Well, I keep looking at it and it keeps saying lily pad. You could set it right on the ground (or up on a brick or 2 if you needed to raise it), among some pretty groundcover or sedum to look like it was floating and set a resin or cement or iron frog on it. With the holes in the middle it makes it easier to figure out if you wanted to mount it vertically on a pole, flower style, without having to use too many tools.. Think nuts and bolts, like a u shaped bolt. Go to the hardware and look around, they have all kinds of things that can be useful if you think outside the box. lol. Personally I like it just like it is. Love the ruffled edge. I hung up a big round saw blade and it does make a great wind spinner, always twirling. You could get to be an excellent shot trying to hit that hole.

I would love to send you some rain, Jan, if I could! I fear this is shaping up to be another rainy summer. We have about 2 1/2 acres which we needed to pasture our 4 horses back when they were living. Now we have only the one pony left so it's sort of overkill. I think if I lived in a desert climate I would create gardens of colored rock and sand with cacti and other drought resistent plants that don't need much water, but with some fountains that recycle their water. And of course lots of junk creations. We saw some really lovely desert landscaping when we were out in the southwest some years ago. It was an inspiration to me but it just wouldn't work here. We'd have grass and weeds coming up through the rocks and our rain and frigid winters would kill the cacti.

Hi igloo, As a woman who started out not knowing pliers from a wrench, and has since done almost everything in our whole-house remodel, I'll give you my perspective. I think I remember you saying in the past that you're a small person? Even if not, these tools are made for men. They're heavy -- I've given myself wrist/thumb problems from using my drill a lot because of the torque when it stops. So check out any hand held tools for a while to make sure they're very manageable for you. Next, it doesn't seem to me that you need a table saw. That opens a whole can of worms: tools like TSs, jointers, planers, etc, need a very good dust collection system, and that gets complicated and controversial. It's the fine dust, the dust you can't even see, that is harmful to your lungs. You don't actually have to worry as much about the typical sawdust you generate, the stuff you're very aware of, because you kick it out of your lungs when you breathe. The fine stuff lodges in them. Given that, if you start wanting to build cabinets and/or furniture, you will need a TS, and I definitely recommend buying a cabinet saw (as opposed to a contractor's saw) that costs at least $2300 or so. The Sawstop is a very good saw, from what I've read. But you're paying $1000 extra for the stop feature. Losing fingers happens often enough to seasoned woodworkers, but danger from kickback is a lot more common, and it can't stop that. For $1K less you can get others of a similar quality (I have and like the Powermatic 2000.) The cheaper ones (contractor's saws) are inaccurate in any number of ways for cabinetmaking. I bought an $88 wet saw from HD a few years ago. I installed tile on three smallish rooms and it worked like a charm. Much better to buy than rent 'cuz they're not expensive, and you can take your time with them. I'm impressed by what I've seen of Festools, but I've worked with their vacuum and a Fein Turbo III vacuum, and I prefer the latter. (I encouraged my boss to buy the Festool vac and now I wish I hadn't, it's unwieldy.) The Fein, a little more expensive, with a HEPA filter, moves around easily and is less clunky. And its suction (see stats on website) is at least as good as on the Festool. You'd have to check out whether its hose will hook up to Festool tools. If you're doing only trim work, you don't need to worry about most of these things. I'd start with just the tools that are needed. If you find you need more, you can buy as you go. Buying tools never stops. Even tho I've got an 8" jointer, cabinet saw, etc, in my basement, that work very well for my household needs (building cabinets) they look like toys compared to the ones my boss uses. So spend your money selectively and try to resist buying all kinds of things you won't use much! Sombreuil said a very true thing: Great work can be done with a limited number and quality of tools, but it takes longer and requires more experience. Don't expect things like miter saws to work right out-of-the-box. They need to be tweaked and tuned. And for a beginner this will be even more potentially frustrating, but it is a wonderful way to learn. I'm far from a pro but I've found out that it takes a lot of skill to do good work! Crown moldings are among the most frustrating things I've ever done, because no angle in your house is 90 degrees. Best of luck and I hope you enjoy the work!

I know what you are saying. I scream at Corona's choice of forest green all the time. Where is that d@mn thing. I want a fluorescent fuchsia saw. My job today is to paint the metal on the loppers. I waste hours looking for it on the forest floor and in the tall grass.. I have a 16" Stihl easy start chainsaw. Not too big . A lady like saw. I recommend the size. The smaller ones shake too much and don't have anti vibration bars built into them. I had a small Poulane "land shark" that tore up my carpal tunnel bad. It was months to get my body back to normal. If you go smaller than that , you are having to do a lot more work compared to letting the weight of the tool do the work. My husband use to call me Madame Poulane. That was a waste of money but I liked the name. We were a two chainsaw marriage. Daisy, I have mostly small trees. it is classic brush. semi arid Juniper brush with small "Spanish" Oaks , redbud, Escarpement cherries, toothache trees. The grade is intense. It is a rugged little gorge. Beautiful Wild orchids. I love it back there. But it is a scramble.