JoJo -- Bird Amusement Park

Tip: if you haven't read this whole blog, it may help you to know that there are two of us posting here: Jo Jo and Miki. We each have our own projects, but we like each other so we decided to share a blog. My posts will henceforth be prefaced with "JoJo" so you can tell us apart.

I think I need to complain more.
Each time I complain about not knowing what to do for my project, some sort of breakthrough finds me soon afterward. I'm sure this is very good news for my friends who will, no doubt, be looking forward to hearing me complain more.

Here's what's happened since I last complained:

• I had a dream in which I was told I should make my backyard a bird amusement park and tell other people about it. I told Spot about my dream, and that prompted a conversation about the shape of the yard and what "not overplanted" meant, and just how much "open space" needed to be "open." (Both requirements of Spot's). We also both want to be sure that, whatever we do, we can still see the stream from the bedroom.
• Then, my sister in law sent me a couple of links to interesting information about buying and selling local agriculture. A particularly cool one is a link to an article about an iPhone application that tells you what foods are in season and where the local farmer's markets are.
• Wayne posted a comment/tip suggesting I think about redundancy. (Thanks Wayne).

Somehow, all of these events have culminated in me having a better idea about how to lay out the space. A shape took form fairly easily, and I started to see where the bones needed to be to make it work. The bones, which for me means the larger trees, are mostly already there (though not completely) and I think I can drape the rest of the design around them -- including the emergent redundancy design.

Phew -- that was hard! The answer was there all along, but I couldn't see it because I was so used to the old lines. It just took time, inspiration, and community to bloom. I guess I just needed it to be spring.