Keeping Clean - Outdoor Shower 2 - the extras

Of course said shower needed plumbing and all the various doo-dads that are required to have a door that can close etc.  We are quite thrilled with the result.

Beyond the shower and shed we also wanted to have an outdoor sink for washing hands without going inside.  Managed to find an interesting copper sink textured with what appeared to be a ball peen hammer.  It is likely meant to sit atop a bathroom counter – but given that there was not one of those, a matching base was constructed to attach the sink to the shed wall.  And yes, a ball peen hammer was used, and a long soak with some baking soda to darken the copper to match the sink. 

Here is the result (the colour match is actually very close, unlike the photo)

 

Now – walls, water, a sink and a shed are all well and good but ultimately one needs to walk to the unit in order to take advantage of it all. 

 

We were excited to find preformed concrete slabs that were made to (sort of) resemble flag stones and therefore did not have to deal with the issues of varying thickness.  (We did enough of that for a lifetime installing our slate interior floors).  These guys were easy to work with and had enough variation that it was not immediately obvious that they were only a couple of patterns and sizes.

 

We used local stone to kind of create a bit of a lip to hold everything in.  Local as in dug up on the property somewhere.  I think it makes it all sort of blend right in.  Then between the stones we placed small pebbles.  We are happy with the result.

Then there is the whole landscaping thing …..

Along part of the prior path I had planted hostas.  These hostas seem to survive most of the summer because they are so close to the cottage itself that it takes the deer a while before they build up the courage to eat them.  I had not yet given these babies away for that reason. 

So – they got rearranged (of course they did), and a few other sturdy, deer resistant plants (lamium) were added which should fill in over time.  Ultimately that worked out great since I had the hostas and the lamium came from a friend.  Only cost was the labour (that was free, me) and a bunch of dirt.

 

However – there was a bit of flaw.  Our part of Ontario has had a horrible infestation this year of gypsy moth caterpillars.  Horrible, and disgusting.  They have stripped much of the foliage from the trees and at times they, or their poop, or their leaf cutting, were falling so thickly from the trees that it sounded like rain, and sometimes looked like snow (perhaps that was more the leaf cuttings).

Well – I am guessing a lot of this crap (literally) ended up on the roof, and after a well needed rain those lovely stones which were situated in just the wrong spots got a good dose of something dark.  The worst of the infestation seems to be now over – whew – and hopefully that dark stuff will be able to be scrubbed off.