April 6th...Preparing the soil...

With spring now upon us (photo above taken of a tree at the Stupa Park last Saturday) we realized we're running out of time to address the mounds at the Stupa Park. We decided to devote the day to getting it ready for planting this week. We were only able to get four of the eight mounds ready...but here's a glimpse of how we went about it!

The mounds had been completed last year with fill dirt, which has no nutritional value for plants. To plant new flowers or ground cover out there would only result in their failure. Tossing around ideas on a tight budget, we came up with a solution...

We spent the morning at Rabden's alpaca farm collecting alpaca pellets. We were told it is "the cleanest poop you'll ever see" and it was pretty benign. We were fortunate that Rabden had such a rich supply, and was willing to share it with us...

Here we are shoveling the fertilizer into the Stupa truck...



These are the guys that produce the pellets that we're collecting!


Once we got the truck loaded up, the fun wasn't over....we headed to the Stupa Park pull out the old ivy and weeds. That was tough work, but then we got to spread the pellets!



Beth gets a little silly for the camera....


We ended the day by mixing the manure in with the fill dirt to create a slightly more hospitable environment for the future plants. Our muscles let us all know it's been a while since we were out working like this. But, we have four of the eight mounds ready for planting. So go ahead and grab some phlox and head out to make an offering at the Stupa Park that will continue to make offerings to the Stupas for years to come! If you can't make it out, just let us know and we'll plant one for you!

All that you see on these pages is done in the hopes we can inspire you to come visit this amazing place. The temple is open 24 hours a day, it and the many gardens and wooded walks are all here for anyone who is looking for some peace and beauty in this hectic world.