Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Fabulous Bob Pool!

Bob Pool came to my house 3 years ago when we were on the Master Gardener Tour in '08...I think it was '08. Anyway, he marched up and introduced himself and his lovely wife and reminded me of our conversations over blog chatter. He's loud and boisterous and funny and off color about lots of stuff and doesn't care and, that's just part of his charm. He invited me out to visit his garden and a few months later, my old garden buddy Randy and I took the drive out to Georgetown to check it out. It IS wonderful...all of it, the log cabin that he and his wife built, the pristine land, awesome pond and of course garden. We had a great time, we went out for Mexican food, threw back a few margaritas...wait...that was me (Bob had tea...he had some welding to do that afternoon so he stays clear of mind).



Gun rack for my pellet gun. I painted them bright orange...still need to get 'em hung!




So...we became friends. But more, because he inspires me...a rare friend indeed. If you go to his blog Gardening at Draco and read his profile, he claims that folks say he's the hardest working man they've met, and I agree.




Spider web arch-way for Cecile Bruenner rose to climb.

The second time he came over, I asked him if he wouldn't mind making something for my garden, since he's a welder and makes cool garden stuff and he said "well, let me take a look and I'll see what I can do." I showed him my giant rose with no place to grow and explained that I'd like a spiderweb type arch and I scribbled the drawing on a napkin and held up my hand as to how high I'd like it to be.



Bob on the phone to a perspective client...doing the math on my stump!

With my napkin and a few measurements he was gone. A few days later, I came home and found my idea, only better...with attachments that allowed for the difficult angle of the vertical part, sitting on the front porch. A year later, the rose has jumped in a different direction and Bob did the same assessment...a few scribbles from me and he was back! The pictures don't do it justice.




Rescue bench that Bob made a stand for!





Bob loves to do this stuff, and loves a challenge! I've had him fix things and design things as well...he's wonderful! I cannot sing the praises of this man enough...I only wish he lived closer and that more people took their jobs as seriously as he.




I did make him share a beer with me when he was finished!


Happy Gardening!



10 comments:

LindaCTG said...

Wow! It looks great. Okay, I've gotta get Bob over here. I need some talent and I need it fast!

katina said...

Yes, I agree - Bob is awesome. My husband decided that he wanted a weight stand, and he had all sorts of things that it had to be (certain height, collapsible for storage, etc.), I told him to call Bob and ask if he could help. Not only was Bob all for helping design and build the thing, he was more than willing to teach Shawn how to weld at his shop and everything.

Kris said...

Looks wonderful! I'd like to meet Bob. Alas, we are even further away! I like how he adds stuff to your garden with so little guidance. I give my guys an idea and they run with it and forget what I asked for. They do come up with some pretty fun things, but still! My pond is barely a hole yet (it is a scout project or I'd do it!), but it's good---

David said...

Oh, yes. I've been over to Gardening at Draco to see all of his work and agree...just LOOKING at all he does makes me exhausted. Hard working...you bet.
The swing looks terrif.
Want to hear something funny?
Your post just shows the title... 'the fabulous bob pool'. I was wondering what this new type of water feature might look like. I was expecting little fish swimming around in this new pool for the garden. LOL
David/ Tropical Texana/ Houston

Sharon Collins said...

Bob Pool is my big brother and I concur that he is one of the hardest working people you will ever meet. He is also knowlegeable about so many things because he reads a lot and remembers everything.
Sharon

ConsciousGardener said...

I'm glad you found the post Sharon! Bob is awesome and so much fun to kid around with! I look forward to meeting you someday!

Bob said...

After every thing you've said about me, it seems like I should be taller.

None of this was hard stuff Cheryl, but people like you, and Meredith at Great Stems, make it easy to make great stuff. You make your expectations clear and have a grand eye for design. You have just the right amount of direction with out getting in the way of my ability with what I can be do with metal. Besides that you are just a hoot and I love being around you.

Paula Jo @ Home and Garden Decor said...

Bob's work has amazed me from the first time I have heard about him and his talent. I just had to visit his blog to see his work.
I can tell he is a hard working guy and he has a lot of talent making all these awesome metal works.

Rock rose said...

Yes, Bob certainly is a treasure. A very fine craftsman and a pretty good fly fisherman too!

Meredith said...

You said it well -- Bob is indeed fabulous! I just absolutely love that spider arch.