A new mailbox/house for small creatures.

Hello friends!
Happy Earth Day!!

Your suggested reading music to pair with this post:

A little over a month ago I noticed our mailbox must have jumped off the curb and hit a snow plow over the winter.

Mmmm... rusty nails...

 So, I put it on a mental list of "things I should consider addressing when I'm feeling up to it, eventually".

And then a couple weeks later we had a day where we had 60 mph winds ( #Illinois ) and I came home and the situation had grown decidedly more urgent.

womp womp.

Luckily I had set the gears in motion earlier that week to "start to obtain required objects to replace the broken thing, eventually".

I found a mailbox on Amazon with the model name "Villager" which sold me because I already thought it looked like a house from Animal Crossing.

The box it came in was human sized but not heavy like a human of the same size.
<_<   >_>   O_O

The reviews said it was super easy and just two steps. Also a selling point.

This did require a post to be in the ground which would have greatly slowed this process but luckily there was already a post in the ground for me to use after I sawed off the top part.
I was a little confused by the bolt type part of the directions.
Yes I realize it is just 2 steps, but these directions assume you are a person that has done something similar to this in the past.

All I could determine was that I was supposed to use a hammer to make a divot and then screw it in the rest of the way.

First order of business was to lob off the top part of the pre-existing mailbox.
I looked for a cutting type implement.
I had this hedge cutter.

Note to self: Do not use shrub cutting implement on post type objects.

I turned to my old friend the internets and Facebook and was pointed in the right direction by some lovely folks that clearly have all their ducks in a row.
It was suggested that I buy a Reciprocating Saw or "Sawzall" to cut through something thick and wooden like the post.
I first considered renting one from a hardware store but after a couple of phone calls it sounded like it would be twice the cost to simply buy one. So I went to Menards to buy their bottom shelf candidate since I see myself using this item perhaps once a year?

I had to put a saw blade in a slot, there were not too many instructions beyond that. 

So I cautiously carried it outside, plugged it in and tried to figure out how to use it in a way that would not result in the loss of digits.

My construction manager told me I needed to get to work since the mailman could be there at any moment.

I measured 2' above the earth with a tape measure and marked it off with a Sharpie. Then I cut into all 4 corners on the mark and attempted to meet in the middle.
When it got to where the top of the old mailbox was teetering and swinging around like a mace it got a little touch and go but I managed.

Some friction burns happened idk i just live here.

I got all of my hardware type things out I figured this wrench might achieve the screwing in part. I was incorrect.

Also to further complicate things the mailbox was hovering about 2" off the ground so it would not stay in place long enough for me to begin screwing in the front. I first discovered this while I was attempting to stand it up for the first time, which was also when the mailman pulled up.


I hadn't seen him coming since I was "in the zone"(aaaautozone) so I was holding my mailbox up that was about to topple over.
..........
Me: -awkward laughter- "Oh haay just putting in a new mailbox."
Postman: "Oha ha ha do you want me to put the mail in the box...Or...?"
Me: "Oh haha no, that's Ok, sorry I just don't have any hands to use at the moment" -replaces a hand with a knee to support the mailbox, takes mail with free hand-
Postman: "Oh you have to put a postgroundsmailboxsomethingsomething."
Me: "Oh ha ha, yeah."
Postman: "Oh is it ok if I leave packages here when you need to sign for them?"
Me: "Oh yeah it's fine!" -drops mail into mailbox and picks up mailbox with both hands and drops it to the ground-
Postman: "Oh yeah there is a post, you have to posthammersometihngsomehting."
Me: -pants- "Sorry, thank you!"
Postman: "Goodbye!"
Me: -dies- -retreats to house-
..............

I had some soil in the shed in the back so I put it in a Rubbermaid bin and carried it to the front yard. It occurs to me why people own wheelbarrows.

I filled in some dirt and packed it down around the base to try to reinforce the post as it was a little wobbly.

That helped but I still couldn't get the hammer/wrench/bolt situation squared away and I was beginning to feel anger.

I took a break and then came back out, sat on the ground next to the mailbox and began to attempt to tighten the bolt with the wrench I had.

My neighbor saw me struggling.


So he kindly asked if I needed help. I thanked him and laughed awkwardly and pointed to the general bolt area on the mailbox and he was like "Ok brb".

He came back with one of these??:

Well, whatever it was it took him like 5 seconds and he had the bolts tightened and then all the sudden I was done.


Back on the grid.

Fast forward a couple of weeks. The bare dirt at the bottom of the mailbox wasn't looking great and also looked like a great place for weeds to spring up.

I had some other yard cleanup I wanted to take care of so I refreshed some mulch along the sides of my driveway where nothing grows.

I walked around the yard and picked up some rouge branches and sticks. I also cut back our bush out front.

I found this stick and did one of those -picks up stick, notices its potential for post like jobs and sets aside- type reactions.

I bought a bunch of plants for my vegetable garden in the back and a couple random flowers both were a Phlox type of flower that creeps one for shade and one for sun(pink). I decided to use the sun tolerant pink phlox in a garden bed I made at the base of the mailbox.

It was about 75 degrees out so I was bright red and drank a literal gallon of water through the day.

But at least I got a cool stick.

Oh also discovered my backyard is absolutely covered in Creeping Charlie.
What a creep.

I planted my vegetables and some lavender in my raised garden bed. It went pretty quick since I didn't need to break ground.

Not sure what I am going to do with the stick but I put it in the middle of the garden. Because, why not?

And then I returned to the mailbox.
I used edging for the first time and it was very easy, I will definitely use it more in the future. I just cut the piece to the size I wanted, and then used stakes to secure it and then filled it in with topsoil.

And my one randomly purchased flower.

I left the front of the edging open and trailed some dirt out to the curb. I then took some river rocks and pressed them into the dirt leading up to the base of the mailbox to make a mini walkway to play up the "house-ness" of the mailbox.
I also added a little fairy garden door at the base of the mailbox so that it looks like there is a ground level entry into the mailbox house.

 While I was at the garden center buying some more plants they also had a mini turtle for sale at the register so I impulse bought him too.

The door.

:)

Also, in celebration of Earth Day I wanted to plant some native flowers to feed the local wildlife and pollinators like the monarch butterfly.

Compass plant (Silphium laciniatum)

Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

They were pretty small plants so they probably won't flower until next year but they are perennial and drought tolerant so they will be low touch buddies to brighten up the yard.


Hopefully some faeries and monarch caterpillars move in soon.

I'd like to plant some little forget-me-not flowers next to the doorway as well.

I also have some solar led string lights on the way that I plan to add at the base for a glowing effect.

How did you celebrate Earth day?

Share your fairy gardens below!

Til next time.

Maeghan

Link to Step2 Villager mailbox:

http://www.amazon.com/Step2-5A2000-MailMaster-Villager-Mailbox/dp/B00004W42Z/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461199938&sr=8-1&keywords=2+step+villager+mailbox

Before and After