Yard work in Phoenix in the summer is a task that is easily delayed. The nice weather this past weekend allowed for no excuses to being outside after months of 100+ degree weekend days. After some general cleanup it was time to fluff the rocks.
For those who don’t call the desert home some explanation is in order. For many homes in Phoenix, landscaping consists of a variety of desert trees and shrubs each watered by a “dripper” from the home’s irrigation system. The rest of the yard is often covered with crushed granite or some other stone material. Grass uses lots of water which can get expensive. Some years ago I was chatting with a co-worker about his weekend and he said it had been very quiet and he had gone outside to “fluff the rocks.” It was funny and it stuck with me.
You see, the crushed granite material tends to flatten out with the wind, limited rain, and kids and dogs walking on the yard. Dust storms, too, tend to deposit debris which helps stick things together. By raking the rocks with an ironed tonged garden rake, the rocks separate and the color, shading and texture of the stone is restored. So there I was -- fluffing the rocks.
It came to mind that it isn’t just the rocks in the yard that can stick together and get a little flat. Skills, too, can become flattened and stuck together resulting in the loss of color and texture – just like the stones. What have you been doing to bring the color and texture back to your skills? Have you tried something new? Have you done some creative design project or development task using a new tool or technique? Have you downloaded a free trial of some new software product and dedicated some significant effort to see how it works or how it could be used in addition to or in place of some old standard?
I’ve been playing around with some new (to me) tools this summer in an effort to fluff some of the rocks in my skill set. I’ve shot and edited some videos for my YouTube channel related to my hobby. Some are pretty good, others not so much but I’ve developed a better and personal understanding of what “user-developed content” means. I started a podcast that also relates to user-developed content as well as writing and publishing to the web. My website got some updates, I upgraded to a new version of Moodle and my Wordpress blog got some new plug-ins. I’ve learned about dynamic and condenser microphones (for recording my podcasts), how to edit audio in Audacity (free download), publish to ITunes and upgraded my video editing software to something a little more powerful than Windows Movie-Maker. All of which is to fluff the rocks.
Due to the heat, the learning season in Arizona for me is summer. For many, learning season begins with the onset of cold weather. I hope that your learning plans include something beyond your reading list. While reading is a start, commit to doing something or producing something that goes beyond just knowing. So… how will you fluff the rocks?
