In a move to write again after several months’ hiatus, what better way to get back into it than with a title that’s possibly mystifying to some. If you understood it, though, perhaps you’re a creative right-brain thinker, even if that is scientifically unproven. However, going with that, because it’s more entertaining than sticking with the science right now, I tend to be more of an analytical left-brain thinker. Not entirely, of course, as I sometimes feel that my right-brain may not be quite as unengaged as I’m inclined to believe, and can get surprised by what pops into my mind now and then.

What recently popped into it was to copy something a local new-ish beauty business has done when the proprietor bought an old house, spruced it up, and set up shop. She (making assumptions here), in a similar fashion to what I did along the fence line of the driveway at my place, has had stones laid where the gardens used to be, for ease of maintenance.

The rest of the business’s ground is an un-charming mass of concrete, but understandable from a pragmatic point of view to provide parking for clients, and have a low maintenance commercial property. Despite thinking that it should look really ugly, my eyes tell me that contrary to those thoughts, it hasn’t ended up looking as bad as I think it should. Perhaps the addition of chunks of driftwood has saved it from the eyesore everything tells me it should be. Neither have the extra touches, which a clearly right-brain person has dotted here and there, hurt.

So, I said to the nephew, who lives in the back unit of the three on the property we live on, how about we go to the beach and grab some driftwood and copy this idea. From experience, I know that driftwood can be deceptively bigger and heavier to carry than it looks when it’s lying on the beach, so some assistance wouldn’t go amiss. The nephew said sure, so we made our first foray to collect suitable pieces.

Because both the nephew and I work from home, and I’m semi-retired now, we can juggle our time to do things during the week, so we went to the beach on Monday. We’re having an unseasonably warm spell at the moment for the beginning of Spring, so the beach trip was not at all unpleasant. Bloody lovely, in fact – even with the job of lugging driftwood.

We’re happy with the first installations, especially when the picture of them is not put directly alongside the pictures of the beauty biz. But now I’m feeling that I want to paint the fence – dammit. And just as an fyi for the gardening inspectors amongst us, I’m not bothered by the weeds in the bottom R/H corner.

Be honest, though – doesn’t ours look much better than the beauty house’s installations? On second thoughts, maybe don’t be honest – polite murmurings will do 😊 Nevertheless, the nephew and I are quite pleased with it. Both of us are decidedly not the visually creative types, but we reckon another foray for two more pieces will finish off our driveway art nicely. For the moment.

Here’s the ‘before’ shot below. The lone piece of spindly driftwood on the R/H side was the unintended booty from a beach walk three (cripes!) years ago. And the orange road cone in the distance is a leftover from when the pathway up the side of the back two units was re-laid a year or so ago, and has taken up residence in that spot ever since.