COOPER REED BABCOCK

Crystal Cove is a treasure of Clear Lake, California - the oldest lake in North America.  Its a private cove on the lake, that was lost under
a mess of brush, trash and detritus.  In my residency on the adjoining properties, I transformed and unveiled this secret cove of Clear Lake,
and its own adjacent hillside park.  The Cove itself consists of 12 terraced levels of a miniature cove on the side of a peninsula, moving up in elevation from the lake water level.  The lower 3 are aquatic and amphibious, existing in some state of cove-water-beach & size depending on seasonal lake level.  Thus Crystal Cove has a "Secret Beach" at its lowest terrace and lake-water level -- and a "Big Cove" at its highest. This shapeshifting, multi-element environment of Crystal Cove is a surreal and magical process that was my introduction to aquatic landscape design.