You did get the chicks, didn't you,
Nancy? My Dsis took my horse's trough with her, when Ddad passed away in 1996. My horse was Bernadette and she was with me, with her colt, Rickashay from the time I was 11.5 - 16.75 years old. My parents divorced, the trough stayed at Ddad's place from 1968 or 1969, until his death. When my Dsis took it, she planted it full of bulbs, for springtime, then had red carnations in it for summer. I never knew anything about the trough, but last summer, my Dbril moved to Ivins, UT, for a job transfer & promotion. Dsis stayed in Oregon, to sell their home. When she sold it, she said I could have Ddad's Memorial Bench, she bought in his memory & I could have the trough.
I didn't even KNOW she had Bernadette's trough, so I was thrilled beyond belief.
I have the bench & trough on my patio now. DH bought some potting soil in a large bag from Costco, but now we need to run into town sometime, to buy some bedding plants, that are nice & pretty, to put into the trough. We just don't know what we want or what to get or where to go or anything.
I had wanted to plant seeds, but DH didn't want that. I'm now thinking how pretty some ornamental grasses would be in the trough, along with some taller flowers, gradually going shorter and shorter with lower ones on the outsides.
I have been very lazy, whereas planting & outdoor work goes, for several years, when I used to garden with seeds & plants/flowers/bulbs ALL the time.
I'm getting so "excited" now, because with weight loss, having more energy, I feel more like being out in the fresh air & sunshine.
I'll let you know what we end up planting, when the time's upon us & we've done it. I just know it'll be pretty, because DH picks out the nicest plants. Sometimes he gets a pot full of several companion plants, then separates them, for our own pot or my dear sweet horse's trough.
I'll keep you posted.