Future shock

This hemlock started it all. Trees don't just grow up - they also grow out. And when they decide to grow beside the street, eventually the girth will impede the ability to see oncoming traffic. Hey! That's kind of important.



So, we called up the municipal arborist who determined that it was big enough to be in the way but not big enough to need a permit. Before he made decisions, though, he had to consult with the traffic engineers.



Today, we got the verdict. Since our whole 'living fence' is on city property and, since, in their opinion, it is just as big a problem, everything must go. We have been thinking this might happen ever since we started the dialogue and so we've been making some new plans.



Last week, Anne found a beautiful white rhody and a double white azalea to plant in the new bare spaces. We can try to save the forsythia plants. And we have a copper beech that has survived the truck crashing into - and crushing - its big pot. I'm quite excited about that - they are such beautiful trees. We've nurtured this one since we discovered it as a seedling in the back garden.

So, next week, we'll be more exposed to the road. But since most of it was accidental planting, we can be more intentional. A phoenix will rise.

Why traffic lights?

I have become obsessed with traffic lights. I'm constantly dreaming of my next rug which I want to hook with a traffic light theme.

I think most of my idea stems from a documentary I was watching the other night about Piet Mondrian. I have always liked his work and found his artistic journey a fascinating story. I remember the first Mondrian I ever saw: Broadway Boogie Woogie. I was in high school and I thought it was amazing. The documentary included some insight into how Mondrian worked to achieve these results.

At one point in the film, there are many images of traffic flowing through New York streets at nights. The red and yellow car lights streaming through the streets made me think of traffic lights. Mondrian's style was very geometric and I'm sure this style worked it's way in my mind to traffic lights.

Originally, I had one image of a traffic light in my mind. More or less like this:

But, apparently, there are many other designs. All incorporate the same three colored lights but there are different ways of building a housing. There are even digital lights now.

I'm not sure that that matters to my design. I think I'm really anxious to work with the three colors and create a design for them. Obviously there will some kind of connector to whatever the design is but I haven't gotten that far yet. Still working on red, green and yellow.
Stay tuned.