Category Archives: landscape

Let’s have a party

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FREE 5-minute-read–Kindle Vella

In their homes, Moroccan families are welcoming to strangers, Western tourists, especially on the big party holidays of Eid al Seglir and Eid al Kebir.

But this party, Welcome Ramadan Party, in the Tangier Kasbah, was hosted in the riad of an American expatriate. Nobody could have guessed what was about to happen.

2 of 3 for USA readers only. No traps. No obligations. Just a short, fun, FREE read. CLICK HERE!

College in Tangier?

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FREE 5-minute-Read–Kindle Vella

For decades, the word on the street in Morocco was that persons of ill repute, of all ages, were drawn to Tangier. This story is about 21st century Westerners who were drawn to Tangier.

Who likes Mediterranean gardens and landscapes? Is that a real question?

1 of 3 for USA Readers only. No traps. No obligations. Just a short, fun, FREE read. CLICK HERE!

3 for 1–a good deal

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Another FREE Vella Episode

3 for 1–a good deal: FREE and available now at Vella here–>https://tinyurl.com/3fhvpdsd

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And coming next week Vella.02. A NEW Vella story = North or northwest?

What is it?

Majoring in Landscape Architecture, CJ is in Tangier on a term abroad design study. The visit occurs at the turn of the 21st century, barely before the 9/11 disaster. 

The landscape had always been CJ’s muse. But in Morocco, he did battle with it. He was confused by it. He tried to understand it. Its oriental roots ran deep across the entirety of north Africa. 

But he discovered that the Moroccan landscape had equally strong roots deep into the dark heartland of west Africa. In Morocco. In the coming Vella, CJ recounts some of his northwest Africa explorations.

Find the FREE Vella episodes here–>https://tinyurl.com/3fhvpdsd 

Want to keep up with CJ’s international landscape adventures and get advance notice of free copies, then click here–>https://tinyurl.com/bdyjwrak

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FREE Vella episodes

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Okay–put up my first Vella (American college student in Tangier)–three short episodes(700wds each average)–more to come.

FREE episodes

But that is not the whole story.

I self-published Tangier Gardens(120,000wds) via KDP select in March and after the 5 day free offer launch (50 downloads) everything has gone to sleep–deep sleep. 

I had a bunch of background stories that didn’t make it into the final Tangier Gardens, so I figured to put them together on Vella.

I need some feedback from the Vella episodes. What is missing? What is disappointing? What is good?

Find the FREE Vella episodes here–>https://tinyurl.com/3fhvpdsd 

Find Tangier Gardens here–>https://tinyurl.com/2p9e66xm

Treeline in the mirror

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Which photo has the treeline?

1. No treeline, the mountain is not high enough.
2. Treeline, the line above which trees no longer grow.

So, what is a tree line?

Well, Wikipedia can tell you; but the mountains I am looking at are in Switzerland so I’ll refer to the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich for the definition of a treeline.

A mountain treeline certainly is not a line in the common sense. The treeline is defined as the high elevation, climate driven limit of tree growth.

The treeline is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowpack, or associated lack of available moisture).

It is easy to get into the weeds discussing the geographical, botanical and topographical details of a treeline. Just look at the images above for a general idea and the graphic below for a summary.

Mountain treeline explained

But where does the mirror fit in?

A treeline is natural. It tells about interactions between ecotypes. And that makes me think. Is the treeline a vector or raster. Is it a thin line, a narrow path one pixel wide or is it a broad and wide line with varying gradients, blurs and opacities?

I think the latter. And looking in the mirror at treelines, I wonder…are human cultures like environmental ecotypes? Are they definable on their edges by lines? Raster or vector? Is diversity our strength…or our weakness…or is the effort to define cultural differences a non-sequitur?

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In my book, Tangier Gardens, CJ faced incredible cultural challenges.

The Tangier gardens saved that young man from the relentless, brutal challenges issued by the northwest Africa landscape. It’s an intriguing story about culture, design and humans. 

Give it a go.

As it has for millennia–the rose

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As it has for millennia…the fragrant rose…exudes a mellow sweetness that quietly and slowly penetrates the deepest corners of the heart and surreptitiously intoxicates…soothes all emotions.

…the fragrant rose…

Get close to a fragrant rose today. It is a free pleasure. Let that fragrance enter your being.

When CJ was in Morocco, it was not scent so much as the sights and sounds of the plants that entered his being and took him to places never talked about at university.

Tangier Gardens

Spring primrose

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Primula veris

Primrose joy in the mountains.

At 2,000 meters above sea level, in the northern range of the Swiss Alps, I rediscovered the spring joy I had experienced three weeks ago, albeit at 500 meters above sea level. The glory of walking mountainous landscapes.

This joy can be discovered anytime, anywhere.

This is a similar joy to that Christopher Janus experiences in the Mediterranean gardens and landscape of Tangier, Morocco. For CJ it was both muse and adversary. 

That is the story of Tangier Gardens.

Mustard and walnuts

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Walnuts and mustard, hearts are fluttered

Every farm, every pasture, often on the edge of town, in this Jungfrau region has a walnut tree, almost as ubiquitous as apple trees. That should tell you something about regional climate and history of local scale life and agriculture.

…spring frolic…a young light yellow mustard swaying in the breeze and an airy, sweet walnut green…together they dance and sing. Can you feel it? If not, go out in your own neighborhood and discover it.

I can’t deny how much this scene enlivened me. And I can’t deny that I share that enlivenment with my character, CJ, in Tangier Gardens.

In Tangier Gardens, CJ discovers for the first time, the enlivenment emanating from plants. Unfortunately, the landscape about him, assaults him, challenges him. How do these opposing forces re-align CJ and his goals?

Please pick up a copy of Tangier Gardens and discover.