photography and gardening
Dec. 5th, 2005 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
solarbirdReally, one of the reasons I've held off posting this is because it's the best mushroom picture I've ever taken, and I wanted to save it and feature it prominently:
Ground Level View (Mushrooms 3)
Not a lot of interest today; I substantially rewrote my statement of purpose and it's much better now - thanks![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cafiorello for advice! I also did some work at Murkworks South - most particularly, I started work reclaiming the tiny entry garden I'd made that kept getting attacked by party fuckheads and was finally destroyed in that last year before we moved. It was the first time I'd really been able to approach it again without feeling terrible. It doesn't look like it used to, and never will, but it's better. It needs some mulch, and I'll buy new tall plants to replace the dead tall bamboo-like grasses, and at that point it should look okay.
When I'd finished it originally, it looked like this. As intended, the low green crawlers spread over larger areas, got lush, and occasionally put out tiny flowers. That took only a few months. The little poof of grass spread and the bamboo-emulating plant grew taller as well. I was really proud of it, as a garden; finding the right large flat stones took some heavy sorting at local stoneworks, and getting the side rocks - which I'd found in place and re-used - to stay in what appear to be perfectly reasonable positions but which are actually rather awkward for their shape wasn't easy either. The little concrete walkway beside it leading to the gate had to be re-seated too, as it had settled and sloped sharply since it was originally poured - you can see that in the "before" picture - so I just treated it like a giant stone too, and got it pretty well re-leveled before I was done.
Other people - the non-fuckheads - liked it. In particular, the occasional Japanese student or tourist or parent would stop and look confused, and one told me it reminded him of his grandmother's garden, but was nicer, which made me feel vaguely embarrassed ( *^_^*;; ) but also that it was very successful. I'd used all Pacific Northwest plants and rock; a primary principle of this sort of garden design is the use of local stone. I even built a tiny shoji screen for the lantern's main (large) light window, using reasonably correct materials and tiny, tiny joinery.
The ladle was the first casualty, disappearing after a couple of months; I kept making new ones until I gave up after making about half a dozen and having them stolen once a week at the end. Then people started trying to steal other things and failing, then smashed part of the lantern when they couldn't steal it (I repaired it with epoxy, it looked pretty good), and once threw the water basin at the house when they decided it was too heavy to haul off to the frat (or wheverever), and then finally someone came with a car and stole everything except the plants and rocks. Somewhere along the line they also trashed my tiny shoji; I made a new one, and that one stayed until the whole set got stolen.
We couldn't afford to replace the parts, once they were gone; the granite lantern and basin had been big splurges when we bought them, and when everything got taken, we didn't have the kind of money we'd had before. Plus, honestly, I was just too depressed about the whole thing, so I never tried. I'd keep it clean enough, but that was all.
I don't know if I even have a good photo of it. Not with everything still there and the plants really grown in.
Now that we've been at Murkworks North for a year, I've started planning a new entry garden. I hope that this could be one that survives.
Your magical style is Mage.
What type of magic should you practice?Take the Magical Style Quiz by Paradox
Ground Level View (Mushrooms 3)
Not a lot of interest today; I substantially rewrote my statement of purpose and it's much better now - thanks
cafiorello for advice! I also did some work at Murkworks South - most particularly, I started work reclaiming the tiny entry garden I'd made that kept getting attacked by party fuckheads and was finally destroyed in that last year before we moved. It was the first time I'd really been able to approach it again without feeling terrible. It doesn't look like it used to, and never will, but it's better. It needs some mulch, and I'll buy new tall plants to replace the dead tall bamboo-like grasses, and at that point it should look okay.When I'd finished it originally, it looked like this. As intended, the low green crawlers spread over larger areas, got lush, and occasionally put out tiny flowers. That took only a few months. The little poof of grass spread and the bamboo-emulating plant grew taller as well. I was really proud of it, as a garden; finding the right large flat stones took some heavy sorting at local stoneworks, and getting the side rocks - which I'd found in place and re-used - to stay in what appear to be perfectly reasonable positions but which are actually rather awkward for their shape wasn't easy either. The little concrete walkway beside it leading to the gate had to be re-seated too, as it had settled and sloped sharply since it was originally poured - you can see that in the "before" picture - so I just treated it like a giant stone too, and got it pretty well re-leveled before I was done.
Other people - the non-fuckheads - liked it. In particular, the occasional Japanese student or tourist or parent would stop and look confused, and one told me it reminded him of his grandmother's garden, but was nicer, which made me feel vaguely embarrassed ( *^_^*;; ) but also that it was very successful. I'd used all Pacific Northwest plants and rock; a primary principle of this sort of garden design is the use of local stone. I even built a tiny shoji screen for the lantern's main (large) light window, using reasonably correct materials and tiny, tiny joinery.
The ladle was the first casualty, disappearing after a couple of months; I kept making new ones until I gave up after making about half a dozen and having them stolen once a week at the end. Then people started trying to steal other things and failing, then smashed part of the lantern when they couldn't steal it (I repaired it with epoxy, it looked pretty good), and once threw the water basin at the house when they decided it was too heavy to haul off to the frat (or wheverever), and then finally someone came with a car and stole everything except the plants and rocks. Somewhere along the line they also trashed my tiny shoji; I made a new one, and that one stayed until the whole set got stolen.
We couldn't afford to replace the parts, once they were gone; the granite lantern and basin had been big splurges when we bought them, and when everything got taken, we didn't have the kind of money we'd had before. Plus, honestly, I was just too depressed about the whole thing, so I never tried. I'd keep it clean enough, but that was all.
I don't know if I even have a good photo of it. Not with everything still there and the plants really grown in.
Now that we've been at Murkworks North for a year, I've started planning a new entry garden. I hope that this could be one that survives.
Your magical style is Mage.
What type of magic should you practice?Take the Magical Style Quiz by Paradox
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no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 07:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 11:27 am (UTC)I guess I hadn't fully realized just how bad the fuckwad problem was until I read this. My condolences!
Good luck on the grad school application!
Cathy
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 03:29 pm (UTC)I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a tremendous fucknut problem. That sucks. :(
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 03:32 pm (UTC)to friend
or
not to friend
that is the question.
lol. god. i'm silly.
ps. the pic. may i borrow?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 04:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 05:57 pm (UTC)That depends. For what purpose?
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 06:02 pm (UTC)That was just this one tiny garden. Everything was like that.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-06 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 12:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 12:26 am (UTC)Mostly, I'm concerned about commercial use, and any use that involves printing or reproduction. I'm for it, but only if I give permission and get paid. (No smiley there, 'cause I'm completely serious about that.) Thanks!
no subject
Date: 2005-12-07 05:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-09 12:28 am (UTC)