greenhouse project

my journey back to texas was a quick skip considering the detours i had planned. the weather was only in compliance with my visit to joshua tree, and even then it wasn't exactly warm. a surprise snow storm at 2a.m. coming into bisbee shortened a four day layover into a 2 day scurry around town. anxious to get off the road and out of the cold, getting home never seemed so far away.
three weeks in, every day getting closer to slow. this is the longest i've gone in two years without my day starting at the sound of some prefabricated noises a 'smart' person decided to label as music. coffee at home. hot showers. a maximum of one layer of clothes at night, not the dreaded five...hat, scarf and gloves included in this ensemble. a full day's worth of sunshine, no obstructions in the view.
i am grateful, and we are blessed!
when the universe said "go back to marathon" i argued why my idea was better! a useless debate. i accepted the calling, knowing very well that it didn't matter why i was being called back, i just had to go. so when asked, with crooked brows and confused expressions, "why texas??!!"....well, this is where home is.

slow...to make note...does not imply boredom. nor does it mean laziness or having nothing to do. it is quite the opposite, to be sure. of course, those lazy days do happen, and i invite them with wide open arms! i had almost forgotten what it was like. though, i don't call it lazy. i call it relaxing, rejuvinating, self preservation, or some combination of all those healthy states of being.

moving forward...i am documenting our progress in the greenhouse with before and after pictures.

paul's hydroponic system that we took out. i can't mention this without recognizing the brilliance behind it (which is behind everything he creates), and the work required to install it. the design served plants growing outside of the greenhouse by way of a drainage system that utilized water leftover in the bottoms of the containers. i never saw it in full flourish, but i can imagine. handy would be a gross understatement for this man...mechanically creative, far beyond just smart, so many levels of intelligence...this 'mad scientist' captures my heart daily, keeping me busy thinking and exploring.

starting the weeding process,

i found some horehound growing underneath the dead remnants of tomatoes and grass.

carefully transplanted, it grows everywhere so it probably wasn't necessary, but i just couldn't bare to till it into the soil. i foresee horehound candy in the future!

did i mention it's been warm enough here to wear a tank top?. well, in case i didn't, i'll mention it again. it's been warm enough here to wear a tank top, and it's january! y'all livin' in snow right now, eat my desert dust, and now ask me "why texas?!"

so, the hydroponics are gone, but we have BIG plans for this little seedling.

part of the work crew doing his dirt surveillance, i couldn't do it without you clint!

...stay tuned...

dirt mounds, seed starts, new design ideas

the mists of cazadero

as i undress beside the ghost of spring, memories are unveiled in the fog that laps at the edges of redwood forests.

miner's lettuce, crunchy, juicy, sweet, quenching, my intro to wild foods.

maidenhair fern, whimsical, bound to secrecy.

hound's tongue, unexpected, stoic.

witches butter, flourescent and seductive.
last year's hypericum, scraggily looming at it's radius, shadowing new growth at its base anticipating the celebration of summer solstice.
intoxicating bay, even in decay is sensual.
verdent, supple tips of the new young growth of douglas fir, sweet with dew.
wild blue flag iris, did you escape the confines of an english garden?

amole, a mystery until subtle blooms coyly sprout.

indian warrior, billowing over the hillsides in explosions of magenta.

missions lily, hen speckled, it took me months to i.d. you. and you were only one. the only one, for miles.

orchid...orchid....orchid

indian pinks, a burst of rubies on the tails of summer.
sticky monkey flower, shouting my name in every direction, "i see you! you are everywhere!"
yarrow, a coastal scent-story of discovery.
mugwort, all of you artemisias, absinthia, tridentata, californica, you are forever a part of my life now, no longer a mythic image in my knowledge of your existence. i could talk pages about you.
trillium, our story started here. 

through all the frustrations, i found worth - i enjoyed every morning i woke before sunrise, walked under the crisp, dank shadows of the redwood canopy, to meet the streams of yellow sun peak over the ridge tops...dogs rolling in dew laden hills, trampling over st. john's wort, all the while i was being mindful not to step on them - every noon hiking to the groves, scavenging the ground for mildly bruised but deliciously bittersweet plums with tart, dusty skins - every afternoon, plucking wildly out of control blackberries, all yanged out with thorns, warmed by the mid day's sun - ending the year 2 miles from the coast line, mostly sunny winter days, the sounds of the russian waters rushin' by...with pomo canyon as my neighbor i frequented it's belly, a place where peace resides.

between flood and sun

i found a patch of day.

mended under an overcast sky,

the scratches now lie beneath the surface of past.

these shallow wounds mimic a larger perspective of future,

negotiating a place on the mandala of life.

i won the negotiation!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

imagine a life without choices.

slight shifts in imagination have more impact on living

than major efforts at change.

deep changes in life follow movements in imagination.

* * * * * * * * * *

wrapped in the arms of torrential downpour

i found truths that were always there...

 

...a networking system of living entities that rely on

other living entities for survival...

 

...nourishment...

...healing...

...companionship...

...myself

never leave home without your truth,

unless the journey is to find truth