04feb2016

the TODAY project

thursday 04 feb 2016

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text and photos by roylu.

la orida, la paz, bolivia

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don manuel

vol 1 no 3

theTODAYproject

thanks to don manuel machaca for patiently enduring a two-legged garden pest

theTODAYproject 1 1 today, for the first time, we have a gardener. it's not the first time that we have a garden. but, it's the first time we have a garden big enough to need a gardener. a full on gardener. it's not a vegetable garden like we had. small enough that we gardened ourselves. but it does have bushes of herbs and spices. bayleaf, rosemary, etc 2 don manuel machaca.

thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

3 i had imagined a person who would be dressed up in workingman's overalls. soon after arriving here, i had formed that expectation of those who work outdoors. they are uniformly dressed in overalls. different colors. color-coded. many with wide strips of reflective tape. i saw and see enough of them dressed so that it is not unreasonable to think this a rule. not an exception.

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thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

theTODAYproject 3 4 but no overalls in sight when i opened the gate. instead: turquoise blue thin stripe long-sleeve shirt smartly tucked in; charcoal gray dress pants; semi-shiny black leather shoes; and, a winning smile.

5 the only giveaway showing that he wasn't on his way to signing a multi-million dollar deal was a brown baseball cap. and a black plastic satchel containing his work clothes and some garden tools.

thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

6 we already had an introductory tour of the garden a few days ago. so, he knew where to go. and what to do. however, i had to show him the outdoor bathroom where he could change and answer nature when it called. other than that, he was good to go.

7 soon enough, i heard the rhythmic metallic whir of the manual grass cutter. whirrr, scratch, pause. whirrr, scratch, pause whirrr, scratch, pause. somehow that sound is more agreeable than the insistent scream of a power grass cutter.

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la orida, la paz, bolivia

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la orida, la paz, bolivia

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la orida, la paz, bolivia

theTODAYproject 7 8 i went out to check on him documentation on my mind. camera in hand.

9 he must have wondered what i was up to. especially as i started using my zoom lens on two legs.

10 but he was a good sport. he didnt mind. i tried not to be intrusive. or be less intrusive.

thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

11 i engaged him in small talk. whats this plant in espaĂąol? lavanda? this is in all the gardens here. private and public. this one -- the rosemary, romero -is good with meat, no? don't worry i'm buying a monkey wrench so you can disengage the hose from the faucet. ah, this plant is practically a tree. it should not be under the roof. it is scraping the roof already. but the pot is too heavy. you would need a tractor to move this. etc. all this in pidgin spanish that even i find funny.

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thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

theTODAYproject 9 12 at lunch we lost him. lunch was included in the deal. but where was he? we looked for him everywhere. almost everywhere. i found him seated on a corner of the garden. with his meal. i told him to eat at the table inside. no gracias, he answered. i'm comfortable enough here. he did look comfortable. i did not insist.

thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

13 cleaning. always the first thing to do with a garden. this garden especially. after months of neglect it showed. or did not show. as some plants had withered out of sight. out of existence. in place, the hard scrabbled soil characteristic of the local geology.

14 already, just the pulling up of weeds, the cutting of grass, the pruning of plants, the putting away of dead organic matter made a huge difference.

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la orida, la paz, bolivia

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la orida, la paz, bolivia

theTODAYproject 12 15 the garden was beginning to look like a garden worth its name. far from edenic yet already tempting to a serpent. even the patch of irises that i thought was irreversibly dead was beginning to show signs of coming back. the garden was breathing. better now.

16 plastic sacks full of dead detritus were piling up. including sacks that were cobbled together using leaves that only a gardener would know which to use.

thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

17 now watering time. it is difficult to tell, looking at or even walking through the grass, that last night there was this huge electrical storm. all that water seems to have been sucked dry by the sun. full force, yes, but only for a few hours. and even fewer hours cloud-free.

18 but it seems not only the sun. the soil too. some super absorbent material. more absorbent than any that has been invented by 3m. so, the point of watering is to create a mini pond. a mini lagoon. a mini lake. a mini ocean. a body of water that stands a decent chance against the sun and soil.

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thursday 04 feb 2016

la orida, la paz, bolivia

theTODAYproject 14 19 promptly at 5, the same don manuel i greeted at the gate. bruce wayne back in civvies. none the worse for wear. smile intact, satchel in hand, promises for the next thursday exchanged. hasta luego. hasta la proxima jueves.

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la orida, la paz, bolivia

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la orida, la paz, bolivia