The Art of Mulch

Sounds German. Actually, I have never figured out the art of mulching. You pile it on. It dries out and gets full of dead leaves, bits of detritus and sand, and the next year you do the same till you've built up a mesa of junk - sort of like a capped landfill.

So I spent today digging the top layer of old stuff off and dumping it in potholes around the yard. Then there's raking and laying landscape fabric to keep the danged weeds at bay. Then there's the mulch-slinging to cover the landscape fabric. I like black cedar mulch. It makes my car smell good and it's faux bottom soil - the black cedar mulch looks like the nice rich river valley soil which I'd give my eye teeth for. NH has rocks, not soil.

So now I'm pooped and think I'll go sit out on the deck with a glass of wine.

Chihuly Glass

Chihuly glass is a little hard to describe. It's sort of like the Grand Canyon; it just has to be experienced. Dale Chihuly is a bigger-than-life glass blowing artist. He doesn't create glass objects, he creates entire symphonies in glass.

In March I saw his latest installation at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens. Desert gardens sounds like an oxymoron, but trust me, it's spectacular, especially in spring when the desert is in bloom.

I'm still trying to figure out how something so alien as brilliantly colored glass can look so natural in a desert setting. A boat marooned in a dry creek. Glass flames licking up through cactus. Aqua chunks of ice floating among the dry reeds. You have to see it to believe it.

Half-Baked (but still cooking...)

-which is to say, I am still a work in progress. And so are you. But this isn't about you - or is it?

I thought long and hard about a theme here - there are my creative obsessions; my quiet water kayaking; my speed demon skiing; my girlfriends; my glorious (and somewhat ratty) gardens; my very big old house in the historic village; my very little dog, Haiku; my grown children; my life alone; my crappy memory and inability to keep track of time ...

I realized that what I want to write about is my life now - I'm past the half-way point, but I am still searching, still learning, and having more fun than I've ever had. Oh yeah, I am truly half-baked. Just add wine and reset the timer.