The Backyard Shed
When you hear me say “my shed” …I’m referring to the backyard shed that I can see from the kitchen window.
This is how it became “My Shed”, lol!
When we moved here in 2018, my husband Ken still had two years left to work before retiring.
He traveled 3 to 4 days a week. By the time the weekend came, he was exhausted.
We now had 9 acres to take care of…lots and lots of it had to be mowed every week.
Our last
house (that we lived in for 40 years) had a yard that could be mowed in under an hour
…this property took two people, three hours (not including weed eating and trim work)
Ken was so behind on mowing and the yard was looking so unkept, it was driving me nuts.
You CAN teach an old dog new tricks...
I decided right then, I was going to learn how to mow with the tractors!
The previous owner sold us two John Deere lawn tractors and we had a zero-radius tractor from home.
Over the years, I had used the trim mower and weed eater…but I had never been on the riding mower.
I was retired, I could do the mowing! That would free up the weekends for us to start some of the other projects we had in mind
Who KNEW?
I was 64 years old, … Honestly, how hard could it be?!
I started with the John Deere, it was huge with a 54” deck, turning took some time to master.
…to my astonishment, I realized, I loved to mow!
It was SO satisfying!
My husband was delighted! Since then, mowing with the lawn tractors is my job.
Then I taught myself to drive the zero-radius mower…what a life changer!
Most people dread mowing… I still love it!
So all the lawn tractors, are now considered mine, they are stored in “My Shed, lol!
Here was the shed before the restoration
All a girl needs is some lipstick...and sunglasses
When I look out my kitchen window, this shed is the first thing I can see.
She needed to be really “cute”!
Painting the shed, was my next project.
I had just finished painting the chicken coop “the perfect red” I knew that would be the color for my shed too!
What fun to look out the kitchen window and see a red shed with crisp white trim. Imagining shutters and window boxes…I couldn’t wait to start!
The Trim
Now for the door color.
I called my friend, Kay, who was just home from a trip to Sweden, her family’s home country.
Swedish colors have always been dear to my heart, and I knew Kay had an excellent eye!
She and I have many things in common, but the most unusual one is our “red” color choice, lol!
She also has a love for “the perfect red” I knew she could help me with the trim color too!
She told me in Sweden, the country side was dotted with little red cottages. They were as common as red barns in the USA.
When I asked Kay what color were the doors painted? …she said “green or mustard yellow” were the most common.
I loved both choices, but the green caught my fancy right away!
Now for the perfect green, lol!
The neighbors
The front of the house was on a fairly busy street, right across from a sweet little church.
The property is long and thin, approximately 2 acres wide and 5 acres long. On the other three sides were subdivisions, but there were scrub woods along the perimeter so we couldn’t see the houses.
We really only have two neighbors, that we could see up by the house.
Bob, a widowed 80 year old with no children and
Donovan, a 74 year old Viet Nam vet, never married with no children.
As soon as we met them, we knew they were both lonely.
Bob couldn’t walk very well, and didn’t talk much, but would ride over in his golf cart to visit.
Donavan seemed very guarded but warmed up some after a few months.
The Red Shed
As I painted my shed from grey/ green to “the perfect red, lol!”, neighbor Donovan would come over to see the progress and give his approval, lol!
Dealing with Donovan
My husband, Ken and I had talked about how we could help out our older bachelor neighbors, without really letting them know it, lol!
It seemed Donovan, was always working on a project and I came up with an idea.
The next time he came over, I asked him if he would consider a barter?
If he made some simple shutters and window boxes for my newly painted red shed, I would make him enough homemade meals to get him through the winter.
He was hesitant but interested in the offer. Meanwhile, I finished painting my “little red shed”.
Donovan did agree to the barter, he built shutters and window boxes for the shed, plus replaced one of the windows.
He also switched two gates, on the backyard chain-link fence, changing the hinge to swing the opposite way.
Here is the shed with the darling shutters and windowboxes Donovan made.
That was three and a half years ago. We still make meals for Donovan (and Bob) on a regular basis to this day.
Often times I wonder if God places people in a certain path…to serve a certain purpose.
The View
Every season, in all kinds of weather that little red shed is a constant source of joy!
I look out my kitchen window many times a day and I imagine the view. A future garden just beyond the chicken coop.
A small orchard with a big ole’ pumpkin patch next to it…
.
I’ll go out there and measure everything, draw it all out on drafting paper….and I did.
Hope to see you next time when we face the “Rooster” dilemma and I lay out my dream garden.
Fondly, Sandy
Love that story, Sandy! And I love the shed and the “apple” colors! I do think there is a lot of “Divine Providence” in our lives: bringing our lives together through the brewery is one of them!
I agree Renie! Apple colors…love it.
I absolutely love your shed Sandy. It’s just perfect.
Thanks SO much Beth!
Your shed looks great! Love the red and green together. Such a wonderful story. I agree, God puts people in our lives all the time. Sometimes for them and sometimes for us…for such a time as this.
Thank you so much Donna!
I love mowing too! Living on a farm makes you learn new things out of necessity! I can run every saw in the workshop, drive the loader ( I don’t like it tho!)trim trees, mix chemicals to spray for weeds and bugs, set mouse traps ( the worst job!) I LOVE how you’ve involved your neighbors- what a blessing to them to receive your homemade meals and friendship!
I love the videos of you driving on the Farm tractor! ❤❤❤
I loved reading your story about your she shed and your Neighbors. Yes, God places people in our lives for special reasons and he sure blessed your neighbors with you and your husband. Blessed for sure ♥️
…I hope we can stay here a long time. Thanks for your encouragement Jennifer