Fall Decorations -- Wind Chime

Farmer Lynn got creative with spray paint the other day.  We had a rusty-but-solid metal wind chime on the corner of the house.  He decided that it deserved some sprucing up.  So after sanding away the rust and old paint, he spray painted it a flat black indoor/outdoor Krylon paint, and let that dry real thoroughly.  Then he put a leaf here, a leaf there, and did a real soft overspray with Rustoleum's similar spray paint in Heirloom White.  He let each side dry really well before doing the next side.  Only one side had a small run, probably just a tad too much paint on that one.  But now the wind chime is hanging back up in its corner spot.  Removing the rust and painting it with rust-resistant exterior paint should really add to its lifespan.  I think it looks splendid.

 

Just a short posting today to show you how pretty the wind chime came out.  Another fall decoration for the Yadkin Yard! 

Fall Decorations -- Halloween pillows

My sister made me and my daughter Halloween pillows.  I think they turned out really adorable, er, um, I mean, scary .....

An orange shiny fabric with black spiderwebs!


A black fabric with eyes watching us!  Piped in orange.


And a green fabric with black witch hats, white skeleton heads, black spiders, pumpkins, and BOO!!


And here's a photo of them all haunting our living room sofa.  Yikes!  And BOO!!   Didn't she do a great job?

I believe that she got the fabrics and also the pillow forms at Hancock's Fabrics

Pineapple Plants Update -- The Next Generation

The last posting on the pineapple plants was July 4's (see updates-on-pineapple-plant-pallet.html).   They were out on the front porch, basking in the sun, each making a pineapple fruit.


Since then, we cut off the biggest one's fruit and ate it, cutting off the top greenery of that to make a new pineapple plant. I like that new plant.  Here it is in dirt, growing inside until next Spring.  It has already grown quite a bit.  I think they're such pretty plants.

We didn't remember to take any pictures of that operation, so today when we cut into the smaller pineapple and cut off its top, we took pictures.

Take the top piece and put it into some water so that the roots for it (which you'll be able to see up in there already -- little white slivers) can grow enough to support the plant in some dirt. It won't take long for this to happen.  Keep a watch every few days that you still have enough water in the cup, that the water isn't all dirty, and to remove any fruit that separates down from the roots.  Enjoy your homegrown pineapple fruit!

Once the roots look pretty substantial, you can put the plant in dirt.  It's an ouch-ouch operation because that greenery is very sharp and prickly.. Be careful.

In the meantime, on the original plants, each is creating a "pup".  We have read that the original plants, being a type of bromeliad,  will die now that they've created the fruit and now the pups.  I hope not, but we'll soon see how that works.

Here's the "pup" growing up at the bottom of the largest plant.  It's a good size now already, so Farmer Lynn will probably be putting it in its own pot real soon, another ouch-ouch operation.



 And here's the pup we discovered just yesterday growing up within the other plant.  I was glad to find it because we hadn't seen any signs of that one making a pup whereas the main plant is getting more and more yellow and floppy.  The pup will have to grow quite a bit more before we'll be able to figure out how to separate it successfully from the main plant!

Do try this yourself.  It's a lot of fun -- if you're a plant person.  Or a pineapple fruit lover.  It's not difficult, just takes patience as it takes its time maturing.