Each Little World

Latest garden attack

The last part of our road project that involves damage to our plantings was done last week. The fire hydrant is being moved across the street but that won't be a big messy job like all the new water and sewer pipes being laid and then hooked up to the houses. 

The workman who was using this excavator scooped out a clump of my Geranium macrorrhizum and attempted to relocate them before they started the big dig. I was thrilled with his thoughtfulness.

Our neighbors' pipes were being done at the same time as ours. The crew tends to do the same jobs in a row starting at one or the other end of the street. 

Mark was standing in our garden to take this shot. 

There is a fair amount of hand work that's done around new and old pipes in the dig location. 

These guys are so skilled at operating these big machines. 

The orange fencing goes around holes in the street where the work was not finished in one day.

Our hole is all marked as the other excavator uses his machine to make the road passable for residents. 

The yellow ribbon marks the oak tree at the end of our driveway. All this equipment is parked along our property for the night.

I went out to see what it looked like once the crew stopped work for the day at 7 p.m.

This is the view through the front garden towards the street. 

Looking toward our garden as the guys work to move our water service from the old water main to the new one. Note the yellow gas line which was the first utility to be replaced.

The new copper water piping . . .

is hooked up to our house. 

Clearing the new section of copper pipe before connecting it to the existing line to our house. The pipe had to be extended because the new main was installed on the far side of the right of way from us. We were only without water for a very short time.

The Moon Garden

Mark went out late Saturday afternoon with his camera after he glanced up the steps into The Moon Garden and was intrigued by what he saw. 

The opposite side of the path in the above photo.

Paeonia japonica 

Malus 'Tina' at the peak of perfection.

The Yin Yang bed and the path to the West Gate on the right.

Looking back to the east side of this upper garden.

Wordless Wednesday

Slow spring

There are a few upcoming frosty overnight lows, but most plants seem to be dealing with the temperature swings. It's only the gardener who's having a hard time. Luckily I can use the rain this week as my excuse for not getting any work done out of doors — other than constantly checking plant progress. The real progress here has been the next phase of the street project. 

The street crews are getting a lot of work done. The gas company almost has the new main gas line in place and piles of huge cement rainwater and sanitary sewer pipes were unloaded all along the street the week. I dragged Mark out to photograph me next to a few of them in order to give you a sense of scale. The pair above are sitting on the lawn of the neighbors across the street. I'm standing behind the one below. 

It has openings on two sides so it will be interesting to see where it goes. 

As you can see the pipes range greatly in size.

This row of pipes are oval rather than round. 

I thought it would be consistently warmer by now and thus set up mid-and-late April delivery dates for plants I ordered on line. Two down and another one this weekend. Interestingly Digging Dog Nursery in California sent me an email saying they are moving my shipping date back from April 18 to May 18 because it has been so cold at their nursery. 

The summer begins?

The week began with a lovely Easter which we spent quietly at home. Mark is a big fan of carrots so I always buy him a special one for the holiday.

I got up Monday morning and went to the window to determine the source of the strange noise I'd just heard. Turns out the folks behind us were getting a new roof. But then I heard odd noises in the opposite direction.

Madison Gas and Electric company had arrived to begin putting in new gas lines for the street with new connections to all the houses. They'd set barrels along the curb last week in prep for the work, so I don't know why I was surprised to see them. 

Due to this work our street is currently only one lane and one direction. When the city crews come in a week to tear up the street for new water and sanitary sewer lines — plus a total redesign to allow space for bikers and pedestrian — the street will be closed to everyone but residents.

The city crews will potentially work 7 days a week until November. Once the project is all done, there will no longer be any on-street parking. This project was not too dusty or noisy but that will not be the case with the larger city project. I think we will be spending a lot of time with our windows closed.

Mark has probably taken thousands of photos of the work this week. I have to admit the process is fascinating and the crews are so polite and friendly. 

I tried to do as much garden prep as possible this week, but it was sunny with temperatures in to the 80°s most days and a lot of wind. It was exhausting as the leaves aren't out on the trees yet so there was no shade. We have been under fire warnings all week; a rare occurrence here.

Because of the road work, I went out into the street and dug up the tulips that I had planted in the traffic island. They're potted up and I'm hoping I get some blooms. A big job that was not on my to-do list. 

Yesterday Mark had his unexpected project when the neighbors behind us said they'd had compost delivered and it was more than they needed and did we want some. All we had to do was come and get it

Luckily it was a downhill trip from the pile to our garden, so Mark brought three big wheel barrow loads down. We piled it on a work path until I figure out where I want to use it. 

This extremely hot and sunny weather has pushed the garden into overdrive. I discovered Fritillaria raddeanea had opened when I walked through the garden yesterday morning. Last year it bloomed on May 6 — a difference to three weeks! 

Frost is predicted this weekend. This seems to be our new normal. Extremely hot weather to begin the season followed  by typical cold spring temps. But it's a big problem when delicate plants are being pushed so far forward. Viola odorants var. rosea will likely be less bothered by the cold swing than the hot weather. I think I will have to get flat on the ground to get a face-on image of the tiny flowers. 

Signs of spring

Enough snow had melted by yesterday that I was able to get completely around the garden to see what there was to see. A few plants were up further than I expected and there were the usual signs of rabbit damage. 

While I was doing that Mark did a few errands and found his own signs of spring, as you'll see below. Anyone who lives in a snowbelt region will recognize these images as the true signs of spring.

Back to normal

Mark had a great crowd at his opening, despite the fact that the snowstorm that had been forecast for last Thursday arrived an hour before the party started. Lots of old friends and photographers. We closed down a bit early when it became clear that the storm was going to keep everyone else at home. We were glad we only live a few minutes away, so our drive home was short and safe.

We spent the next day doing nothing — after my cataract surgery consult. Then Mark was back at the gallery Saturday afternoon for more visitors. This week we have house guests, along with warmer temperatures and rain in the forecast. Should be a great week. 

Mark has coffee every morning with one of his photo buddies, Tom Schmock. Tom came to the opening to capture the scene since Mark was going to spend the evening talking. This is one of my favorites that Tom took of Mark. 

Thanks to all of you for all the lovely comments you left last week about Mark's exhibit and the local magazine article about him.

Mark's Ten Year Retrospective Exhibit

For the past ten years Mark has tried to answer the question: “What is a good photograph?” 

Through the exploration of various subject matter, photographic media, equipment, technique and, most importantly, photographic theory his images have evolved over time.

This exhibit at the PhotoMidwest Gallery consists of 77 framed prints, 27 self-published photo books, 100s of unmounted work prints as well as relevant quotes from artists and scholars who influenced my practice.

If you are unable to attend the opening (details below), PhotoMidwest is open on Saturdays from Noon to 4PM. We live only a short distance from the gallery and Mark would also be willing to provide access at almost any time. Just let him know. 

If all else fails you can view the images at PhotoMidwest. The books can be viewed at Blurb.com by searching in the "bookstore" under "Mark Golbach." 

TO

PHOTOGRAPH

IS TO

LEARN HOW

TO 

DIE

 

A TEN YEAR RETROSPECTIVE OF IMAGES 

BY MARK GOLBACH

OPENING RECEPTION

MARCH 9, 2023

4PM – 8PM

SATURDAYS FROM NOON TO 4PM

MARCH 4, 2023 – APRIL 22, 2023

 

PHOTOMIDWEST

700 RAY-VAC DRIVE

MADISON, WISCONSIN

CONTACT  MARK GOLBACH

TO ARRANGE FOR ACCESS AT OTHER TIMES

[email protected]

Mark's in Madison Magazine

Doug Moe, a well-regarded local journalist and former co-worker of mine, wrote a nice piece about Mark in Madison Magazine. It details his ten years since retirement taking photos.

These days he's so involved with his own photo work that It's rare that I can get him into the garden to take pictures. When we first started the garden he was the main photographer of it for many years. 

The above photo is one of his earlier ones and is not in the exhibit; but it's always been one of my favorites.

December doldrums

Today marks one month since our friend Janice (right) died of cancer. I met Janice back in 2007 or 08 when I first started going for coffee on Saturday mornings to EVP on Speedway.

Janice was a drama queen in the best sense: Statuesque, stylish and impassioned. Always ready to protest, party or talk plants; we did plenty of all three over the years.

I can't begin to add up all the Saturdays we sat around sharing coffee and conversation. Nor can I quite image all those Saturdays to come without her. 

This week marks another unhappy anniversary: Friday will be one year since my sister Meg died of a rare auto-immune disease. This photo of her is so old I haven't a clue as to the date or location. But it's always been a favorite of mine. Her daughter, Sarah, is probably a similar age and looks strikingly like her mom does here. 

Meg's birthday is Christmas Day and my dad's is Christmas Eve. Despite having done a fair amount of holiday decorating, I am definitely not in a party mood and the 10-day weather forecast — rain, snow and cloudy skies — doesn't suggest there's any sunshine coming to push me out of my doldrums. So this is it for my blog posts this week.