Moroccan dinner in the courtyard.

Had friends over for a Moroccan dinner of B'stilla in the courtyard. I am so glad I had it made because it's a lovely place to sit with friends as the sun goes down and talk with the trickle of fountain in the background.

Frozen fountain thawing.

Totally happy because I have the fountain almost finished. There is even water spouting from the mouth of Zephyr.

Mud walls.

The walls of my courtyard are starting to look African and just wait and see what I am going to do to them next. My own little piece of Africa right here in the Desert Southwest. The color on your monitor may not be an exact match to the warm, deep ochre as they are when I look out my window. I took the pictures late in the evening because it was so hot today (44 degrees C) and it still is, but in some strange way I like the hot summers here.

The harsh light at midday reminds me of the Sheltering Sky, by Bernardo Bertolucci, a film I have never quite forgotten from the early 90's. Perhaps that's what has shaped my idea for my wall.

Casting shadows in the light.

Look what I bought for the courtyard! They were made by Lisa Furner of Mariposa Avenue in Salt Lake City. They are number 10 recycled food cans in which she cuts holes and are then powder-coated. Mine are in a rich bronze color and cast a beautiful patterned shadow on the wall when its dark.

Pedro gives update on Courtyard.

The entrance and enclosure.

Courtyard shaping up nicely.

The Courtyard Phase 3

It is going so quickly. Plants out, cement in. It looks much bigger than I thought it would be.

Courtyard Phase 2

No more turning back. I love the curve Azarias has made and we all agree that because of the mature trees the courtyard will look good.

The Making of the Courtyard Starts

They have started breaking up the cement for the courtyard. This picture was taken through the window. I wanted to make sure my toes didn't get in the way.

Frozen Fountain

My fountain still is not finished. When we first moved into the house almost 12 years ago (!) I could just see this fountain by the front porch. A Mexican fountain, like the ones I had seen in Oaxaca. Large as a bathtub and tiled with azulejos of blue. Several years ago I started building one with the help of Camilo, my Sancho Panza. We seldom agree on anything, and especially not on what we consider a straight line. Camilo has some difficulty with his right eye, although he will not admit this, certainly not to me, but he had to agree that the rectangular foundation we had planned had come out as a slab of cement in the form of a trapezium. Not to worry, it adds to the charm and gives it all an organic touch. I like the word 'organic', it covers up a lot of my not so successful endeavours. Since then I have made a mosaic on the fountain out of small glass tiles, a painstaking process that can only be done if I work at least 4 hours in one go or else the glue doesn't set the tiles as I intended. Before the Summer heat sets in (it's already 30 degrees most days) I have to have the fountain finished and have posted the final result on this page.