home and blue

i spent a great deal of monday and tuesday sneezing. 

eyes watering. 

i laughed and said the pollen allergies were bad this year. 

last night i took a nap after supper. before bed. 

it was then i knew: i have a cold.

 hannah is home briefly between grad school and summer work in bar harbor. 

three days, so i took today off to be with her. 

so what if i got sick.

so i'm happily blue, enjoying this sunnycool day with a huge cottony head, 

watery eyes, lots of sneeziness. 

we have errands to do, cleaning and sorting and sewing.

and wendy has been a little poorly, so will take her to the vet. 

and friday hann will be gone.

spinning together

 i got a new wee spindle, 

a friend's recommendation, 

and it's gorgeous!

  10 gram weight. 

you can see that i wound on the tiny bit of spinning i did the wrong way. 

oh well

it has absolutely wonderful action.

 l + j, louise and josh, 

the folks that made their wedding paper with me, 

dropped this by.

 i love this little tree home.

i hope that i will be around for their day, 

but i think i will be traveling out west then. 

i'm too lazy just now to double check. 

and my nose is running with whichever pollen is blowing through the ethers.

it's surely spring!

mother's day

 these are the flowers i love

 pale greens and yellows, and white, white

 black cherry blossoms white

 this is the structure i am letting go

 the kids' swing

 once filled with hay

 rob climbed up here and examined this platform

 and the stairway down

 hand hewn

today is mother's day

i am thinking of the hard choices mothers make. 

that first choice, to bear a child or not, is just the beginning.

she is there, all right, 

choice made.

high water, bittersweet

words i love: 

ecotone, watershed

right now watershed is in abundance. 

there is a lovely abundance to high water. 

a bit scary as nearby potsdam is now in a state of emergency, as are many adirondack communities.

at 6:45 this morning the little river was misty and flooded.

tonight it's cool, and there may be more rain

 in between we had a work day at bittersweet farm

ann looks at a wedding invitation on paper made at wake robin

 ann and catherine and brian

in the background a greenhouse skeleton.

we had terrible winds this week. they stripped and wrecked the greenhouse you can just see.

we salvaged and repaired,the greenhouse is now a little shorter, 

but much of the metal was salvaged. and though the new plastic will cost over $300,

at least it can now be used.

another greenhouse survived but was blown 30 feet away.

and will have to be moved, but we didn't have enough back power.

edges

edges are my place. 

i breathe like i belong here.

i remember my selfself

here in the edge.

i grow quieter 

i grow complete.

i begin to see how it is to be

a human being. 

this muddled woman, 

of mixed up organization

of strong heart

of heat

light

and, let's face it,

longing and ardor.

yesterday was may day.

now

it's spring.

mayday

it feels like spring today. 

the promise kept.

two good trees 

spruce and butternut 

this went down in april 

 remains of the milkhouse

mosquito nesting ground

photographer's sarcophagus 

 no insect activity

yet 

but a woman with 

green striped socks

waits 

 she matches these 

fiddleheads

protected by down

deliberate?

oh, no

 my 

reward for this

winter of hard times 

 

the fiber of winter

 disappearing

under the green frayed cloth

of may

it's mayday

today i put out 

hummingbird feeders

a huge commitment 

as far as i can tell

 finished the pure hosta

added a little abaca

ready for milkweed pulp 

tiny sheets

a tiny home

and blackflies are swarming

not biting much

yet.

weather

weather: keeps us busy, adjusting expectations, plans, ideas

huge clouds brought rain and big winds, 

flooding even closeby, 

i was thinking of only my little stressors

the finger, 

a muscle in my back,

bloodroot then equisetum 

baby leaves, 

and a cooler but calm day today.

a happy saturday

after stretching out in the sun

and eating a yummy salad

i feel human.

soon i will have a new,

non-invasive splint for my finger, 

so i will be able to use the hand a bit better.

11K

another update: the college book art association site admin reported that it has collected over eleven thousand to help steve and des. now THAT'S community.

tornado update

here's an update on steve: red hydra. to help out, go to the college book art association and press the donate button on the top right. when you fill in the form, just say the donation is for steve miller disaster relief.
i am so happy to hear that he, his partner des, and their pets are well, and rode out the storm in their basement. the photo of their house is sad. i wonder if it can be repaired. 
steve called me once, around a decade ago, introduced himself and said "you got it". what he was referring to was the nell meldahl scholarship for p.b.i., the paper and book intensive. when it sunk in (i had replied, got what?) i ungraciously shouted "no shit!" and he replied with a grin in his voice, "no shit!" 

frustration and forgiveness

today in my inbox were two messages. one about the amazing steve miller, a teacher, a bookmaker, a printer, and a fine human being. steve is ok, but his house in tuscaloosa was in the path of one hungry tornado and has been destroyed. the other message was from an internet friend, jean betts, who is checking on me and my sick finger. 

i am frustrated, but have a plan of action regarding the finger. i am buying an amazing tiny plastic splint that will enable me to function as well as possible minus one joint, while this heals. it will be on at least six more weeks; this splint will allow me to do prep for my summer teaching gigs. this is good news indeed. my doctor gary gets it. and i will get better.


but steve, though he and his partner are safe, have lost their home. i have a tiny hurt, his is huge. and yet, they are safe. 


it's very windy here. i watched two tree branches crack in the wind. water levels are very high, rivers above flood stage. the snowmelt is adding to the rain and our rivers are flooding. right now there is bright sunshine. as this front moves through, it will chill off. things are stirring and weird, and yet i am full of hope. steve and his partner will be ok, i will be ok, but this planet, i'm not so sure. but i'm still hoping.