Awhile ago I set up a sand putting green in the back yard. I hauled in many bags of sand and leveled and raked, and raked and leveled. Putting on it was very slow, but I figured it would improve over time. Until the first rain. The rush of water filled the putting hole (half a peanut butter jar) with sand and dirt and swept away some of the sand. I cleared it out once or twice, then gave up.

All that work was not in vain, however, since I had need of a place to put a patio. The builder left a cube and a half of bricks on the side of the property. I’ve been using the bricks here and there for various projects (edging for paths, and stabilizing the chicken feeder, for example), but here was an opportunity to use up the rest. There was still enough sand to make a good base for the bricks, so I raked it clean and hauled the bricks over by the wheelbarrow load to place them down.

My in-laws are downsizing, and we are getting their patio table, hence the need for a patio. The bricks went a long way, but I didn’t have quite enough to make an area big enough for the table, so we picked up some pavers from the hardware store and I laid them around the perimeter. My kids and I then swept sand into the crevices.

Not too bad for a project where half the materials were free. And now there is one less eye sore on the property.