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| Click Photo to Enlarge A Pretty Robin Enjoying our Garden Tree Stump Seating! |
For days, I had driven by three abandoned stump segments at the side of the road. One the third occasion I started imagining them in my front garden.
On the forth trip, I stopped and rolled one of the stumps to the van, only to find that I couldn't lift it. Later that day, I returned with my 12-yr-old grand-daughter, Rachel, who helped me load all three stumps.
Even with two of us, the stumps were still very heavy; and, we returned home with scraped arms and pulled muscles. Lucky for us, though, three of Rachel's friends were waiting at the house when we returned, and were willing to help unload the stumps in the driveway.
The cracked and inconsistent appearance of our three stumps only serves to make them more appealing, to me. The stumps have graced our front pollinator potager all summer long, serving alternately as plant stands and extra seating for people and wildlife alike.
This week, I found a photo on Facebook illustrating a "stump table" for sale, and though the stump lacked the rustic charm of our garden gems, it was priced at an exorbitant $349.
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| Click Photo to Enlarge |
I find it hard to believe there are buyers out there willing to pay the store's asking price for what amounts to cast off segments of telephone pole, but then those same people might think I'm a little strange for rescuing and recycling stumps found by the side of the road - Each to their own, though, right?
Beauty is often said to be in the eye of the beholder: Usefulness and financial viability are more often relative to circumstance. Our free, practical and valued garden stumps could potentially provide us a financial reward, but only if I'm willing to part with them.
I might, some day ... but not now!
