Wheelbarrows.
We have seven. Three are holding strawberry plants, keeping them out of the reach of slugs. One holds the plant starts in summer so that I can move them from sun to shade depending upon the temperature. And three big old metal beasts move stuff around in the yard. Some days, we use them all.
The old metal beasts all came to us used and a bit battered. Our friend Mark brought one that he had just cleaned up and replaced the handles on after after a year’s long grump about “how you can’t buy anything new that will last” when our first barrow broke (it is now holding berries) and I was looking for a replacement. I bought the second for about ten dollars from the used goods place down the street; our neighbor dropped the last one off last spring—he had found it somewhere. They are all solid, but needed some love. This week, they have been transformed.
The barrows have spent the summer resting against the garden fence in the chicken run—out of the way and handy. So, first, they needed a wash. I scrubbed off moss, rust, and years of dirt and they looked better already. Mark took off the wheels so they would not be in the way and then I gave them all a nice coat of primer—we had ghost barrows on the lawn for a couple of days while we decided on paint. On Monday, I rode out to Winco and bought spray paint for the metal barrows and then rummaged through the basement for the handle colors.
The paint changed everything. It is deeply colored and shiny and covers all of the funky battered spots on the sides. I sprayed all three one afternoon and then left them overnight to dry. Yesterday morning, I spent a couple of hours on the handles, lying on the ground to hit some awkward spots while the cat observed. The result is glorious. Three wheelbarrows, three body colors, with contrasting handles.
Did I need to repaint them in three colors? Not really. They will last longer with the care, but they are work tools. They do not need to be vibrant or distinct. It’s not like they have different uses that need to be quickly defined—one barrow hauls compost as well as another. All painted grey and they all work just as well. But the colors help define their solid working forms, bringing out how each is unique in how the wheels are attached or the back plate is shaped, and it gives each its own personality. This winter, they will glow against the grey days.
