Wednesday, July 1, 2020

IWSG July 2020



Happy (almost) 4th of July! Do you have any plans? I don't know if our local fireworks are happening or not. I'm guessing not. Our biggest plan: to watch Hamilton on Disney+. 

Thank you to Alex Cavanaugh for hosting this here shindig along with his rockin' band of cohosts: Jenni Enzor, Beth Camp, Liesbet, Tyrean Martinson, and Sandra Cox!

This month's optional question: There have been many industry changes in the last decade, so what are some changes you would like to see happen in the next decade?

A good question, but I got nothing.


So, I will substitute my own question: Is there anything more fun than a pallet of flat rock?


Let me explain. Like the past two summers, I've dropped writing like a hot potato in order to exhaust myself physically on outdoor projects. This spring my husband dismantled the kids' old swing set in the backyard.







Much of the wood and plastic pieces were chewed to bits by squirrels. That and its advanced age made me realize it was not something anyone else would want in their yard, even if they were inclined to transfer the thing and not concerned about catching Covid from used items. Time to recycle, reuse, and re-imagine.


My husband got his tools shined up and built some stunning flower boxes.











My project is something else: transforming the now-empty space of weeds and decaying mulch into something awesome.

Step One: Dig up the old garden cloth underneath. Do not use this junk. Ever. It keeps weeds down for a year or two and then they'll grow right through it in an impenetrable weave any shovel or trowel will simply bounce off of. It's from the devil. 


Step Two: Make a big dirt pile. Any self-respecting ornamental landscape garden should not be flat. (My apologies to Kansas. (However, trivia fun-fact: Florida is the flattest of all the US states.))


Step Three: Wrestle, hog-tie, dig deep ditches, and get a hernia bringing in some weathered limestone boulders--all 1262 pounds of the five of them. 


Step Four: Arrange a pallet of flat stone to suggest waterfalls, natural bridges, and what-not. Keep rearranging them until your fingernails turn black and you can't feel your forearms. Realize your super-cool stream bed is tilted at least 15 degrees in the wrong direction. Undo two days work trying to fix. Bring in level to avoid this mistake again. Consider taking up arm-wrestling with all your new-found strength. 


Pictures? Well, not yet. It's still a Gehenna of dry dirt, rock, and three new wilting rhododendron plants that are getting way, way too much sun. But here are my dual inspirations: 





Un lugar que invita a volar. — at Zhangjiajie National Forest Park.

Image: Zhangjiajie National Forest Park by Carlos Adampol Galindo



Watkins Glen

Image: Watkins Glen Gorge by h_wang_02


In a real sense, creating this landscape, even in miniature, is a lot like writing a novel. It's a lot harder than it looks, takes forever, is exhausting, needs a crap-ton of editing, and will probably not live up to my expectations. But there is a silver lining: no marketing needed.

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Any projects for you this summer?