Craig had asked if we could get together tonight in the labyrinth. He was feeling that he needed to be in the space more, and of course I said yes.

Alas, he was detained at a worksite and won’t be able to be here. But it’s too beautiful a night not to be out here: not too cold, perfectly clear sky, a peaceful moon and the labyrinth looks gorgeous. So even though I thought I’d stay in, it would be a shame to waste the opportunity.

I want to write my next blog post about my Lichtenbergian goals, walk the labyrinth a couple of times, and just generally be grateful for the universe. Not a challenge, actually.

And who knows? Maybe someone will see the open gate and walk in.

I meant to write about this on Sunday, but I didn’t get around to it.

While in Key West, I bought a couple of things for the labyrinth. Here’s the first:

It’s a little fuzzy, since I took the photo with my iPhone, but essentially it’s a raku ceramic rattle. It’s stamped with dragonflies on its two halves, and then what seems to be waxed raffia holds some not-quite-what-I-would-have-picked-but-unoffensive beads, while at the same time blocking the hole on the bottom.

I figured it would be something to do a little meditative noise with while I sit out there.

I was worried about how to store it, and then the bowl I already had came to mind, along with sand to cushion it. Very nice presentation, I think, and a highly practical solution.

I had to build up the north edge of the labyrinth in order to have a level surface. Consequently there is a small embankment there. I have planted peacock ferns on the shallow end, but didn’t have enough to do the whole bank.

The problem was that at the deep end, where the autumn ferns are, the embankment was difficult or impossible to mow. The mower just chewed off the grass and dirt. Also, I found myself needing to step up that embankment every time I went around to light candles.

Since the element of North is earth/dirt/stone, I decided to install a little stone stair, solving all my problems with one solution.

Yes, there is a little cairn of stones next to the staircase, left over from the drainage pipe under the omphalos bowl. I need to embiggen it.

Anyway, there’s the latest addition to the space. I think I will tackle the western stone circle sculpture next.

Down in Fernandina Beach, we came across a grinding stone at an antiques place. It was on consignment (one wonders who would have such a thing?), and the price was reasonable: $5.00.

What’s not to like?

So here’s the new table:

It will be a wonderful addition to sit next to the new adirondack chairs:

I have bought four of these. There were four in this other antiques place, but two had already been sold. I bought the other two, but then the man who makes them offered to make me four and paint them any color I want and deliver them from Tennessee. (His mother-in-law lives in Roswell.) I hope they’re in position in time for the Lichtenbergian Annual Meeting.

Update, 10/21/09:

I also bought this hurricane lamp, a nice big one, for a quarter of its original price:

It will nestle amongst some ferns somewhere.

Today was simple work: plant the ferns where the tree used to be, move the pavers, sit in the labyrinth.

All I have pictures for is this:

However, I wish I had taken photos of the new location of the pavers. They’re at the bottom of the driveway in a little altar-like setup, and I put candles on them for the evening. From the labyrinth, looking to the east, suddenly now there’s a vista of lights climbing like stairs from the entrance of the labyrinth ever upwards. It’s quite a lovely effect.

I was all set to write a witty post about that most manly of manly man power tools, the chainsaw, and how I had to borrow one from Craig because I don’t have one myself, nor any real reason to buy one, and how it compared to my little electric hedge trimmer and then let the comments fall where they might, when two things happened:

1. Marc snarkily replied via text message that a chainsaw is efficient; an ax is manly.
2. I melted Craig’s chainsaw.

Let the comments fall where they may.

Here’s a simple report, then.

Here’s my first pass, getting the smaller limbs taken apart.

So far, so good, but it was shortly after this that the saw ran out of gas. That was the problem, you see.

Here we are at the last bit. The larger trunk was interesting, because after I got almost all the way through the trunk, it would break off and I could roll it right out of its bark. The larger pieces I sawed in half. Yes, it would probably be easier or faster to cleave them, but that would require the use of a real manly tool, which, needless to say, I do not own.

And here’s where I ended after I melted Craig’s chainsaw. The problem was that small engines require a mixture of gasoline and oil in order to keep running. I knew this, but Craig didn’t mention it, and there were two separate ports for gas and oil, so I thought that perhaps these newfangled chainsaws did their own mixing through some superior space-age technology. Oops. Craig’s mistake was thinking I could cut up all that wood with one tank of gas.

Anyway, next project, after I take Craig to Home Depot to buy a new chainsaw:

Here are the paving stones left over from the construction of the labyrinth. They’ve been sitting here at the steps to the labyrinth for a year now. It’s time to move them.

This way, I can start working on the entrance to the labyrinth. Since it’s the east, it needs something air-related. I will also have the pavers in a better position when I start working on the dance floor patio next spring. (That’s the area at the left of the photo.)

I started working on the fallen tree this morning. The first step was to trim as much of the ivy off as I could. Here’s a good starting shot:

The only real damage sustained by the back yard (at least until I can get the trunks cut up and see what the grass under them looks like) is the bamboo at the men’s loo:

That of course should recover very quickly. Truly, though, take a look at this:

Not even the cheap plastic table took a hit. I was able to extract the table and both chairs from under the limb with no visible damage to any of them.

The ivy apparently had been holding this whole thing together. As I trimmed away from this limb, it completely broke apart from its upper half. You can see that other half still on the bamboo.

During all of this, Salem, our wacko kitty, began rearranging the universe to suit herself. Here she is in one of her favorite poses, “Cat Among Platonic Solids.”

And then she decided a better place was amidst the destruction. The dogwood tree took a serious hit, and I dragged that limb out into the labyrinth. Salem decided to pose as Shiva, Destroyer of Worlds.

I’m having to borrow a chainsaw from Craig, since I don’t own one, that’s a whole post by itself, so while I’m was waiting for it to return from its ride in Craig’s van, I went ahead and cleaned up all the ivy I’d trimmed. Alas, my wheelbarrow had self-destructed back when I installed the bowl in the center of the labyrinth. I had left all the dirt in the barrow, and then it rained, and then when I tried to get the wheelbarrow up the ramp and over to where the side area of the dance floor patio will be, the whole thing fell over from its weight and tore the barrow part right off. (It was plastic.)

So I put “barrow” on my shopping list, only to discover that although you can buy new wheels for your wheelbarrow, you cannot buy a new barrow. Stores are forbidden by the manufacturer from selling the parts separately.

This seems unreasonable to me. Surely it is my right to be a thrifty conservative if I choose, yes? (The right wing will now explain to me why my right to conserve is outweighed by the corporation’s right to make money off of me. Why this is different from taxes is beyond me, but I’ll bet the teabaggers would say it is.)

Therefore, since I had time to spare while waiting for the chainsaw, it occurred to me that I could do the whole Great Depression thing and just construct something out of scrap lumber I had lying around.

Behold:

Thus I have stuck it to The Man.

Here is how I have left it for lunch:

It’s a panorama shot done with the iPhone but without my glasses, so there are some fuzzy bits. Click on it to see it full size.

The chainsaw is on its way, so off I go to do the manly man thing.

Doesn’t this look cozy?

It’s not, of course: it’s a tree that fell this morning. Those who are familiar with the space will remember the ivy-covered trunk standing right behind the copper-mesh lighting fixture. It and the large branch arching over to the pecan tree came crashing down. I wish I had seen it.

Miraculously, it doesn’t seem to have hurt anything. Even the copper mesh is intact.

It has probably done a number on the grass, but meh.

I thought it was just the branch at first, but it’s the whole trunk.

The trunks literally missed everything of importance. I had moved the firepit up to the underdeck to keep the firewood dry on Sunday, but even if it had been in place, it would have been unscathed.

That’s how precise the fall was. I had a shot of the copper mesh sculpture, but it was all fuzzy. I’ll try to get one tomorrow afternoon.

At any rate, I’ll start removing it all Saturday morning. My goal this weekend was to move the remaining paving stones out of their current position by the entrance steps, back to the driveway area, mostly so I can begin envisioning how the eventual “dance floor” patio will tie in with the labyrinth below. Maybe I can get that done on Sunday as per my original plan.