This is for Liz and Andy

Andy isn't here any more, but daffodils were his favorite flower.  Liz is a labyrinth walker.

Honeybees!

We have gotten a pair of top bar hives and have ordered 2 packages of bees that should be here in a couple of weeks. We don't expect them to have any affect on labyrinth walking, but I did want to let people know they are here.

How cool is this?

via: http://saltyoat.blogspot.com/2011/12/embroidery-project-labyrinths.html

Small changes

The daffodils I planted last Fall have started poking their little noses up.  It's been a mild winter so I have mixed feelings about that.  I have a small fear that there will be an unexpected cold snap that will give them a little freezer burn.  

I"m hoping not, but recognize the possibility.

AND.  I've made an addition to the center.  I've put a plastic container under the bench that holds a pencil, a pen and an empty book.  I don't know that anyone will be inspired to write/draw/whatever, but it's there should someone be so inclined.

It's not pretty, but it hasn't blown away and I think it's effective.

Decorating the labyrinth for the holidays

That would be gilding the lily, don't you think?

RiverLink labyrinth in Asheville, NC

Visiting family in Asheville for Thanksgiving gave us the opportunity to wander around the River Arts District where there is an excellent labyrinth waiting for anyone to come walk. It was built in a day in October 2010 by members of RiverLink and some of their supporters. I found it via the World Wide Labyrinth Locator.

It is next to The Cotton Mill building between the railroad tracks and the road. It is a 7-circuit "Petite Chartres" made of river rocks with fine gravel over landscaping fabric to control weed and grass growth. There is a collection of talismans left by previous walkers that is beginning to form a spiral.

It is next to a gutted building with graffiti here and there. There is more vividly colored graffiti on a nearby water tower and some brightly painted houses on the other side of the tracks.

Access is a little awkward because there is a fence between the Cotton Mill parking lot and the lot that holds the labyrinth and no sidewalk or parking by the road. But traffic doesn't go blistering past and the walk on the roadside is brief.

I think it's a great use of the space.

Salt labyrinth

The story behind Yamamoto's salt sculptures is sweet and sad. His sister died of brain cancer more than a decade ago. To honor her memory, he began sketching with salt -- in Japan, a traditional symbol for purification and mourning. The meandering patterns are meant to convey a sense of eternity.

More maze than labyrinth, still an amazing memorial.