Connecting Garden Rooms: Concave/Convex Stone Steps.

About 3 weeks ago I began working with amazing acreage.  The clients from out-of-state, could have afforded new fancy.  But it wasn't for 'her'.  She went beyond the patience of her family & realtor.  Why?  She had to have her home in the proper setting.  After renovating kitchen & other spaces, she's ready for the garden.  Their acres are stunning.  My job is to frame the views, and they are 360 !
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Pic, above, here.
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Their home faces one of their lakes from a perfect distance, and, with a more perfect slope.
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At present there is no relationship between house & lake.  None.  How can this be?
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Oh my the delight, connecting house to lake with stone steps, concave & convex.
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Client's concave/convex stone steps won't be quite so formal, as above, more rustic, no mortar.
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Of course grading needed, and our stone mason to perfectly 'set' each stone.  Have worked with Javier for years, I think of him as a garden 'jeweler' !
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Alas, clients are building a carriage house, barn, paddock, pool, summer house, potager ahead of their concave/convex steps.  Excited about their other projects, but these steps make my heart sing.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Open, wooded, lakes, slight slopes, mature, oh my this acreage.  Poor Javier, he knows how excited I get about focal points of stone and what Muse sees.  Then, Javier makes my thoughts better.  His Muse speaks too.  

Working With Contractors

Dealing with contractors for 30 years, as a woman, never ceases to amaze.  Everything in my Garden Designs has been done for CENTURIES.  I've plucked no ideas solely from books without having seen them in real gardens across continents.
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Had to smirk seeing this stone wall, below.  How many times have I designed a dry stack stone wall, 3' or even 5', and been told, "You can't do that."  You know which sex provided that quote.  Perhaps I should be clearer, not wanting to implicate LGBT.  "You can't do that", said the heterosexual man.
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Sure I've had the male contractor say, "Let me figure that out", of course gay.  Excepting, David. A country boy, straight, and willing to scare himself.  Whatever I threw at him, "Ok", and with a tiny smile and squinching up of his shoulders I knew he was challenged, and would sort it out, he did.  Plucked David from one of the college classes I taught.  He had the right attitude.  Sadly, my David died, age 50, almost a decade ago, I'm still p#ssed at him for doing that.  I know exactly the smiling look I'll see on his face, once I see him again.  It will say, "Ha, you had to sort it out without me !!"  Huge surprise, interviewing, and using other contractors?  Dishonesty.  Who knew?  Rife.  
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Discovered Beloved at a jobsite.  Client hired me for the design, but had her own contractor.  The day I met Beloved, the client had given me clear orders, "Your job is to keep him in line, I want the garden you drew, no changes."  Of course, after knowing his work at her job, I asked him to bid some of my work.  I knew his honesty with clients, designer, employees, vendors.
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Back to this stone wall, below.  Built ca. 1500.  Some guy, now, is going to tell me, "You can't do that." ?  Beyond happy to have found a team of knowledgeable, and honest men.  Ironically, all straight.  You want this wall, below?  Our mason can do it.



Found our mason at a jobsite almost 5 years ago.  He was working for another contractor.  His boss decided he needed cussing out in front of everyone, including the homeowner.  The homeowner, our client, told that contractor to never speak to anyone on her property in that manner again.  He responded by firing the mason, immediately.  In return, immediately, our client fired that contractor.  Following that, immediately, we hired the mason.  If it had been a Hollywood movie, every player deserved an Oscar.  What a span of 60 seconds !
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Cannot imagine 'my work' without our mason's work.  He's magic.
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Garden & Be Well,   XO Tara
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Pic, above, here.

A Civilized Garden

Lilly is my tax accountant.  We met yesterday morning, last of everything done, filed.  Go us.  Her office is a sweet little house, ca. 1930, renovated for her work.  Believing in a spoon-full-of-sugar I made an appointment afterward to finally peruse the huge antique shop on the main street, a former dry goods business built prior to the Civil War.  Yes, I bought a couple of things.
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A farm stand with homemade soups/sandwiches/teas/cookies, around the corner, was part of that appointment.  Wanted to stop there since moving in almost a year ago, 1st time was the charm.  Eating on their front terrace filled with plants & willow furniture I was able to check email and return calls.  Then a text from a client, her garden on the way to my afternoon appointment.  How amazing, I could answer her text in person.  Leaving the farm stand I bought a frozen quart of homemade chicken/sausage gumbo for dinner and stopped by home to put in fridge.
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The afternoon appointment was graciously easy, the client lives in NYCity, and was not at her farm, the timing flexible.  Since moving to the country all of my pedicures have been well past their sell-by-date.  The salon is near the copy shop where I had to pick up construction drawings for another client.  At the print shop I discovered the lady who most often helps me is from California, and her father, now in his 80's, was a gardener for movie stars.  Designing, installing, maintaining.  Cannot wait to learn more about his work as time passes.  Pedicure acquired, construction drawings secured.
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Stopping at the client who texted, we had time to walk/talk her garden, with her young daughters & dog Lilac too.  Then we all walked a few houses away to her neighbor who had offered her his custom tree house that his children had outgrown.  Beyond perfect.  Of course it is up in the trees.  Cannot wait to see how this is figured out, without destroying the tree house.  Once moved, it will be renovated into a chicken coop.  Another, go us !
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Her daughters were whittling sticks at a patio table on the gravel terrace off the kitchen when I arrived.  Youngest daughter had a pocket knife just like the one I carry.  Dad gave it to me over a decade ago.  She asked to investigate my knife.  Quickly she pulled a small pair of tweezers from it.  Quite rich, 1st time it was ever removed, had zero clue it was there.  Dad would have enjoyed this, he's been gone 4 years.
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After finishing homemade rhubarb tea it was time to check construction at Miss New York's farm.  I was sent packing with fresh asparagus from the garden, and a slice of cake.  Perfect for dinner with the gumbo.  
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Beloved phoned, he was near.  We could meet at the old cemetery and then start Miss New York's 2 mile driveway thru the woods.  There had been a bit of a 'panic' call, last Friday, from the ASID working inside the house about how her steps were landing into the garden.  Beloved shot the level, I told him my vision for the stone steps coming up to the ASID steps from the new side porch.  All is good.  No 'panic' necessary.
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Guess who was not thrilled with gumbo for dinner?  Beloved.  He felt guilty about it too.  Both of us garden dirty, him more than me, he suggested eating out.  We did.  Girasoles, in Watkinsville.  Glad it's in Watkinsville, not our little farm town.  It's too good.
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This wasn't all of my day, but enough to share.  Amazingly, this is the first day since we moved, about 10 months ago, life feels 'civilized', again.  Work schedule & our farm have been in charge of everything.  Their demands rigid.  Knocked off my feet.  Yesterday, I stood up.
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Before leaving Lilly I asked what she had blooming in her garden.  Her answer, exactly expected.  Left her with a hand written list of flowering shrubs, a succession throughout the year.  Today, will email her nurseries where she can find them.  I make gardens wherever I go.  It's my job.
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Pic, above, garden by Robert Broekema.
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Close to what we've started to construct/plant at our farm, above.  Quite civilized, yes?  Finally, getting a garden back in my life.
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Garden & Be Well,  XO Tara  

Front Door: A Course in Beautifully Scaled Details

Off the edge of perfect, below, beyond perfect.
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Have never understood the predilection for oversized lights at a front door.  Studying historic gardens across Europe for decades, diminutive lighting, compared to USA, is the memo.
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Tara Turf, below, to the foundation.  Alone, enough to instigate a nastygram from any HOA.  Here's the deal with Tara Turf, it's a rich way to live, according to Providence.  And me.
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Opulent patina, not pressure washed away, on the walls, below.



Pic, above, here.
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Who knew I would ever think a collection of little green meatballs was charming?  Indeed, these are.  Here, they are a whimsical pun.  You already thought the same thing, right?
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The pair of small spheres.  Swoon.  Their plinths, double swoon.
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Notice the climbing roses?  Not the physical plant but what they do for the design.  Taking very little space, espaliered, they give maximum lush.
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Tiny gravel, above, color of the house, drifting into most-of-a-circle tiny flagstone, again colored to the house, terrace.  With no edging between gravel/plants or gravel/flagstones.  Your already picked up on this huge detail, edging, right?
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Enfilade, above, is something we have at our ca. 1900 American farmhouse.  Ours, 80' long, with heart of pine floor, I'll have to figure out how to get the shot, we even have the trees in back, but our pond is behind the trees.
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Our house, now, has a small gravel parking court in front, we kept the previous owner's half-round of bricks at the front steps.  Unbelievable, the vernacular language is the same, this home, above, and ours.
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This front door, above, says the most important thing, "Welcome."  And, "You want to come inside, this house is interesting, the people who live here I want to know and see more, the garden, and....."
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T
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Beloved is a pressure washing fool.  One of these days, at present I leave the premises when he pressure washes, I will stand my ground, and instead of crime scene tape outlining a body on the ground, Beloved will pressure wash around my body on the wall of our home.  If this were our home, above, I know his pressure washer would have something 'wrong' with it each time he tries to use it.  Buy a new one?  It would have something 'wrong', always, too.

Dowager Duchess at Edensor House: Gravel Paths

Dinner tonight in honor of a friend's beloved grandmother.  She would have been 99.  Grandma's chocolate pie will be the star, and focused conversation for all, about grandmothers.  

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A dinner ritual for many years, I was unaware & suppose my continual mention of my grandma earned me an invitation.

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Days a bit longer and  will be able to see my host's garden before last light.  Designed her garden about 2 years ago, and they are totally DIY.

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Snakes are a problem at their home, and they have 2 young daughters.  

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Gravel is designed up to the house, and stones within the gravel, as needed for easier main paths.

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Gravel with pathway stones has been done for thousands of years.

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Another benediction for gravel with stones, below, Debo, Duchess of Devonshire, if Debo does it, case closed.

Duchess of Devonshire, below, at her dowager house, above, Edensor House, an old vicarage, she called, Old Vic.  Note, exquisite pruning, below, to the right of the door?

Centuries old, below, the backdrop landscape behind the Duchess is no accident.  None.  

Old Vic, below, rendering to be sold at Sotheby's.

The Duchess, below, was keen on many outdoor activities, in one of her books, can't remember which, she mentioned how cold/wet/mucky some pursuits were but the game was on for all included, Show No Discomfort.  

Before pie, we'll walk the new gravel paths.  Today, temps are freezing, winds gusting to 20mph, and we will do our best to show-no-discomfort.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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Pics from Sotheby's .  The Style Saloniste has a bit more about the Duchess, here.

Designing to Solve Problems: Maintenance & Snakes

From the 1st visit with the realtor to our new home, I KNEW the garden around the house would be gravel with meandering paths & terraces of gravel further from the house.  And, siting of large pots with HYDRANGEA, drip irrigation of course, were paramount.



Leaving a cottage garden of 3 decades, our new garden is American Farmhouse, ca. 1900.  More importantly, its design will be for our 80 year old selves.  I must be 80 years old, have a gorgeous garden with zero worries about maintaining it.  A garden must leverage life, not the reverse.
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This garden, above/below, I shot late last summer.  Limelight hydrangeas in the same situation as my new garden.  Loving, to the center of my DNA, this garden, I had zero clue I would soon be owning similar.  Alas, it's owned by a man, greatly talented, and strong.  My garden must be smarter, my strength not as great.  Game on.



Fearless, gravel will go to the house, similarly, below.



Not wanting formality, gravel will lap at our century old pecan trees, Tara Turf will lap at some pecan trees too.



As time passes, stone will be added to the gravel as needed.  Stone, below, added for rain issues.  And, I will site wisteria 'Amethyst Falls' at my front porch.  Vines or espaliered trees/shrubs add lush without space.



Knowing gravel terraces will be included, below, great anticipation in wondering 'exactly' where.


Transitioning to meadow, I will add checkerboard squares, below.



Furlow Gatewood has smashed a bottle of champagne upon thousands of ships, below, with his allee of hydrangeas in pots.  Copy, it's the 1st rule of garden design.



Wildly, without knowing the deeper truths of our new garden, my initial thoughts for design are more than suitable at age 80.  Even life saving, for any age.  Snakes, the indigenous timber rattler.  Luckily have already interrupted a long king snake under the house.  Lucky, yet totally scared when I saw him.
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Gravel is the best solution, trying to be safe, in defense of snakes near the house.  I got the memo, go me.
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Sourcing pots now, I think I've found them !
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Garden & Be Well,    XO T
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Top 2 pics mine, the rest from my Pinterest Board, Stone.

Brave Enough to be this Simple?

Glen Ella, below, New Year's Eve.

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Still in use, their barn, more than a century later, its current garden design pulls deep admiration.

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Simplicity.

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Mostly, these barns are rotting/caving-in/gone across USA.

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Go off the grid?  These barns are original off the grid support.

Field gathered stones, below, still functioning.

Perhaps my favorite view of the barn, below.  Simplicity of garden design, and views into the guts of its architecture.  What is the narrative?  Was it added on to?  More than once?

Barn still in use, above, totally garden designed.  Yet, to most, it will seem derelict, dangerous, and they will think, "Why don't they do something, or tear it down?"  Without realizing the brain power creating this current narrative with form/function.  More than brain power, a relationship with Providence.
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Would you be this bold, above, as a garden designer?
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Simplicity is a hard/impossible task.
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Simplicity requires the ego to mask itself.
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No worries about that, once you realize your ego can shine via the simplicity.
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Garden & Be Well,     XO Tara
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Arrived with friends, for dinner, at Glen Ella near dusk, the later seating was booked.  Cold, little light, and everyone walked toward the entry, and warmth.  Not me.  I forgot they existed.  My behavior, whence a good garden appears, targeted on the hunt.  The garden, camera, me, a trinity & zone flying beyond time, social acceptance, whatever.  Poor unfortunate souls needing drugs to arrive in this zone.  
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Have met 1 other soul with this trinity to Nirvana, in Italy, a Delta pilot.  He/I were constantly in each other's way and beyond irritated, beyond the moon irritated.  A few days of this hell we knew some sort of 'arrangement' had to be discovered, some sort of 'friendship'.  Finally, we spoke.  Of course he had to let me know he was a Captain, and a bit about his lovely large home etc.  Woo-woo, let him know a friend's dad had been a Flying Tiger, and original pilot hire by Delta, and he lived around the corner from me growing up.  Told you we didn't like each other up front.  And by the way, someone had to train the astronauts how to fly their rockets, uh, that would be my dad in the simulator with them, former Air Force test pilot.  Isn't it rare the events bringing out our best 7 year old selves, in a snit?  Oh that archaic lizard brain.  You know exactly what happened next.   Talked our way to what is best for both of us, have been true friends since.   He's a wonderful pilot, and person, the best.  Adore his wife, she's a junker for antiques too.
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Grew up knowing the neighbor was a Flying Tiger.  Thought it was euphemism.  During college saw a movie with John Wayne, Flying Tigers.  Consistently, when I'm wrong, it's never a little.

Design: Defining Space with Paths

Garden paths are ahead of plantings in the garden design process.

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Lawns & Tara Turf are paths too.

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Paths are dictated by the house, function, patio, driveway, shade, trees, existing plantings, new features, etc.

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Shot yesterday, below, this new path follows a well trod dirt path my client created during 2+ decades in his home.

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Stepping stones, and edging stones were chosen to copy the type of stone put in by the builder originally.

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Gray cobblestone edging is more common, but not for this site.  I needed to flow with the history already created, aka keep it simple sweetie.

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This project should be completed by the end of the week.  Can't wait to do the walk thru with the owners.

Foot path location, below, used to create new formal stone path.  Many garden paths would be complete, with just stones in dirt, below.  This home is formal French architecture, the garden is not large, the entire garden is treated as a courtyard.

His original dirt path, below.

Stone edging piled, below, are called rubles.  By us !   I think they are correctly named stone rubble.
Brown/beige/white gravel was chosen, too, to copy the existing stone color on site.
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Owner enlarged the scope of the project once we began.  Always happens.  Always.  I think it's because owners 'see', once the paper design becomes 3-D.  Of course there is great humor in knowing a few days earlier only a certain amount of money was available.  Then, poof, voila, money landed from space to enlarge their garden project.

Paths are instant in a garden.  Compare top/bottom pics.  This project is incomplete but the changes are 180.

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Human nature, aka untrained garden design brain, thinks plants will create an instant landscape.  I think of this as job security.  

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Garden & Be Well,     XO T

For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.

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Award winning speaker, hire me for your group, local/out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

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Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.

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Construction by Award Winning

Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction.  Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC.  3 decades of service.

NOTE to my gardening friends... look for changes to come. 

Knew before computers/cell phones, sitting in Atlanta traffic on way to a client, 'I must reach a larger audience with the same amount of effort.'   Soon after that epiphany I signed my CBS-TV, and, books contracts on the same day.

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Then I read an article in the NYTimes about something called 'blogging'.  Saved the article for a year before reading it.  Studied all the blogs they mentioned, hired a computer expert they quoted, and attended a blogging seminar.

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Blogging 2.0 has arrived, my knowledge is 1.0.  A believer in copying the best historic gardens across the globe it flows into every arena of life.  Watching Maria Killam grow her career/blog/life over the past 3 years made its impact.  Signed up  for a year's course with her blogging expert, Jon Morrow. 

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Changes will be slow, plodding is my adored method.  Pulling triggers here/there is spice in the mix.
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What do YOU want?

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Nothing is too small, too big, or too ego crushing to mention.

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Passion lies in sharing what has filled me to the depths of grace, joy & atonement, the best landscapes created over the last 2,000+ years.

Just so you know... 
 I  welcome your input.

When it's Time to Change the Design

You'll know when it's time to round the corners.

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Time passes, trees grow, shade encroaches, turf dies.

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Freshly installed cobblestones, below.  What happens when there is even more shade?

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Forget grass, plant a groundcover.

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Sure, this is change.  Refinement too.

This progression is years in the making.
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And, a metaphor for 'life'.
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What corners does your life need to round?  What turf does your life need to let go?  Where does your life need you to invest in cobblestones installed by experienced hands?  How long did this chapter of life take?  Why didn't I realize, sooner, this corner always needed more space?
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Answers to these types of questions arrive in 3 places, for me: in my garden, walking in Nature, or in the shower.

From childhood, I've found gardens, and Nature, to be great conversationalists.
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But.  Have been stumped by a garden request since last week, a new lecture title.  Help me if you can, please.  What is 'new' in gardening?    
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 Gardening is an ancient craft, yet each garden I create is 'new'.  But.  What is 'new', to you, in gardening?
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Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
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Pic taken at jobsite.
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For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.

.

Award winning speaker, hire me for your group, local/out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

.

Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.

.

Construction by Award Winning

Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction.  Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC.  3 decades of service.

.

NOTE to my gardening friends... look for changes to come. 

Knew before computers/cell phones, sitting in Atlanta traffic on way to a client, 'I must reach a larger audience with the same amount of effort.'   Soon after that epiphany I signed my CBS-TV, and, books contracts on the same day.

.

Then I read an article in the NYTimes about something called 'blogging'.  Saved the article for a year before reading it.  Studied all the blogs they mentioned, hired a computer expert they quoted, and attended a blogging seminar.

.

Blogging 2.0 has arrived, my knowledge is 1.0.  A believer in copying the best historic gardens across the globe it flows into every arena of life.  Watching Maria Killam grow her career/blog/life over the past 3 years made its impact.  Signed up  for a year's course with her blogging expert, Jon Morrow. 

.

Changes will be slow, plodding is my adored method.  Pulling triggers here/there is spice in the mix.
.

What do YOU want?

.

Nothing is too small, too big, or too ego crushing to mention.

.

Passion lies in sharing what has filled me to the depths of grace, joy & atonement, the best landscapes created over the last 2,000+ years.

Just so you know... 
 I  welcome your input.

William Morris: Nuance of Beautiful & Useful

At a jobsite last week, below, a stone path on a slight slope with a slight curve.

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The man creating this path is a stone whisperer.

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His lead stone says, 'Welcome.', with, secondary stone saying, with great nuance, 'Turn this way.'

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Stones are not set in mortar.  Yet, solid, stable, and rank as art.  William Morris, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

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In nuance is the metaphor.

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The fallen branch, below, Nature hard at work, boldly flinging bright white, fungi.  Most people never achieve the beauty of this fungi, nor courage in mission.  Doing the next-right-thing is, too often, hard, until it's the easiest choice available.  My best teachers are in my garden, the nuance of allowing Nature to speak. 

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Did you know the forests around Chernobyl are not decaying?

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Cannot imagine my tiny cottage garden without it's formal stone terraces, clipped boxwood, conservatory, and more, not having its Wildwood.  Earth's path with Providence playing the leading role.  

Michael Dirr said, "Of all the trees in the forest, oaks have the wildest sex."

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Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."

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Oak seedling, below.

 I specialize in Le Jardin Rustique.  More than nuance, they are gardens giving far more than they ever demand.
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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara
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All pics taken last week.  No idea how the bottom pic did the 'swirl thing', nor why it perfectly targets the oak seedling.  Providence or accident?  You know my answer !
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For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.

.

Award winning speaker, hire me for your group, local/out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

.

Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.

.

Construction by Award Winning

Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction.  Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC.  3 decades of service.

.

NOTE to my gardening friends... look for changes to come. 

Knew before computers/cell phones, sitting in Atlanta traffic on way to a client, 'I must reach a larger audience with the same amount of effort.'   Soon after that epiphany I signed my CBS-TV, and, books contracts on the same day.

.

Then I read an article in the NYTimes about something called 'blogging'.  Saved the article for a year before reading it.  Studied all the blogs they mentioned, hired a computer expert they quoted, and attended a blogging seminar.

.

Blogging 2.0 has arrived, my knowledge is 1.0.  A believer in copying the best historic gardens across the globe it flows into every arena of life.  Watching Maria Killam grow her career/blog/life over the past 3 years made its impact.  Signed up  for a year's course with her blogging expert, Jon Morrow. 

.

Changes will be slow, plodding is my adored method.  Pulling triggers here/there is spice in the mix.
.

What do YOU want?

.

Nothing is too small, too big, or too ego crushing to mention.

.

Passion lies in sharing what has filled me to the depths of grace, joy & atonement, the best landscapes created over the last 2,000+ years.

Just so you know... 
 I  welcome your input.

Gravel Path: Before + After

Garden path, a few minutes old, below.

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Their back yard, thankfully, a quagmire.  In addition to significant man made drainage issues they have an underground spring.

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Thankfully?  They had to hire help, me.  

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#89 Granite gravel, above/below, is best, color/size, for their garden.  I never tire of seeing before/after of cobblestone edging.

The area was not pretty, below, when we began.

Seems like the older women get the more men their projects demand.

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Especially love women demanding a beautiful easy landscape, and needing a commercial dumpster in their driveway because they are doing a 'few' things inside too !

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These women are my tribe.

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Garden & Be Well,    XO Tara

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Pics taken at jobsite last week.

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Women who know their driveway must be jackhammered to oblivion are a particular delight.  If you are a woman, with a man in your life, no worries, Man Coaching is free.   Husband's refer to me as, that woman, up front.  Within days husband's say, 'call Tara'.    

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For a beautiful garden & home filling you with joy, become my client, local/on-line.

.

Award winning speaker, hire me for your group, local/out-of-state.

                                                                                 .

Books by Tara Dillard, Amazon

.

Tara Dillard & Associates Design: farm to city pied-a-terre.

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Construction by Award Winning

Shaefer Heard Construction, licensed home-builder, renovation - new construction.  Heard's Landscaping a unit of SHC.  3 decades of service.

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NOTE to my gardening friends... look for changes to come. 

Knew before computers/cell phones, sitting in Atlanta traffic on way to a client, 'I must reach a larger audience with the same amount of effort.'   Soon after that epiphany I signed my CBS-TV, and, books contracts on the same day.

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Then I read an article in the NYTimes about something called 'blogging'.  Saved the article for a year before reading it.  Studied all the blogs they mentioned, hired a computer expert they quoted, and attended a blogging seminar.

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Blogging 2.0 has arrived, my knowledge is 1.0.  A believer in copying the best historic gardens across the globe it flows into every arena of life.  Watching Maria Killam grow her career/blog/life over the past 3 years made its impact.  Signed up  for a year's course with her blogging expert, Jon Morrow. 

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Changes will be slow, plodding is my adored method.  Pulling triggers here/there is spice in the mix.
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What do YOU want?

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Nothing is too small, too big, or too ego crushing to mention.

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Passion lies in sharing what has filled me to the depths of grace, joy & atonement, the best landscapes created over the last 2,000+ years.

Just so you know... 
 I  welcome your input.