savings, not only the cost of the materials (which he did not charge us for) but the delivery.
So what do they look like filled?
Now when next spring comes, all that needs to be done is to mix in some compost (which we are making), peat moss (that we will have to buy) and veggies...it is a very inexpensive way to add floor space to your garden, and really they don't look bad. My brother asked a question about what happens when the pallets 'rot' away. They will do that, and I could paint them which would make them last longer, however the way each of the sections are constructed, all I will have to do is pop the bad pallet out, and put in a new one. Hey worse case scenario is that I dump all the dirt into the garden area, tear the beds out and have one hell of a bon fire. I have figured out the cost of this project and divided it into linear feet, it comes out to about $0.35 per foot. That is with screws, plates, a couple of 2x4's wire, fabric. I think we can get enough veggies to warrant the cost. Hell I have $20.00 in a bean pole, and the damn rabbits ate all of the beans, so I lost on that this year.
For those who know me, they know that I hate winter...let me re-phase that, I HATE WINTER, and of course living in Upstate NY winter starts like 10/1 and goes to the end of May. Now of course I am going back to college in the Spring semester, but I have decided that I am going to continue to make rustic pallet furniture. I actually have an order for a wine rack. I will make up a bunch of stuff (thank God for a Barn) store it during the winter months then when the art festivals start up I will buy a booth and see what happens. If I can make a few bucks on the side great, if not at least I can keep busy during the damn WINTER. It is so sad to see that the stores now have their Christmas decorations going up...if you don't believe me go to any Hallmark Store (r) and look at their decorations...really? This stuff was up before Labor Day.
I will leave you with this though, life is to short to worry about those things that you can not change, and so I try to concentrate on things that I can change. People ask me all the time about things and my common answer is that if you want to start a business, follow a dream, try something different go for it because some day you won't be able to and then there is nothing but regrets. Am I going to be able to sell pallet furniture and wine racks etc...I don't know, but if I don't try the answer is no.
Here is hoping that today is a good day, and tomorrow is even better..take care of one another because that's all we have.
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