Judith Browning

Just stop for a moment and breathe.
Breathe without knowing anything.
You might find that it’s not so easy
to drop the mind that knows,
but it can free us and reveal to us
far deeper truths
than those we thought possible.

Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara
(Soto priest and teacher
in the Harada-Yasutami of Zen Buddhism)

While expressing gratitude seems innocent enough,
it is a revolutionary idea.
In a consumer society, contentment is a radical proposition.
Recognizing abundance rather than scarcity undermines an economy
that thrives by creating unmet desires.
Gratitude cultivates an ethic of fullness, but the economy needs emptiness.

Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,
Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions.

could she be pregnant?

"Putting a spade in the ground is one of the strongest ways to stand up for the future.”

—Bill McKibben
author, activist, and founder of Sun Day

winter solstice wishes

May you grow still enough
to hear the small noises earth makes
in preparing for the long sleep of winter,
so that you yourself may grow calm
and grounded deep within.
May you grow still enough
to hear the trickling of water
seeping into the ground,
so that your soul may be softened and healed,
and guided in its flow.
May you grow still enough
to hear the splintering of starlight in the winter sky
and the roar at earth's fiery core.
May you grow still enough
to hear the stir of a single snowflake in the air,
so that your inner silence
may turn into hushed expectation.

~David Steindl-Rast
(1926 to pres., Benedictine Monk)

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people.
Every shining pine needle,
every sandy shore,
every mist in the dark woods,
every clearing, and every humming insect
is holy in the memory and experience of my people.

Chief Seattle
(1780 to 1866, Suquamish-Duwamish Elder)

thanks to all!

Your responses have given me some better ideas!

The first load was more shredded than chipped with lots of loose twigs and green leaves.

These most recent loads are woodier, no leaves and around 1"chips with a good amount of sawdust.

We generally get a lot of rain over the winter so I think adding layers gradually as they get soaked might be best.

I don't want to have to add edges to beds or fruit tree rings so letting the layers compact might help keep in place...I hope.

...and winecaps in the spring Eric  

I would not ordinarily undertake a discussion of form in art,
nor would I undertake a discussion of content.
To me, they are inseparable.
Form is formulation-the turning of content into a material entity,
rendering a content accessible to others, giving it permanence,
willing it to the race.
Form is as varied as are the accidental meetings of nature.
Form in art is as varied as idea itself.
It is the visible shape of all man's growth;
it is the living picture of his tribe at its most primitive,
and of his civilization at its most sophisticated state.
Form is the many faces of the legend-
bardic, epic, sculptural, musical, pictorial, architectural;
it is the infinite images of religion;
it is the expression and the remnant of self.
Form is the very shape of content.

ben shahn
"The Shape of Content"

Nonconformity is the basic pre-condition of art,
as it is the pre-condition of good thinking
and therefore of growth and greatness in a people.
The degree of nonconformity present-and tolerated in a society
might be looked upon as a symptom of its state of health.

ben shahn
Charles Eliot Norton Lectures (1956-1957)

more about ben shahn's life and his historic public murals here...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Shahn

We have a windfall of fresh wood chips.
The first load went to places here that we knew would benefit and now we have two more loads to play with.

We don't use paper or cardboard so looking at some areas with little to a lot of grasses and other annual plant growth.
What depth for soil benefits?
What depth will smother most plant growth?  (bermuda is hopeless I know)

We've used them so far in some garden beds to a depth of 6-8" and in paths and around fruit trees.

Thoughts?