Or “Because I Can, Part 2”

Little by little, over the years, I have been trying to make my back yard “drought friendly”. In other words, I want it to be something I don’t have to water frequently. I’ve experimented with all kinds of “yard art”, including stepping stones, with varying degrees of success. As you know if you’ve read “Stepping Stones Part 2”, I’ve already learned that you can’t put painted stepping stones out in the sun. But I’ve been adding plain ones to this area a few at a time, and the configuration now looks like this.

I’ve discovered that mosaics don’t seem to fade in the sun, and even though the long and winding curb is showing some wear, I think it’s mostly because I used white grout and it’s just getting dirty.

All of a sudden, the other day, an idea occurred to me: what if I were to put mosaics on the stepping stones? I have plenty of broken dishes, stained glass, and other tesserae. I probably should try to use it up before buying any more anyway. Summer hasn’t quite hit yet, and this area is mostly in the shade . . .

It didn’t take long for me to get started. However, no way was I going to move them over to the patio and work on the table. I know how heavy they are, and how much heavier they’ll be after the mosaics are finished. I decided to just work on them “in situ“. That’s if I can pull it off. Hopefully it doesn’t take as long as the sea animals mosaic in the bathroom did, but like that project, I want to try this, just because I can.

I figured that sitting on a towel would be comfortable enough, and it was. However, it proved a pain, literally and figuratively, standing up to get things I’d left out of arm’s reach and sitting back down again. I don’t remember having this problem before being in my sixties. By the third day I actually saw an improvement in my ability to do this, and I thought, well, I guess this kind of counts as exercise. Squats, only at intervals of one every 20 minutes or so, instead of one right after another.

My hands were hurting from using the large liquid nails “dispenser” pictured on the left, so I got some smaller tubes which are much easier to use. I’ve used that dispenser thing on multiple projects, and this is the first time I remember it hurting my hands. Either it’s getting older or I am, or maybe it’s a combination of both.

What makes this kind of mosaic fun is that the tiling process is so completely random. Since they aren’t really going to be stepped on, it doesn’t matter if the surface is a bit uneven. You just have to remember that the grout will have to be thicker around the higher pieces, and this can cover up some of the flatter ones if you’re not careful.

The first stone, before and after the grouting process.

The first two before and after grout, and from opposite angles.

Gotta have ice coffee, even if it is (don’t judge me) from McDonald’s.

The second one after being grouted but before being cleaned off with water and white vinegar.

For the third one, I decided to be a little less random and use some of the stained glass I usually use only on indoor mosaics.

The first three stones in various stages of completion.

Since I had some extra grout left over from the second stone, I went ahead and put it on the third one so it wouldn’t go to waste. At that moment, however, I didn’t have the energy to mix up another batch of grout, so that one isn’t finished yet.

This is pretty much how it looks now. The neighbors behind me replaced their entire fence awhile back, and I really like the way it looks on my side.

While I was taking pictures of the stepping stones, I decided to give you an update on the rest of my yard. This is the lantana, which is doing really well right now.

This was the “baby cactus” and it probably needs to be trimmed, as it’s starting to encroach on the sago palm.

Who would have thought the sago palm would have so much new growth this year?

A rather random view of the back yard from where I was sitting working on the stepping stones. If you zoom in on the back right-hand corner, you may be able to see the “original” cactus in all its glory.

Or I could just show you this close up, which doesn’t do justice to its actual size.

This is from February, when I always remember why I planted bulbs.

Also from February, the bottlebrush were amazing.

It’s star jasmine season in the front yard, just like it was when I got “busted” by the city of Fresno for having “overgrown and uncontrolled” landscaping in May of 2024. It’s hard to believe that was already two years ago!

And last but not least, the sunflowers I did not buy! Alas, perhaps the descendants of Sunny the Sunflower will one day grace my yard with their cheerful presence. But for now, I don’t think even I can pull that one off!