1987: The Barbeque
When we first moved in, there were several very thirsty trees on our property. Chief among them was a huge weeping willow in the very center of the back yard. It dominated the yard.
At left, the willow in winter. This would have been 1984. It was a pretty tree. I remember thinking, What if it died? And of course it did, because we were not about to deliver enough water to keep that thing happy. How smart is it to plant a weeping willow on a septic field in Central Texas anyway?
So down it came within two years. The center bed dates from its demise. And then there was an ash tree by the back door. Colorado ashes are not long-lived here. They are fast-growing trees of little value other than the speed with which they grow. This one died and left us with an unattractive bare slope behind the house, west of the back porch.
Craig was in a mood to move earth, so he carved the slope down to the level of the back yard, laid out a terrace of Mexican brick, and built four wide steps going down from the porch to the terrace. There we built a barbeque pit. Sixto made it of hard-fired brick, and we dropped in an iron grill that ran off propane gas. Then we installed a gas burner on one side. Here it is when first built:
In the early days: no pool, no pergola, no pear
We do not have gas here. This is a problem. Electric burners are okay, but they are everlastingly and vastly inferior to gas. Plus, cooking in an open floor plan such as ours means that food smells circulate freely throughout the kitchen, dining area and livingroom. Let us not forget that smell arises from particulate matter in the air.
The smell of cooking is quite thrilling for that moment when, hungry, you anticipate a great dinner. But it gets old. Soups and other things that boil are not so bad. What they produce is mainly just steam. But when there is something on the burner or the bottom of a pan, that is not a good thing. Smoking grease causes me to worry actively about where it will eventually settle, like on upholstery and carpets. All in all, I have some discomfort about distributing vaporized food throughout my house.
I like the colonial concept of the separate kitchen. It doesn't work so well in colder climates, but outside cooking is a year-round possiblity here. In all weather but an actual downpour, we grill and fry and wok outside.
Since we built the barbeque pit, the black haw, pergola and pear have grown up around it to provide deep shade in the summer. The pear and black haw are deciduous, so there is warm sun in winter. Chives grow in a raised bed along with purple wandering Jew. And now of course the pool is nearby.
