Finishing Touches

For a small triangular strip of dirt, this project has taken a long time to complete, but planting the plants is actually the last of a long string of hard jobs. Burned structures and vegetation have been taken down, pruned, uprooted and hauled away. This plot was leveled and refenced. Dana searched out dozens of rocks in our field, dug them out and dragged them down 35 stairs to carefully position them. There is another bed behind John which will be a rock garden....we'll be working on that next. 

John is putting down weed cloth in the native plant section. The dirt to go on top of the weed cloth and cover the irrigation pipes awaits on a tarp. Another pile of dirt in the future rock garden will become a small mound. We should get that done this weekend. Then we will progress to rebuilding the arbor...in a different place and probably metal as well. 

The main ideas behind this garden are  that it be :1) low maintenance and 2) not flammable. Therefore we will begin with very few plants and lots of rocks and succulents.....quite a change from what the former owners labeled 'the jungle' on the irrigation timer.

Jim and Dana gave me a series of online classes called 'Master Class' . The classes on a wide variety of subjects are taught by a wide variety of teachers.The one I'm doing now is photography with Annie Liebovitz. Today's subject is portrait and people photography, and she begins with the advice to, 'take pictures of people who are close to you and who will put up with you, and then write about it.' This seems to be the perfect assignment for a blipper. 

For a man who hates having his picture taken and always hides behind somebody in the back row of a group portrait, I've trained him well. He puts up with me as long as I don't make him smile on command.  I took a lot of pictures of John today  as he went about a variety of tasks, but my favorite one would be called 'Multitasking' as he sits in a chair,  eats a sandwich and does the daily crossword puzzle....he often talks to himself as he does it.