Texas in the front yard - lots of stuff in the back

I was driving around Tomball trying to find a teachers supply store to buy a wall map of Texas to cut out and outline on my plywood which would then be put in the square seen in an earlier pic . I'm going to install some thin rubber edging around the plywood , remove the plywood ,and then fill the resulting "form" with sakrete.
The wall map would have cost about $50 according to what I found online ( never DID find the teacher's supply store ). The bad boy above was hanging on the outside wall of an " antiques store " .When I asked if it was for sale ,I was told there was NO WAY they would part with it. I asked if I could rent or borrow it for a couple of days so I could trace the outline on my plywood. When I explained why I was doing it , they gave me a huge smile and said I could borrow it if they got a plug in my blog.
THANK YOU VERY , VERY MUCH N. CHERRY STREET ANTIQUES.
The lovely and talented Twila bought some poster board and made a cardboard cutout of the silhouette and I have traced it on several 4'x4' sheets of plywood - several things in mind for those after the concrete form is completed. One is going to hang on my fence , and one is going in my screen room. Twila and I went to the Tomball Farmer's Market this morning and there was a guy with a booth there who did laser wood burning of signs , re-creation of photos , lots of cool stuff. His rig cannot handle something 4' x 4' so we agreed to his making me a stencil which will be in several pieces and say " Welcome to Porchview " which will in one way or another be impressed upon the state outline. I also plan to cover one of the plywood cutouts and place it against the new fencing and overspray it ,giving me an outline to work within. What's going to be in there is a mystery at this point ,but hey - work in progress , ya know? Maybe a small texans helmet and a great big STEELER logo. Yeah , baby.

 

I look at all that blank , new fence and my head starts to spin with all the ideas I have for "yard art ". If even half of it turns out how I hope it will I will call it a success.
In the first backyard picture you can see a stack of lattice sheets which used to be on the fence but had to be taken down when the new fences went up. They will be going back up along with the texas outline and another texas piece. My mind is just churning with all the possibilities for expression. Maybe a guest section where visitors can feel free to express themselves. Maybe my family will come to visit if they can hang something within my " show ".

I feel this experience is literally BURSTING with possibility ,and if it weren't so damn hot I would be ruining my health and my bank balance trying to do all the things i have begun to imagine.

And , oh yeah ,the model train layout. It's still on the to-do list ,just not at the top of the list right now.
But soon. Has to be ready for xmas , right Jim ?