Project for Pennies

by Rosalie Stanley

My fathers garage and barn were filled with stuff. There were the usual finds such as his tools, gardening supplies, farm equipment and boxes filled with god only knows what. There was also a vast collection of bits and pieces. Broken parts, jars of used nuts, bolts, nails, horseshoes and so much more, covered most of his work bench. “Why are you keeping all that junk Arnie?”, my mom would ask. “It’s not hurting anything and I might need some of it some day.” he would reply. Probably a typical reply by an old farmer.

The years passed and of course Dad used many of the things he had saved to fix something on the farm or to create something new out of rusty old parts. Our family was used to searching for a screw driver or wrench. He knew where everything was and expected us to find things then put what we used back where we found them. Ha! It grew to be a challenge, but each of us respected his wishes. It was his space.

Shortly after my father died my brother decided to clean out the garage. After all, he had spent most of his life in there too and was tired of looking for things when he had to work on a tractor or fix the farm equipment. I happened to arrive just as he was about to leave for the dump. As I looked into the bed of the truck I was amazed at some of the stuff dad had saved. It truly was junk. At that time my brother threw in one more item, an old watering can without a handle and a hole in the back. Sentiment took over at that moment. I could see my father watering his seedlings with that can and could not let it go out with the trash.

I took the old can home with me and thought I was a bit nuts for doing so. As I looked at it closely my mind flashed back to dad watering his plants. I couldn’t throw it out but what to do with it now? I wandered around my yard and found inspiration with an oak wine barrel a friend had given me. By the end of the afternoon the old watering can became a water feature near the patio. The sound of water spilling out of it is soothing. Birds dip in for a bath some days and are fun to watch. A worn out item got new life and I was inspired to use more unwanted items in my garden.