Wednesday, January 10, 2007

I use rail ties in all of my decorating...

My wife decided that enough was enough and the "cowboy fences" and the twenty or so railroad ties that one of our 100-year old house's previous owners used to border every flower bed with, had to go.

So we spent last weekend days pulling out the weathered pseudo-buckaroo fence rails and posts, and 16 or so railroad tie garden border. The weekend nights were filled with broadband web slinging, formulating ideas of what type of white picket fence we want to install.

Why W-P-F? We are the All-American family, after all.

That and my wife has a thing against chain link fencing.

It may have something to do with her pre-teen thigh getting caught on a piece of psychopathic chain link, then watching her Dad nearly pass out when she showed him the result of the accidental piercing -- guess he was pretty squeamish as a young father.

Now, I have nothing personal against either railroad ties in garden landscaping, nor in chain link fencing for property border protection.

But I also will live in the same pair of jeans for a week or so (given the occasional shake for dust and sniff for freshness tests), and think that hot rod flat black primer is a valid color for a cars finish.

BTW, railroad ties are heavy, awkward suckers to man handle around a bumpy backyard. I have much more appreciation for the fellas who came up the lyrics for "I've been working the railroad..."

Hefting a dozen of these things out of the flower beds and around my back fence on the alley for a few hours sure made it a "live long day," for this middle-aged buck.

2 comments:

eccentricego said...

wait, you didn't throw them away, did you?

OKDad said...

Nope, we still have them all. Some friend's who have a cowboy paraphernalia museum up north have claimed the cowboy fencing.

I know I could sell the rail ties for a few dollars, but I may have a use for them afterall.

My wife's old someday-to-be-restored Buick is currently sitting on dirt and grass, and I'm thinking the railroad ties may make a good "floor" if I can dig down deep enough to lay the ties down flush and flat.