“He’s not really going to try to haul that old dock home, is he?”
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| From Lake Coeur d’Alene flotsam to productive workspace. Over-exposed sub-hipster photography courtesy of Instagram. |
Of course he is! While on a Mother’s Day walk along Lake Coeur d’Alene after a most excellent breakfast at
Michael D’s Eatery, the dock tantalizingly half-bobbed in the water, half rested on the black rip-rap boulders.
To be honest, it wasn’t a whole dock. It was just part of a dock – probably a walkway. It was however, covered in crud, mostly water-logged, and bespattered with goose business. I recruited help to drag it up the boulders to the Centennial Trail, where we blocked the sporadic traffic of ultra-serious runners and bikers for long enough to fit at least half of the dock into the back of the Explorer. A bit of rope, easy on the gas and brakes, weaving around on back roads, and it was home.
When we got the bench home, a bit of scraping and sanding showed that the dock had been built from some lovely cedar. We opted to lightly finish the dock in order to keep the gray veneer that old cedar gets after being in the weather (contrast with the cedar mill ends below the bench).
A good hosing, a few screws removed, a good blast with the sander, pressure-treated 4×4 legs, and we have a rustic western redcedar outside workbench. It is the perfect height for arranging plant starts, working on lawnmowers, etc.
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| Tender plant starts in late May, ready for exposure to temperatures in the lower 30s and intermittent snow showersbecause of my terminal impatience. |
Sometimes, I think all it takes is keeping your eyes open in order to find something that can be repurposed to fit a need. The lumber for this work bench would have cost at least $200, and it wouldn’t have been as funky or interesting, and it would have used all new materials that had an environmental impact.
I might make a few improvements to make it a bit more attractive – if I find weathered posts or pieces of log, I think I could make much more attractive legs for the bench that would fit into the gestalt I am trying to develop for the productive part of my yard. I have also considered attaching the bench to the shed with some kind of chain/pulley system so it could be extended and retracted, and would no longer need any legs. In the meantime, we have a useful and sturdy new part of our landscape.
