Birthday present and dumpster diving

So here's an example of how I garden now. 
My favorite birthday present  this year was a pair of old storm windows  (complete with screens) that my friend Steve saved for me from a house he was renovating. They'll make great cold frames over some cinder blocks or hay bales.  I began asking friends to watch for windows three months ago, and my patience was rewarded last week.  The screens  are a real bonus- I can use them to vent the coldframes and keep insects out!

Last year I drove by a construction site a dozen times eyeing the dumpster full of big pieces of scrap lumber.  One day I saw that the dumpster was full, and I knew it would be emptied soon.  I got up the courage to ask the work crew if I could dumpster dive. They said yes, and I made four raised beds out of the lumber.

I didn't use to be so patient.  I once bought a second pair of Felco pruners because I couldn't find the first pair in the clutter of my garage.  I still lose things in the garage, but I take a break and then search again the next day-- and things usually turn up. 

Nowadays my budget is tight, and that is certainly part of the reason why I'm more patient and frugal. But there's more to it.  My mother is a yard sale shopper, and has been for 50 years. She loves finding beautiful things that others don't value and bringing them home to be loved.  I also enjoy the challenge of recycling and repurposing materials in my garden.

All of this goes back to the change in my attitude towards the garden. I once gardened to create a place of beauty and peace I could retreat to.  Now I feel like I need to do something more assertive than  retreating to the garden.  I need to have some control over my future.  I can at least use my hands and my mind to feed my family, and  be a bit green as well.  Bring on the dumpster diving!