Destroyed! Failed!

well-rotted 4x4 planter

One side has actually fallen down. The other three sides are soft and sinking. This is where the three free squash plants were going to be planted. Scratch that! I paid about $20 for this 16' x10" board several years ago. I just cannot afford to replace it. No, it was not treated.

 

I asked exbf to help me with this, and I knew more about the construction than he did. I was not strong enough to do it by myself, and now have even a poorer chance of helping than I did then.

 

I cannot get junk boards from the side of the road--back, hands, knees. I refuse to get treated lumber. So, I am stuck, sitting here, trying to figure out what to do. No, no friends, it appears!

 

Probably one of my failings is I like and expect permanency. I know permanency is not always possible or desirable. I do have a swing I have had over 25 years, custom made to my specs and it will last me until the end of my need for a swing. My picnic table is strong and sturdy, surviving a tree falling on it.

 

This expecting permanency is a good thing in some ways. I did not feel the need to replace a stove until the oven thermostat had failed and three burner did not work at all, plus one burner only half worked. The washer only washed on gentle for the last five years of its life before I replaced it. The refrigerator would finally only hold an ice cube tray in its frozen recesses before I replaced it. I figured 30 years from each appliance was enough to expect. My desire for permanency was tempered by a little reality. I could not afford a repair that might cost as much as a new appliance and THEN need a new appliance shortly. That is my reality.

 

I do use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. I don't feel like I am suffering until I have to do without!

 

My zigzag sewing machine was made in 1954, and I like it just fine. The one I bought when I went to college in 1964 makes the best straight stitch I have ever seen, so I keep it, too. I can actually sew all the time on it if need be.  The commercial machines were bought because they are old and predictable.

 

Yes, I know it is wood and wood rots. I priced a cedar board to use to replace this, but it was $50. Whew! I got more vegetables from my little pink bed than the $20 for the wood. But, it is no more!

 

Cinder blocks are like wood, cannot lift one. No, I obviously don't have friends willing to help me out. They were only here when I could help them. But, some of my most loyal friends died.

 

It seems my options are gone for a bit of a garden for things. It makes me sad. I feel a little hopelessness and despair. Yes, over rotten wood. And, the dirt is washing away.

 

It has rained here for four days. Ten more days of rain are expected...it is so dreary and depressing. Finding rotting wood, high prices for wood, and no sun has made me a little sad.

UPDATE: I fight the St. Augustine grass to keep it out of this pink bed. I cannot get down to get rid of it. So, with no walls, the St. Augustine grass will take over the whole mound--Big Problem since I don't want to kill off the grass!

 

Your turn

Do downturns in your life make you sad? What failures in things have upset you. This is a major one for me, one I cannot overcome!