The Monument

He came through!  This is the model for the Veteran's Monument.  The center basalt stone is 4 feet high and about 30 inches across so that gives you some idea of the scale.  Ross keeps saying "they are size 24 boots".  Not.  They are approximately 24" soles I believe.  Each facet of the stone will have a branch of the service sandblasted on it.  There will also be some little surprises but I'm not going to tell you what they are just yet.  The photos will reveal them as the project moves forward.

Creek Side

There was no post yesterday.  Not because I forgot, got lazy or anything else under my control.  I was waiting for Ross to send images of the model for the Veteran's Memorial so it could be included.  He not only did not send them he didn't bring the college laptop home.  There you have it.  Blame transferred.  Like I said:  not under my control, aka Ross Brown.
The Pacific Northwest is such an interesting environment for gardening.  Yesterday was April 29th on our calendar and it burst into frozen white pellets on more than one occasion.  This morning at 5AM it was snowing.  Seriously! how can anyone plan?  While I was visiting with insomnia last night planting tomatoes SOON seemecd reasonable.  After all, its been a realatively mild spring...what's that sound?!?!? oh; Mother Nature laughing.

So it was beautiful in Enumclaw, Washington Monday-Friday last week and I worked my tail off in the garden.  Saturday comes and my husband is on board to throw in a helping hand.  A couple of hours into it the rain starts.  What's with that?  The focus was on the area that is reserved for vegetable planting.  Folks around here don't usually risk that until around Memorial Day.  However, we are having a particularly warm (as in no freezing)  spring.  I'd like a chance to take a risk but unless we get it cleaned that won't happen.
There's a real challenge with a horsetail infestation.  I've been told the only hope (and it's slim) is to snip each one off at the ground with the intention of doing it over and over until they give up.  They conduct themselves like Catholic rabbits so that is a bit daunting, not to mention hard on the back.  Time will tell.

A Special Vision, a Special Man

There really should be a different image accompanying this post.  I just don't have one yet.  Yesterday we spent the better part of the day at the stone yard making arrangements for the primary basalt pieces to be used in the Veteran's Memorial at Bellevue College that Ross has undertaken.  It's been quite the experience watching this evolve.  Ross was originally approached by a veteran that works on campus with the idea of a memorial.  He knew of Ross and felt strongly that he was the one person who could get it done.  After a slug of introductions and even more meetings approval has been given, a site procured and money allocated.  Ross is not a vet himself but he's one of those special individuals that gives deep thought and contemplation to things he feels are important.  He is very emotionally attached to this project.  There is a model in his studio that gives the overall feel.  I will certainly get images of that for a later update.  This memorial is so unlike Ross' art work.  That makes it even more surprising the zeal with which he is going into it.
Oh! if you are curious about the above image, the "X" piece was the primary piece when Ross showed at OK Harris in NY city.  It is sandblasted marbel and fabricated aluminum along with computer components.  The large sand area with mammoth terrazzo balls is Ross crazy.

It occurred to me yesterday as I was "putting in my time" that readers might get the wrong idea and think I know something about gardening.  Time to get that out of the way.  I can mow, I can weed and I dig a mean hole.  It doesn't go much further than that.  I rely heavily on friends with legitimate skills.  Gardeners are a generous lot.  They are more than glad to share what they know.  Sometimes they speak in a foreign language but that's okay!  It narrows down how much I have to retain.
Do you think it's a sign of fatigue when your eyes spy a dandelion, your trowel darts under a foxglove and it flies our before your screaming brain can stop it?

This is one of two side by side Monoliths that Ross build and are installed on the hillside behind that wall posted yesterday.  The second fellow is headless as of now so he didn't make the shot.  He has a head...it's just sitting on the ground next to him.  They are probably about 9' tall with cast bronze heads and cast terrazzo bodies.  I'll post again when they are complete and in all their glory.
Now! about yesterday's time in the garden. Close your eyes.  Imagine RED.  Just the color.  That was my knee caps when I went in to bathe.  It hurt to shave over them!  That might suggest a bit too much time kneeling down, weeding.  What, might you ask, is in store today.  Yep.  More weeding.  With a little luck 4 more days should finish the back.  Then there's the vegetable garden and the front.  Living in a warehouse before this was so easy.

in the beginning.....

Well! this is the first day of our new blog site.  My painting site has been up and running for several years but it seemed like we had more we wanted to share than just what comes out of my studio.  There is art all through our garden thanks to my husband, Ross Brown, and several artist friends that have had their work here for a while.  Couple that with the myriad of adventures offered up by playing in the garden itself and there feels like ample to share.  We didn't set out to have a "garden".  We just wanted a place to put in a foundry for Ross' work.  Once we started digging holes and ripping up sod it took on a life of its own.  Since neither of us is known for self control (or looking before we leap) it quickly began to spiral out of control.  In recent years we have begun to entertain visits from garden groups wanting to "tour".  Since it's just the two of us it seemed a bit selfish to say no.  Mother Nature has done wondrous things on our little plot of ground.  People should come to see it.  As those of you I call friends know I'm also a bit of a foodie so we are now offering to provide meals to the tour groups.  It affords opportunity to cook wonderful things and not indulge to the point of bulbous bliss.
Down to business!  I'm going to try to post often with pictures to chronicle the art we do coupled with the blunders that pseudo gardeners make.  There are lots of them!  5 acres makes for many chances.
The picture here is a concrete wall that Ross constructed last year.  The light gray in the forground is part of our driveway.  We needed to enlarge the area you see because some of our friends were having difficulty getting their RVs out of the back 40 after parties.  Yes....some stay over.  Our parties are not for wimps.  The morning after our niece's wedding we counted about 40.  Tents and motor homes abounded.
Off to weed.  We have a public tour (fund raiser for the local healthcare van) and a private group all coming in June.  Oh! and we just filmed a small segment for an Art in the Garden episode of a new TV garden show, DigIn.  Sunday mornings, channel 10 at 7:30.  Sorry.  Seattle area only.