Inside Out

I left off with a picture of the first buds of Wisteria - and that was a hopeful and positive note on which to focus as differing energies asserted themselves into the Labyrinth.

Well, let me say that mostly it was people who care about me and wanted to help me.  Yes, that's actually more akin to the actual truth.

Now the Wisteria are blooming in their lush and fragrant way - filling the air with sweetness and a gorgeousness that is not captured by my camera.


I worked on one of the outside lanes of the Labyrinth and found the only really useful and satisfying way to spread the sand the way I wanted was to get down on my hands and knees and work it into the ground.  This doesn't hurt my back, and it's connecting me to the earth and the process in a way I couldn't have imagined.

So while this may not look (in the picture) much different from the other side, it is wholly different to me.  And the inner energy of focus and containing has found its way back into the project.  I like the look, the feel and the grounded nature of the path.  It's not finished, but I can see I'm on the right track.

The small circles to the right are two of the three special gardens that I want to plant with fragrant, fragile annuals... for my children.  Of course the number three works its way into so many aspects of my life - I'm not surprised when it shows up.

Then I decided to move to the middle and work on the center circle.  I don't know if you can see, but I'm laying small stones in the sand and making a kind of floor.

Not solid, but smooth and loose and natural.

I got only so far and then my body went through a kind of upheaval.  (Men - you can avert your eyes if you need to...) I'm beginning the phase of menopause and yesterday I was simply laid low with aches, pains, throbbing head and general malaise.  Like I had been hit by a truck.

No surprise how womb-like this center looks - is it?

So I wasn't really surprised that my body was turning itself inside out ... or outside in.  The upheaval was painful, but as with other pains associated with birth of any kind it doesn't last forever and today I am able to go back out and continue.

Shoveling smaller loads of sand, working it into the path.  Seeing shoots of grass still pop through.  Feeling the soundness of the ground beneath my hands.

I can see it coming to life.




And I like the way it looks.




And feels.

And I hung up my two stained glass windows again.  

It makes me happy to see them hanging in the pergola!

Not So Fast There, Missy.

>: /   <-- is that a growling frowning face emoticon?  Because that's what I mean it to be.

"Nearly Done" - ha!  Might as well hang a "Mission Accomplished" banner with that last blog post.

Remember this?  It's a Pergola that had kind of gone to seed and I decided to use it as the entrance to the labyrinth.  I liked the feeling of "ruin" that it had, and I imagined fixing it up (loose terminology there) and having a kind of open, organic room to meditate or journal in ... and then proceeding out into (or coming back from) walking the labyrinth.

 Well. Not so fast there, missy.  Hubby-the-engineer would have none of the "fixing it up stuff" and called in a crew of his friends to straighten the boards and make it sound.

And while I'm sure I can eventually appreciate the "soundness" of it, at this moment I can't stand the industrial strength galvanized cabling and pressure treated wood beams.  Blech.  Next they are coming in to flatten the floor and make it level.  Really?  WTF do I need a level floor in there?  I'm not going to be living in it.

Okay.  So we're having a little intensity around mixing the feminine and masculine elements here.

And, I'm not so wild about the sand that came. 

It's too white!  It feels like some kind of fake beach or something.

After umpteen wheelbarrow loads I am thinking to myself -
"THIS LOOKS LIKE CRAP!"

Not exactly the meditative energy I began with, or want to continue with.  So I've hit a metaphorical brick wall - and that is what it looks like. (Not to mention - shoveling hurts my back!)
Harumph.

If I step back I can still see the vision I had.  So I'm going to do that ... and hopefully the "crew" will finish and I can reclaim the whole space.  And figure out what to do about the sand.  I'm thinking topsoil.  

Maybe I need to focus on some plants?  

As an aside, and probably not all that accidental in the grander scheme of the Universe, my husband and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage on April 13.  It's funny how even after all that time we can still hit these spots where I think to myself - who the heck are you and don't you even know me??  

He definitely does.  It's not about him.  It's not about the sand.  

When things shift inside of me - heart and mind - 

it's always tempting to imagine someone else is the culprit.

I think I'll focus on the Wisteria.

Nearly Complete!!

All the rocks are laid!  The full pattern is down, and the pine straw is strewn.

This is the entrance and the first turn.  Up in the right corner is the center circle.

These areas will be planted - herbs, flowers, medicinals.

There's the center circle - can't wait to get my bench in!

Rocks!

I've got this marvelous pile of sandstone rocks.  With some granite thrown in.  And a few limestone as well. The pile looked much larger at the rockyard.  Next to my flags and tape it looks rather paltry.

I got to work anyway - it's overcast and cool, but I was able to work up a sweat placing them along the pattern laid out.  There are hundreds of Redwing Blackbirds singing in the trees as I work, and every now and then a whistle from a Mockingbird tries to be heard as well.  Cardinals flit around, they seem curious about what I'm doing.  I suppose they wonder where the feeders are going to go.

This is the beginning up to the first left turn.

 Here the first and third turns are emerging.

And I'm coming along nicely.  The stones feel a lot like mosaic pieces, almost like they have a place they want to rest.  There is a peace that accompanies me in the work, that I hadn't realized would be there.  And oddly enough, there doesn't seem to be any space in my head for a worry.
(oh, the pine straw is for the visual, it will be covered in dirt and mulch)

There are some small wild violets popping up for Spring, and they seem to fit right between the rocks!

(I'm really not surprised - but I am delighted)

Making My Marks

I went out into the yard today with a can of paint, and a copy of the labyrinth pattern I want to create.  What an optimist!!  I used that entire can of paint making incredible mistakes in the yard.  It was rather hilarious. 

For those of you who are engineers: bite your tongues.  I know there are mathematical ways to do this.  I'm choosing a different way.

A quick trip to Home Depot and I had flags and two rolls of pink tape and the whole wonderful path began to take shape!! 

I decided to take pictures that reveal my mistakes, because why not?  Nothing about me, my life or this labyrinth is going to be precise, measured or perfect.

I have a pattern for the rocks, and also places for plantings and bird feeders.  I'm SO excited!!

More Thoughts on The Labyrinth

I found this labyrinth pattern and think I may like it even better.  It gives me a feeling of the path having a few more turns, and maybe not so straight and accessible -- kind of like the way my life works.  I like that.

And I've seen some garden path pictures that are pretty close to how I want to construct the footpath of the Labyrinth. 

This has a nice look to it.  Very organic, and alive.  I'm thinking I could also plant some herbs along the path, to bring in some wonderful smells.  Rosemary does really well in our yard all year long.                 

I don't know if I want to plant a tree in the middle, if I do, I think I'd want it to be taller and have the bench under it.  Again, I like the organic, growing sense of this one.  I think I'd use some flowering plants too, since we can usually have color all year long.

These garden labyrinths are also very lovely.  I have a bit more shade, and again I feel pretty sure I want more color ... more plant materials in the pathway markers.  I think I'll also add some small seating around.

This is the Labyrinth at The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.  I think the picture is from when it was first built, which was quite a while ago.  I like the way the stones are in the earth as if they have been there forever.  When we were there two years ago there was a lot of mossy growth on the stones, and it looked even more alive. 

 

 So these pictures give a bit of an idea of where I'm headed.  I know my project won't be an exact copy, but it's the essence or feel of the garden space I'm going for.  

 

This week the spray paint comes out!  And I go look for rocks! 

Building a Labyrinth

 

Classic 7 Circuit Labyrinth

After much research, I've decided on this as the Labyrinth style I'm going to create in my yard.  However, rather than paved or canvas or mown-grass paths, I'm going to build garden paths.  I have this picture in my head, and I'm going to see if I can bring it to life.

This is the area of my yard where it will go.  This shot is looking west at the remains of our personal "ruin" - it was a Pergola built years ago to showcase some gorgeous Wisteria, however the Wisteria grew massive arms of tremendous strength and tore off the roof of the Pergola without ever blooming!  Not a single purple flower!  So now we have a ruin.  We're going to lay some branches across the top and make a kind of temporary thatch for the roof, and turn it into a meditation spot.  And, from the east entrance one will enter the Labyrinth.

From inside the Pergola this is the space.  From the entrance to the other side is 21 paces (my paces - hey, it's MY Labyrinth) and then 22 paces across.  I suppose I'll measure that to know, but this is the size.

 

To the south from the entrance.

 

To the north from the entrance.

I think I'll plant some evergreens to screen the house a bit.

So, there it is.

The idea is hatched.

The seed is planted.