how we are spending our time...

Stella B's Veggie Ranch & Art Bazaar.

getting ready for a helluva garden and doing a bunch of watercolors of Asheville and environs.

also, the poetry and all...I tell you, it's fucking rewarding as hell to watch a seed come up from the soil and turn into a basil plant or a cuke, knowing eventually, those things will directly nourish you physically, while the artform is working on the ol' soul, if such a thing exists.

it's a good fit.

oh, and also, Hosh and I are putting together the puzzle pieces for our book of Sunlight at Midnight companion poems and artwork, due out sometime this year from Bottle of Smoke Press. these are the 52 unpubbed poems that were written specifically for the hardback edition of our book of letters along with the prints of the 14 watercolors we did for the presentation copies. right now it's slated to be an all hardback production in an edition of 50. more info as it develops...

also, also: April First (yes, April Fool's Day) is mine and cynthia's 20th anniversary. that's right: twenty years together. and no, we're not married. we met in a bar while the Grateful Dead was in town and my mind wasn't quite grounded in reality. her people, who were familiar with my "work," recommended she steer clear of the long haired freak drinking bourbon. she did not. so jebus bless us, everyone, and send money...

new McCreesh...

if you didn't know because you live beneath the sea or are a houseplant or a moran, Hosho McCreesh has a new super kick ass DeLux version of his latest poem collection from Propaganda Press that will cure your halitosis, raise your snot-nosed asshole children, make you strong like russian bear, clear up that "funky odor" coming from your basement and kiss you goodnight when you're lonely.

you should buy it unless you like sucking at life.

you can do it H E R E.

you don't wanna be a sucker, do you Mr. Simpson?

no. of course not.

(oh, and you've already missed the first edition of the DeLux, so it's second printing for the lot of you losers. heh, losers.)

do you have a Soft Opening?

check out a new interview with Mathis Hunter H E R E. thanks mssr. bimbi for the mention, by the way...

Mathis Hunter - Gathering the Hopeful Gamblers from Petrichor Inc on Vimeo.

my new baby...

watch your ass, trees...

in another couple weeks we're gonna get the soil turned then lay out our beds/rows. I'm gonna use that orange sucker to chop up a bunch of the downed trees on the property and make our poles and "A" frames for the garden. we've already started, from all asheville heirloom and organic seeds, leeks, lemon cukes, marketmore cukes, new mexico big jim and california golden wonder peppers, genovese and purple dark opal basil, ronde de nice and black beauty zukes, early golden squash, a bunch of lettuces and spinach plus some killer tomatoes we hope stand up to the prevalent blight that struck last year: sundrop, brown cherry, green grape, snow white, cherry, cherokee purple, cherry sweetie, yellow pear, some tomatillos, green zebra. we're gonna get our potatoes going as soon as I build the bins and we're gonna direct seed a shitload of beans: rattlesnake, royal burgundy, cherokee wax, black turtle, limas, etc. plus some scarlet nantes carrots, edisto melons, moon and stars and sugar baby watermelons, red burgundy okra...

I still need to buy seed for broccoli, cabbage, corn and a few other things, plus get our pest control working in the form of diatomaceous earth, beneficial insects, BT, serenade, specific flowers, heavy mulching with grass clippings, etc...

we've started our kick ass compost heap and know where we're gonna get our soil amendments ready to go. I'll be posting pictures as things unfold. we plan on taking our veggies and art (I'll take my books like Flowers and Sunlight and Animal Life plus watercolors of asheville and cyn will take photos and crafts and beautiful handmade earrings) to market this year and seeing what's what. the working name of the thing is Stella B's Vegetable Ranch and Art Bazaar. it's a lot of fun...

it's all just an excuse though to buy a chainsaw and cut some shit up with a loud power tool.

oh, and it came with a hat.

nice.