Root Sculpture.

As Gustavo worked with a digging iron to dig out the roots of a madrone tree right outside the window, I sat in my rolling chair in the office looking for inspiration for a new quilt commission. I couldn't help comparing the levels of energy being exerted by each of us. Gustavo patiently and methodically worked away at this root. He is clearly very strong, but he also knew how to let the weight of the digging iron coupled with  gravity, the placement of its point, lots of jiggling and the application of copious amounts of water to slowly tease it out of the reluctant soil where it had spread its tentacles. I thought I'd move it to a more photogenic background than the ruins of Janet and Paul's garden shed, but it was too heavy, so I asked Gustavo to save it for me. I think it has great promise as a garden sculpture. I did notice that Paul must have moved the sheets of corrugated metal, once the roof of the shed, down the hill and out of the direct line of sight. Very kind of him considering the fact that his whole house is reduced to such rubble.
 
While Gustavo was doing that, I was cutting pressing ironing and stitching without  standing  up or even taking a single step.I realized at some point that I could learn a lesson from Gustavo. If I stood up to cut fabric with a ruler and a rotary cutter I didn't have to press with all my weight on this sharp pizza cutter type tool to achieve a result, nor did I have to press on the heavy iron to create a crisp fold. I think I have figured out how to make an interesting square although my picture in extras is just a prototype and not colors I want.

While I sat puzzling over my squares I was aware of the steady stream of trucks going up the hill behind us. the AT&T, PG&E and Xfinity trucks have now been replaced by dump trucks, big trucks with flatbed trailers hauling digging and  drilling equipment, and the ubiquitous PortaPotties springing up everywhere.  At one point a big tanker truck drove slowly up the hill spraying seeds mixed with water on all the burned fields. I assume it is for erosions control, but those seeds will all grow into grass which will become fuel for more fires next year unless we mow them.

We are girding for the major clearance efforts that will be going on to either side of us. It is going to be a dirty noisy business.But it will be a positive step toward repairing our neighborhood and bringing our neighbors back.