They laughed at me when I asked if I could take a photo. The Bohemian’s family may have expected I’d be snapping shots of castles and ornate statuary on our visit to the Czech Republic, but not pictures inside the shed on the side of their house.
For me, those hundreds of carefully cut pieces of wood, and the piles of freshly harvested garlic, were just as picture-worthy. What a labor! An art serving great function.
To them, it’s ordinary. To me, a master work.
Though we have now returned from our excursion through the Czech Republic, there are still many photos and stories to share. In my first attempt at this posting, the pictures below took over an hour to upload and then refused to be published, due to a spotty internet connection. Back on Kauai now, technology allows me to share.
The location of these shots are from Moravia, specifically the Hana region, where the Bohemian and his family have lived for generations. Their courtyard garden and orchard were an oasis for us, as we spent many hours eating crisp cucumbers from the garden, sipping pivo (beer) on the lawn, and watching swallows swooping the eaves in summer light.
The second photo is a greenhouse wall, made by the Bohemian and his father nearly 20 years ago, using old glass jars and mortar. Today it houses paprika plants, or what is known in English as peppers.
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