An En"Tire" Day

Saturday was a tire day.  We built a tire bike rack and got a good start on Ellie's birthday present.  It felt good to get some items off the "to-do" list. 

We also got a post in the ground for the pig pen.  Well, Bryan got the post in the ground.  I handed him the shovel and bar and post hole diggers.  But the other side of the area still had large ice crystals, so that project has been delayed another week. 

The Bike Rack

I had planned on digging a hole for each tire individuality.  Bryan looked at the picture of what I wanted, and decided that digging a big trench was the easiest solution. Good thing we have a lot of shovels--the kids were eager to help.

Digging the hole with Daddy's supervision and direction

Once the hole was dug, Bryan checked for levelness. (Another step I would have missed).  Then we needed to select tires.

A trip to the junk pile yielded enough tires of around the same size (15 in). 

We worked together to set the tires in place.  Then we had to put the dirt back.  It took some time to really pound it all together.

But it was worth the work!

Ellie's birthday present is also turning out nicely.  We were able to use scrap lumber for one of them, so we'll only need to buy a board for the other.  We decided to just make two, since two children can use them at the same time. 

It needs a coat of spray paint, but is otherwise complete.  I think she'll love it! 

Next on my tire list is another planter.  I'm hoping to get flowers in in a few weeks. I've never planted flowers before.  Any tips for a newbie?  Easy to grow flowers?  I know I want perennials so I don't have to plant them each year.