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big_deck

Turtle Garden - Showing Off

big_deck
15 years ago

This is my work in progress. My wife keeps telling me I am crazy, and she might be right :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Personal Turtle Garden

Comments (19)

  • Calamity_J
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your DGD is Adorable!!!! Great turtles too!!! I'm thinking of making one out of wire mesh and concrete and mosaicing it, and it would be large...4ft sounds perfect!!!

  • luna_llena_feliz
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think your turtle garden is very cool! And I can see why you fell for Tuck - he is a handsome specimen! I think it is so fun that your granddaughter has name for each of them. Not sure what this says about me but I don't think you're nuts at all! And Emily/Oscar is adorable.

    I agree the green turtle would look great as a box turtle but like you said, it would be a lot of work. I think he looks fine all green too.

    Keep the pictures of your turtle collection coming!

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  • nmgirl
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    How fun!

  • galcho
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Big Deck, your garden looks great and you DGD is a beauty.
    I have a frog garden where my DGS who is the same age as Emily likes to count frogs but now all my frogs are under the snow.
    Praying for rain.

  • susiewantsroses
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Deck,

    I love the turtle terrain!!! I would love to see a landscape shot to see the shape of the stone garden. You are making wonderful memories for Oscar (I called my grandbabylove, "Baby Monster".)

    Susie

  • big_deck
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ok, I am going to play around with trying to embed the image in a post instead of putting in an html page.

    The garden is in front of mine portal that we accidentally uncovered while in the process of starting an inground pool in the back for the kids. Because of this portal and somewhere between 14 - 16 million gallons of water in it, the pool turned into a 1,940 sf deck (in progress still).

    I just didn't want the area to go to waste, but I had to hand carry almost 250 bags of crushed marble about 100 yards to cover it. Don't know that I would do it again! I am an old guy :-)

  • garden2garden
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's really cool. I love your turtles and the way you have put them all together on the rocks and stuff.

    Sort of Zen Turtle Garden.

    The turtle on the swing looks so happy!

    I especially like that picture because you can see several of the turtles, love the contrast of their different colors and textures, and the rocks and stones, the turtle on the swing enjoying life and then there's the big one peeking in on the right.

    Very enjoyable, thanks for sharing.

    Wonderful that your grand daughter can share it with you. What a blessing to have little ones around.

    Oh, BTW, when your wife tells you you're crazy- quote her the Garth Brooks song "but I just might be the lunatic you're looking for!", lol/ OR "I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane" always made sense to me.

  • lacombe
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Your garden looks great with all the turtles.

  • Marlene Kindred
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great job on your turtle garden! Some of them look so real! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing your pictures with us!

  • kirkus
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What a fantastic collection of turtles! The white marble makes the turtles really stand out. I really like that. Mine gets lost in greenery and moss. Your garden is fantastic! Very, very, very nice work! Thanks for sharing! I hope you'll share more of your gardens and workmanship!!!! I'm in awe! Kirk P.S. My wife thinks I'm crazy too! LOL

  • bigack
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wonderful turtles, love them all! Where in WV are you? We are in Fairmont. small world.

  • big_deck
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Way far away in Morgantown :-)

  • halley_rose
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Absolutly love your turtle garden. You've got to send us more pictures, as you progress. It's so cute how Oscar has named each turtle. And she is such a cutie.

  • big_deck
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Ok, a couple of more pictures as soon as it get light enough to take them - then I'll add them to the web page. I'll keep the web page too, as I don't like how the images are going away on the system storage site.

    Someone asked me over the weekend where this all came from?

    I have no idea! I was cruising the web one day and ran into Tuck. I kept putting him off as his cost was like a luxury car payment - and the cost of the deck screws (let alone the material for the deck) has thrown me into shock at times. Ended up getting a really good deal on him from a wonderful company on the web. (Best service and nicest people I have ever dealt with and I own a retail catalog type company with what I think is good old fashion ma & pa kind of service. Some of you might be too young to know what I am rambling on about.)

    There are only a couple more turtle shots and a couple of 'grog' pictures. Other than cleaning up - maybe a few more bags of marble - this garden is 'mature'. To he honest, I am not seeing a lot of turtle statues that I already don't have :-)

    And, Mimi is serious about me expanding it, I believe.

    Beside, I promised the deck by the end of summer just past - so I am late - so it is going to take priority. I have to have it done by the time Oscar and Jake-Dude are ready to play on it in the spring. If anyone is bored and wants to spend a couple of days with me drilling and screwing a couple of few thousand (minimum) screws, is welcome to visit!

    Thank all of you for all the compliments! It really has been a fun project.

    I think when it is finally done I will break out the easle, canvas, oils and brushes and bring back a hobby I kind of stopped doing about 20 years ago. I am teaching Oscar to draw and paint and that is refreshing the old urges of creativity. This is an aspect of me that my wife has never seen creativity (other than inventing and/or bring specialty products to the market) from me. Hope she doesn't get scared when I turn a bedroom into a hobby room.

    Oscar and I sing a lot together. Some in our family think we should do a video and submit it to America's Funniest! My step-daughter (her mom) works for me and I "force" them to bring her to work for me to play with everyday so that she does not go to day care yet. I think it is very important for her to know that she has someone 'else' that loves her for whatever she is or is going to be, and will be there for her no-matter-what. I know her parent are absolutely there for her this way, but I hope I take care of some potential gap that might be in life in case her parents 'limit' or 'scare' her from having no secrets. She is a very advanced, but socialable, 2.75 year old. We are learning some Japanese together.

    As a Pappy I could blabber on as much as any grandfather, but I'll try to restrain a bit. Suffice to say that she is the most important thing in my life. Period!!!

    Finally, I have heard from a couple of people that turtles are a symbol of luck, though I can not affirm it. Does anyone know a little (or lot) about turtle culture or a place to go? I don't care whether it's a box or water or whatever - I care about what the historical culture is.

    Thanks! Sure am glad this site exists and the members are so wonderful!

  • emtnest
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That is Turtlific!!!!!

  • TwoMonths
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cool. I am curious, a mine portal...oh my (did you check out what might have been mined there???) you might be rich...or in danger of mine gas. But I am sure the turtles will be ok. Just have to watch the grandbabies for sure. Looks like the state or mine company should have closed it securely. But then maybe a pump will get your garden water if there is a bad shortage.

  • Purplemoon
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hey Big D, I am rather late welcoming you and saying how much I enjoyed meeting Tuck and the other turtles. And Oscar. What fun! I'm glad you joined us here and hope to see a lot more from you.

    hugs, Karen

  • luna_llena_feliz
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    big_deck, I checked out your site again to see the box turtle. He turned out very neat! Great job! I was wondering why in the heck you call your granddaughter Oscar so now I know. lol! I can see why you call yourself "big_deck!" That is going to be some awesome structure when you are finally done! Keep the pictures coming on your progress. Emily/Oscar sure is a little dickens! I think it is hilarious that she names all the turtles and plays with them (most of girls play with dolls or, like me, matchbox cars). You can definitely tell how much you love her by your writing. Thanks for sharing your wonderful "retarded" turtle garden with us!

  • big_deck
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Twomonths - yep, it is a coal mine portal - and the seams are empty. Don't get me started on the Mine Reclamation Act with $3 Billion in it - as no one can get anything out of it unless you are in some danger. They don't feel that the 20+ kids under 10 in our development are in danger of going into it and we don't have the $1 Millon plus necessary to grout it in and then sue the govt. for remimbursement. Hence the treslis and hopefully the ivy!

    Only thing in there, beside 15 - 17 million gallons of water are gigantic mosquitos!

    Meanwhile, I am just enjoying what we have to work with and doing whatever urge strikes at the moment!

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