Most of the neat stuff is sort of hidden from view so that a since of discovery is created as you walk closer to the door. All of the bamboo that lines the pathway was collected, cut and placed by me.

Next to the tree on the far left in the above picture I have nestled a reed-woven basket that I put seed in. This is a squirrel that hangs around my patio all the time. She has gotten to the point that she don’t run away from me. She just hangs out in the rocks, eating and drinking out of the tsukubai (a chiseled or molded stone/concrete basin).

This is a picture of the tsukubai. I hand chiseled it. Carolyn and I picked up a lot of the stones you see in these pictures in Pasadena of all places. The bamboo spout is just that: real bamboo. It is held together with copper wire that – I am hoping – will patina nicely over time.

The sound of water filling the basin is a constant. It can be heard whether inside or outside. The sound is quite nice to fall asleep to.

Originally, a tsukubai was an important facet of the Japanese tea ceremony. Individuals talking part in the tea ceremony (which took place in a tea house, surrounded by a garden – a tsuboniwa) were expected to enter into the ceremony with a pure body and mind. The garden was there to calm and focus the mind. The tsukubai was there for hand washing (ie, clean body). I thought that given the historical context of a tsukubai, it would be appropriate to place it at the end of the path which leads up to my front door.

This is what you see when you look up from the tsukubai and to to walk onto my porch. Again, lots of things set in a way to invite discovery. While it seems fairly balanced, it still has a natural feel to is despite the fact that every plant is living in a pot.

The fence behind the Buddha is woven in the Amida-gaki style – which I thought was nice as Amida is a Japanese (Mahayana Buddhism) word for Buddha. Gaki simply means fence… literally Buddha fence.

The alter the Buddha sits upon is worn concrete, which adds to the feeling of everything being natural.

This is what you see when you take a few steps forward onto my patio.

The balanced river rock again reinforced the notion of balance. Behind the large fern are three small boulders placed to mimic a mountain range.

The stone to the far left corner is a stone platform I put right in front of my door. The moss has grown to cover part of it, adding to the natural feel – which is balanced by contrasting the obviously purposefully stacked stones.

This is what you see when you are standing on my patio side by side with the large pot of bamboo seen in the picture before last.

If you look to the far right, you will the the edge of a hidden chair. It is hidden behind the bamboo – which creates a private little alcove. The two plants on the left of the alter a balanced by a potted elm in the middle (which is hard to make out as you can only see it’s thin trunk). Next to that on the left is part of one of the moss covered boulders. The flowering bush to the right is (it is hard to tell in this picture) trained so that it’s limbs are long and specifically directed. For instance, one limb is trained to slightly arch over the head of the Buddha statue.

There is always a candle lit and the red stuff in front of the Buddha statue are what is left from burning many a incense of a period of time. What is not captured here in this photo is the fact that hidden behind the elm pot is what is called a chant box. It is a little thing that looks like a small radio. However, all it does it repeat a Buddhist chant over and over again. The volume is kept so that it is barely audible. You only notice it when you are sitting on the chair in front of the Buddha statue. That, coupled with the sound water hitting the basin, the fire of the candle and the smoke of incense at dawn or dusk – well, it is really a very nice way to start and end your day.