Longwood Garden wonders

These amazing plants are called "water platters." They're featured in the waterlily ponds at Longwood Gardens. The colors and textures are gorgeous. They can grow up to 7 feet in diameter at a rate of 6 inches a day. Jeff and I had the good fortune of seeing the water gardeners at work on Monday. The third photo shows an underside.
I have a feeling that these are going to influence some woven scarf designs this fall!

An extra bright spot

Th

     What a treat, I grabbed a ride into Sante Fe on Saturday and joined the crowd brwosing tent to tent at the International Folk Art festival on Museum Hill.
      These two new friends were having a ball trying to catch streamers.  It was tricky getting a photo-they were up and down the hill so quickly!

  

All of the venders were dressed in traditional costumes of their culture and assisted by translators.  Many were demonstrating their techniques-very labor intensive with stunning results.  The "stan" countries were particularly well represented.

     I picked up a few Christmas presents (no photos of those-duh), and probably would have picked up a few more if the pay line wasn't so long.  The venders give you tickets and pay for all at once.  Indulged in a funky pair of earrings from Swaziland for myself-irrisistable at $6.    
     This lady is the creator of an extraordinary embroidered coat.  It took 4 years to stitch and displays an entire mytholigical narrative.  Stunning

Box Canyon

     Thought I'd add photos from a hike today.  This is the way into Box Canyon, originally the "cattle storage" for bandits, now a peaceful spot populated by nesting birds.  There are beautiful little waterfalls on the way in, a contrast to the more arid first half mile.  (You'll see podcasts with these in the fall).Watching the water bugs flit around on the pool surfaces is good fun.  National Geographic water issue has a page on the physics of how they do it-actually pushing the water up in front of them to create momentum  that they can surf.

     On the way are spectacular fallen trees, some fairly recent as the landscape changes with each rain.  Some are "duck unders," and others are "walk across."  I loved the way the carved rock and clay looked under this one.














Towering evergreens guard the entrance to the dead end of the canyon (after climbing over some formidable boulders).

     

       Dozens of swallows swoop overhead.  When you reach the center and look up, this is the rim overhead.  It creates a wonderful acoustic space, great for chanting or singing.  And below, yoga groupies ready to practice!

Commute (the other side)

   Tomorrow took a few days to get to, (God's time) but here is a glimpse of "the other side of the street" I travel.
   One of the most interesting houses I pass several times a day is "Ghost House."  It was built by two brothers who made a living by rustling cattle throughout Northern New Mexico.  They drove the herds up Box Canyon (more later on hiking there) and were notoriously ruthless.
    Arthur and Pheobe Pack bought the property for a dude ranch in 1936. When Georgia O'Keefe first visited the ranch, before she made a home here,  she stayed in Ghost house.  
More on this house later, too.

     Just behind Ghost house is a trail that leads to the Mesa housing area and upper pavilion (where my Yoga class met last week.)  There is a reasonably reliable cell phone signal at the top....... if I stand on a concrete block and don't turn around (no being distracted by views or sunset during a call!).  The first few days this climb was literally breathtaking, but it didn't take long to adjust to the altitude.
     The next building of note is the new chapel (below).  The front doors open entirely, folding back to reveal the landscape.  The acoustics are like very bright, perfect.  This week a choral class is using it to make beautiful music, can't wait for the weekend concert!  Inside are a lovely series of tapestries using Navaho tapestry methods with contemporary designs.  During the "Water and the Baptismal Life" week, we had a wading pool set in the middle.

The library is next.  Its housed in "Cottonwood," which was built for the Johnson Woods family when they fell in love with the ranch during the Pack era.  There is a great book collection inside:  art, theology, biblical studies, science, literature, western history as well a general interest.  Outside is this column displaying the region's geology.  Last week a college class was in working on maps.
     Next posts-hikes to Chimney Rock and Box Canyon (tomorrow?)