Welcome to the online version of The Avant Garden. The actual Avant Garden is located in the floodplain of the Swannanoa River in Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.A.
Who I am ...
My hat is much dirtier now.The keeper of this blog and driving force behind the madness herein, is me -- Dave. I do something strange outside (or inside, if the sewing machine beckons and football is on) most every day. In this blog, I hope to keep up with what I do and share with other people who have similar interests, or perhaps, like looking at trainwrecks. I have this obsession (among several) about messing with things natural. Sometimes I like to think of it as "turbocharging nature," taking ordinary natural objects and making moments in time that would not ordinarily occur. In doing so, I have decorated two parcels of land near my house to the point that people go out of their way to see them, and often smile. And that's something.
And then there's Rob ...
He's yelling, "It's January 20th, you moron!"Rob is my closest friend and benefactor. He was born with a slide rule in one hand and a thermometer in the other, and decided on a career in climate. Now retired but still young and very active, he lives on a gorgeous, well-kept parcel of land on the other side of the Swannanoa River. About half of the things I jokingly refer to as "The Permanent Collection" are in Rob's Garden. As the crow flies, it's half a mile from my home, but it's a 12-minute drive out past the flea market and the Root Bar. Rob always knows where his tools are, and has a little basement shop and a whiny old Toyota truck that I love. He's about the only person I don't mind having around when I am stacking and talking to myself and really acting strangely. He gets it.