Sculptures in the garden, even in winter, prove to be eye-catching. Recently I looked at the sheep and thought, “With all that wool, you must be warm despite the weather!” One look at those skinny legs and it is readily apparent just how thick their fleece can become. Indeed, Clayton depicted in his sculpture how the fleece can be so thick that it actually parts when a sheep turns its head. As I stand looking at them, I feel sense that these sheep are watching to see how close I am going to get before they leave the scene. Nothing like realistic art.
Month: January 2015
January 4, 2015
Happy New Year to All!
Clayton is currently working on proposals, so instead of perusing his studio, I am standing at the kitchen counter observing the Japanese garden he designed. I am constantly amazed at the scope of Clayton’s planning; even in “bleak mid-winter,” this garden is alive and vibrant. Espaliered wisteria branches, pruned a month ago, decorate the broad expanse of the back wall which protects this garden from the sound and sight of cars zooming by on the road outside. In the middle of the wall hangs a bird feeder where at the moment a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, a Starling, and three House Sparrows are all feeding. Waiting on the wisteria branches are a Tufted Titmouse, a Cardinal and a Black-Capped Chickadee. Three Blue Jays and a pair of Mourning Doves are cleaning up the unopened seeds which have fallen to the ground. Below, a Song Sparrow drinks from a small pool midway down the waterfall, while five other Sparrows are bathing to the right near the shallow “rapids” of this same re-circulating water element. Behind these birds is ground-hugging green and white ivy and behind this, a grove of seven pruned black gum trees and waist high variegated bamboo, the latter still sporting its green and yellow leaves. On the far left side of this scene near the moon gate leading out to the road, a climbing rose still clings to its green leaves, reflecting the micro-environment created in the small enclosed space. Green pachysandra leads my eye back to the wintergreen with its red berries directly in front of the kitchen window. What a joyous scene to behold while drinking hot tea in a warm kitchen.