Gotta work with what I have

     Mike (my man) is a fencer which does not mean that he earns his living wielding an epee but by building fences in the ridiculous Florida heat.  A large percentage of customers who want a new fence or deck have an old fence or deck that's got to go.  That's a lot of wood going to the landfill. Granted, much of it is trashed, but the 4x4 fenceposts are usually in good shape with the exception of a couple of feet of rotted wood were it was buried and old decks usually yield some good boards that survived the elements.  How could I use that wood?

     I've had backyard chickens for a few years now and they are beasts.  It is their nature to dig constantly and I discovered that if I put something, like a stone, over the spot where they are digging, they seemed doubly compelled to dig deeply all around the edges of said item.  But I want my ladies to roam freely (they almost never leave my yard even though they can fly) so it's been a constant struggle to protect things like veggie plants, flowers, and the large mulched play area of my backyard (ping pong table, water balloon fights, firecracker staging, etc).

     One afternoon, I was watching Mike cut long boards at an angle with a handheld circular saw.  Before he knew what happened, I had the saw and was constructing a walkway with all the reclaimed deck boards he had earmarked for a different project.  He is kind and generous and let me have my way (always best) but as he observed my untutored wood working (I can do it myself!) he did suggest I use fewer nails so it would be easier to "fix" in the future.

     WHATEVER!!!

     I admit, my walkway has a bit of a funhouse feel to it but it's so much better than the previous path of stepping stones that had become dangerously bumpy with all the chicken scratching.

     I am now in the process of surrounding the mulched area with a walkway constructed of reclaimed 4x4's, cut down to 4' lengths.  I took Mike's advice to heart and while I originally envisioned staggering the joins of the 4x4's like a hardwood floor, I realized that by using 4' sections I could more easily perform repairs as needed.

     This is not a project I will finish anytime soon.  The 4x4's are heavy which is why I downgraded from my original plan of connecting 6 across to just 4 across; still ample room to walk and wheel my garden cart.  Also, it's dang hot, and sometimes I just don't feel like dragging my chopsaw outside.

     I give myself permission to work at a comfortable pace and I simply direct my gaze above the stack of mismatched 4x4's demanding my attention.