Tuesday, May 31, 2011

31 days

two more views for those who have interest
can't find my best photos.
sigh
31 days, (i think 33 pages altogether)
 lokta shifu pages, sewn on vellum and laced into a limp vellum structure. 
thick vellum cover was dyed to resemble a summer landscape. 
each day of august i made a page to record the day. 
10 days of puppy sitting the beautiful, demanding tess, not fun. 
not one night's sleep during those days.
this sculptural book feels good in the hands.

Monday, May 30, 2011

a journey with claudia

 journeying 
 a thin silver thread
do you see?
the sun found it this morning
before we went to the mountains.
look!
a snail trail. 
over driveway. still evidence 
of determination, haphazard, of travel.
how can it throw caution to the wind
throw itself into the small small movement
one millimeter at a time.
i would give up, i would not see
that unbelievable goal
mapped on summer asphalt and dirt. 

antidote

 this book was made to mark 31 days of august
 each shifu page is a place holder, a day keeper
 some are paintings, or in this case a "dyeing".
a list within a list, keeping time
then i was contemplating, along with some others, dots.
thank you everyone for the antidotes.
i am ok, struggling is a good thing, in my book, 
but that doesn't mean i like it.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

struggling/joy

how can spring, 
so filled with the songs of birds
many i can't identify
how can spring
be so hard?
storms destroy
inner storms, too
bodies rebel
yet are so familiar 
is it that joy has disappeared?
it is the muggy, fudzy wet greeness?
is it despair that pushes at my skin until i say
yes, yes.
sorting out threads, saving some, giving some up. 
and the thursday oriole, first i've ever seen here,
i hope may return.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

where

did all the followers go?
 is this another weird blogger thing? 
i ask you--
any ideas???

Thursday, May 26, 2011

final farm day

 brian and ann talk to us as we harness pearl.

 yes, i'm in the driver's seat. just because you know how to ride, 
doesn't mean you "get" driving a horse.
 and my student was sitting with me. 
what if i made a mistake?
 pearl knows her business, 
and brian was coaching.
and i certainly was...unused to reins that are almost as think as my horse's girth, 
and the fact that her language is gee and haw, 
and i had no leg to use on her!
i got to drive pearl today. 
so did one of my students. and later a fellow staff.
hurrah!!!!!
pearl is an amish raised, 16 year old standardbred mare.
she is pearl, indeed.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

lightening

all day
lightening
darkening
changes dancing, trudging
tonight across the west
weathervane held the light
orb drifted
to the barn's topline
then vanished
fortune siezed this globe
a glass left 
from long ago to
warn: lightening!
lightening.
beware.
beready.

Monday, May 23, 2011

more centering

i ate supper of potato salad in my car, 
watching and listening to the wind and the water on lake flower, 
in saranac lake.
and the sun shone out
in reminder
 i have a new splint to wear for four weeks. 
 it's hard to feel too sorry for yourself 
when these mountains are the constant backdrop here.
i love this town, 
it's quieter and secret compared to bawdy lake placid, 
where my doctor practices.
as i struggle
with acceptance and patience
i remember learning patience before.
waiting
is it always so damned hard?
good news:
i can teach this summer, and in all likelihood
no surgery.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

centering

trying to find my center 
so i went digging
wrestling bloodroot 
sweating hard 
blackflies swarm 
no biting, i sweat, smell raunchy 
or the roadside embankment soil does
a beer can reward
miller lite five cents return
i wrestle with big rocks and surprising 
root systems that hold together
the road. does everyone know
the delicate lace that supports pickups 
in rains that wash out bridges and culverts?
two hours work
for a bucket of sand and clay and rocks and
bloodroot

struggling with health-tomorrow i see the orthopedic surgeon
the cold drifted into allergies
my camera is wonky
but i have a treasure
for catherine and the gathering
at her house, dyers all
we shall see magic. 

Saturday, May 21, 2011

neighborhood

 a new neighbor, one of three, halter is loose
it's misty this morning, but not blue. i think something's ill with my camera
 lovely to be up early and not have to be somewhere
a happy saturday. 
a cow is calling, many robins, and it's grayed green.
a day for chores and making things.
a summer edge to this day.
peaceful
as the day breathes.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

face/figure

how we hide
who we are
how we are
hide me
please 
 the face, the figure
 the face
 the figure
 face
figure

Monday, May 16, 2011

healing woods

lampson falls, degrasse wild forest
my class and i went into the woods today
the trail is easy, no complaints
the falls was huge
pregnant with heavy spring
death
laugh
we had a guide who taught us about geocaching
and we found one
i was unaware of being sick.
at home i am tired, but the 45 degree weather, the rain, the breeze
has healed me.
that, and wendy's ginger, lemon, honey brew.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

thanks

to all of you 
who have sent wendy good health wishes
thank you
and the get over the cold 
wishes for me, i appreciate
it seems that the finger, menopause, teaching, the cold
and more rain
have been challenging.
i apologize
i continue to wait to see what happens
in the mill. 
i have val's okra soaking, making mucilage, formation aid,
for papermaking. just not today.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

fern dust

these ferns grow every spring
fiddleheads unfurl 
from the same root system
shed golden powdery dust
which i collected
on wednesday
and cooked
for a while
now it's hydrated
and ready for a little papermaking experiment
i'll let you know how it comes out
but first i will nurture this spring cold--
wendy is doing well, no more seizures
so far. she's sad hannah's gone, but she's used to that change.
hannah and ian have been leaving,
on and off, for 15 years.

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