nest video

done

nido/nest installation

September song

Though more fall than summer the weather is summer-like. I meet with Barb to put my knitting (my sister’s handiwork) project on the trunk of the 3-trunk tree which is surrounded by the wheat crop — ready for harvesting and not a bad crop. I am reminded of lazy summer days long ago when I had time to lie in un-mowed fields near my home observing the end of summer — the smell of tall grasses, the fading wild flowers, the sound of bees and cloud formations. It sounds idilic and sentimental but that is what the end of summer feels like to me; the harvest of summer’s growth and the chill of fall.

We made wheat corsages amid the rush of returning students, a young woman (a knitter) took pictures of the tree cozies and we took turns bemoaning the siege of the vegetable beds (plots, planters??). The reconstruction of the education building has overtaken the vegetable beds and covered them with dust and surrounded them with a protective fence. Hopefully the garden will shine again when the construction is finished but the fruit will be spoiled. The J.P. Getty clay swirls are still visible but they are covered by the white construction dust. I also hope once the fence is down people will have a chance to touch and lean against the veggie patch– we will see.

photo essay, fruits

It was strange how the clay spiral returned as an unknowing contribution from the construction workers, in the form of a spiral of copper wire.

(the spacing between these photos is part of the wordpress program I can’t seem to clearly understand or edit for)

construction site/inside

done

my 2 visits

though it feel likes summer is almost over, this year’s harvest is decidedly late. Early this month, my first visit was to meet with Barb and Lara to apply some artistry to the project. Though I have never worked in clay it was enjoyable to surround and decorate the vegetable garden in a beautiful way. One planter box was full of flowers and no fruit and the other had fruit growing — corn, zucchini, beans. All very healthy.  The wheat was coming along but again the rain, lack of sun and heat had significantly delayed its growth.

My second visit this month was a drive by to show my sister (visiting from LA) the interesting project I have been talking about all summer. Everything looked green and  growing but unfortunately that was a layer of dust from the construction site right behind the planter boxes that lent an air of ‘road side’ to the garden. The wheat was booming and looked beautiful in this urban setting. I am sorry this project has been interfered with by the construction. I remain hopeful and curious to the returning student reaction.

Grad Pics New Growth

I was picking up my Grad pics on Thursday June 18 at the Uni Centre, and I thought I would take the time to see how the garden/plantings were doing. I was sadden that to see that the wheat with the petunias had been meticulously weeded out. However I was very excited and happy to see the beans doing really well, the corn and the zuchinni were also going strong. I didn’t think the plot would nourish and support all those vegetables but really nature is amazing. Then I looked under the tree at the wheat and that is also going really well. I don’t know if the current heat wave will damage this new growth but maybe some students or workmen will water the vegetables since they are the most noticeable so far. I am anxious to see how all grows, like the unravelling of a novel

participants/collaborators

As this is a thesis project requiring  multiple perspectives, I have been very lucky to engage the attention of two participant/collaborators. I’m calling them able gardener 1 and able gardener 2. I am looking for another able gardener # 3, who will together with myself (principle researcher) make four sides to our container planters. I received notice from the Ethics Review Board today that I can go ahead with the project. As I sat on the edges of the mini wheatfield today chatting with able gardener 2, we noticed the tiny sproutings of hundreds of wheat seeds that were planted on Saturday.

Able Gardeners 1 and 2 are now “categorized”, which means that when they write something they will tag themselves and afterwards all their blog entries will organize themselves so that they can be read as separate streams as well as intertwined contributors to this blog.