My manuscript is safely in the capable hands of Sasquatch Books, my dusty office is somewhat cleaned up (I have the asthmatic wheeze to prove it) and I think I’m over the post-project-flatline.   It’s time for some fun and games!  So here’s today’s version of fun - although, given that the rain has let up I hope to get out for a good  hike in the park as well.

My theory?  “Tags” that circulate among bloggers are a barometer of our neglected workload - that is - what we should be doing were it not for the fact that we’re out on the play yard in cyberspace.  A lovely diversionary tactic.  Frankly, I know I’m in somewhat of a (supremely thankful) post-election vacuum.  I suppose I could go outside and finish planting my bulbs…but where’s the fun in that?!?

So, this is how the game goes…  Flowergardengirl “tagged” me with the following challenge:

Grab the nearest book at hand (no fair looking for something intellectual, just what’s within arm’s reach of your keyboard)  Turn to page 56, go to the 5th sentence and post your results - include the 2-3 sentences that follow to provide some sort of context.  Then turn around and “tag” 5 or so more blogging friends to do the same.

I guess it’s sort of like those origami “fortune tellers” we used to make as kids… random snippets give us a peak into ourselves.  At any rate, writers, bloggers, and communicators are generally readers as well.  I think it will be fun to see what books we surround ourselves with at any given moment…so here goes:

…”this is only practical in climates where the sun is especially strong, and where plants such as cacti are tolerant of severe conditions.  In gentler climates, this degree of enclosure will force plants to grow straight up in search of light, making it difficult to incorporate plants that need to be grown in a natural way.  An added interest of this scheme is the way in which Martha Schwartz has updated the concept of garden design used in the traditional enclosed gardens of the Renaissance, the hortus conclusus, and the more recent tradition in England of subdividing the garden, popular during the golden age of Edwardian gardening.”

OK, even I can’t believe that my snippet includes the words “Renaissance” “hortus conclusus” and a discussion of Edwardian gardening!!!  The book at hand is The Minimalist Garden by Christopher Bradley-Hole; it was still piled on my desk because I was using it as a reference when I wrote my last post and referred to contemporary landscape designers working in a more sculptural fashion.  I’d like to tell you that my mind is all neatly categorized and references fall from my lips with a graceful whisper…but, not-so-much.  Instead I have hundreds of post-it notes, scraps of paper and, my favorite - a killer library!  I would rather buy books than anything else…except perhaps food!

Now, true confessions.  The book which was actually even closer than the above mentioned learned monograph was Wordpress for Dummies!!!  But unfortunately page 56 was filled with (unintelligible) charts and graphs - hardly the stuff of fun and games.  However, this book is far more indicative of how I’ve been spending my days; lost in the miasma of SEO, plugins, meta descriptions and … you get the drift.  Wordpress for DUMMIES, only points out how very, VERY much I still have to learn.  Fortunately, I’ve put myself in the capable hands of blog and web consultants who are trying to lead me out of the dark  and into the brave new world of digital media.  Me, I’d rather talk about gardening, food, travel and books!

 Now…here are my “tags”
1. Shedstyle - Debra Prinzing is a dear friend, a wonderful garden and design writer based in the LA area, and my companion on many a garden adventure.
2. Here’s the Thing - Lorraine is a longtime friend of the ages and my heart; a gifted and multi-talented woman
3. Idaho Gardener - MA is a riot!  I love her laugh, her enormous heart and sparky life perspective.  A self-avowed “book slut” I can’t wait to see what she’s reading!
4. A Photographers Garden Blog - David Perry is an extraordinary artist who helps us to see what is right in front of us.  He’s also a busy guy - don’t hate me for tagging you big guy!
5. Passports and Seedpackets - Marty Wingate has my dream job (well one of them) she’s a columnist for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, regular gardening contributor on our local NPR affiliate and she designs and leads fabulous garden tours throughout the world, how cool is that?
6. Red Dirt Ramblings - Dee is a new acquaintance I just made at the Garden Writers Symposium in September.  Her abilities and knowledge about the web, digital media and blogging are an inspiration…I want to be Dee when I grow up.
7. Diggin Food - Willie Galloway writes about growing food and bringing community to the table.  She’s also got some sweetheart chickens!

 Go have some fun today browsing your bookshelves and these blogs.