At age 85, Mary Young is still young at heart and performing wonders with her front yard.

Since she moved back to Ames eight years ago, her front lawn, at 1329 Grand Ave., has displayed a variety of homemade wooden cutouts and lawn decorations.

In fact, Young’s yard is recognized by many Iowa State students who travel on Grand Avenue. For many, it has become an Ames landmark.

Erv Klaas, 1405 Grand Ave., said having Young as a neighbor helps when giving directions to people who come to their home.

“We like it. I consider it folk art,” he said. “That’s just her way of dressing up the neighborhood. It’s always something different.”

Young said her house is always a mess because she’s always making something.

“I’m pretty busy every day year round,” she said.

Her shed, basement, upstairs and garage are full of wooden cutouts she has had in her yard over the years, she said.

“The worst of it is every year I keep adding to it,” she said.

Young said she changes her yard decorations about once a month.

“There’s always something every month that comes up,” Young said.

In a few weeks, Young said, “I’ll take down all the spooky things and I’ll put up turkeys; and then comes Christmas, which I love.”

Pilgrims and Indians for Thanksgiving and angels for Christmas are just some of the seasonal decorations she makes to show her holiday spirit.

“I love angels,” Young said. “That’s my main theme — angels and lights.”

Young said that while it’s hard to pinpoint a favorite of her lawn displays, she has especially liked her dalmations and clowns.

In all these years, Young has never had any complaints about her yard, “but I lose a lot of stuff,” she said.

Her football player figures are the most frequently stolen. “But I got a motion light on now and I didn’t lose a one this year,” Young said.

Young said she has received quite a few cards and letters from people who usually say something to the effect of, “You don’t know me, but I enjoy your yard so much.”

People have also stopped by her house to comment or ask for some of her wooden creations.

Young said she always enjoyed decorating inside, and after she retired and had more time, she started getting into yard work.

“My children were pretty well grown before I ever got into it,” Young said.

Young was born in Albia, Iowa, raised her children in Ames and then moved to Kentucky for 30 years. She moved back after her husband died.

She has four children, two of whom live in Ames.

Young lives alone with her cat, although she said she spends a lot of time with her daughters.

Young’s daughters bought her a scroll saw as a gift, she said. Before that, she used a jigsaw.

She said she tries to do most of her sawing in her garage, but works on her projects all over the house.

She hand paints each of her cutouts and occasionally dresses them up in things such as capes.

Young said she sometimes sketches outlines straight on the wood, but usually sketches them on paper first.

“I finally got smart on the football players and made patterns,” she said.

Young also occasionally makes things for other people and has attended craft sales.

“I do it more for the fun of it than a job,” Young said. “I don’t want a job anymore.”

Once in a while, she said, she takes her crafts to a senior citizens’ center craft sale, but she said she doesn’t have the patience to sit for several hours to make a couple of sales.

Young said she feels lucky to be so active at her age.

She said she can still read a newspaper without glasses and only has a mild case of arthritis.

Young said she has no intention of stopping “until I drop over” because it’s too much fun.