gone fishin'

i'm fishing across the continent and the big pond

so if you want a copy of the little book, 

you'll have to wait til mid july!

a bundle and a child

just a note before i go:

 yesterday i opened a bundle

cotton with copper and vinegar and one rose

the rose was a present

and slippery elm bark bits

 created the color and patterning

 30 years ago.

happy birthday ian.

it was hot yesterday

 very hot. 

our walk was late

 after eight, actually

 but the red winged blackbirds still

had alot to say

 and i visited a nest box

 i hadn't seen the giant ent striding 

across the neighbor's meadow

but do notice the menacing presence

 the night came on with good breezes

 soft color

 hot dog

doubled horizon

lightning bugs

trying hard to capture

 lightning bugs 

 fireflies

these last two nights.

not much success, but a great many photos

and some fun

transpired.

 i have the best friends!

friends who send me their samples,

their thoughts,

their critiques

all essential.

 a touch of blue in the garden soil

 camoflage

 test bale

 a dead youth

 bladder campion

 potential paper!

 more potential paper

 chance

composition on the roadside

a richness

happy father's day

to all the dads.

my dad has been gone a long time.

a man who told stories

even a tall tale

and who loved his

richness of daughters.

one week, summer teaching

 i have one week until i get on a big airplane

and begin the 27 hour trip to australia.

i've been organizing.

 in melbourne i will be teaching in the ecotone,

which is my sneaky way of saying the

edge, the place between, where worlds collide and flourish,

where i make things, learn things, and ultimately

live, because no other place will suit me.

 these two photos of paper thread

show a comparison of spinninglokta, 
different fiber treatments.

 as i've been prepping to pack

i keep finding examples

 even wrapping paper will suit

if it works right, feels right, has integrity,

and sometimes even the most likely paper will

decidedly NOT work.

 wendy observes all

and sleeps more than i ever thought possible

she's a little arthritic, too

and its possible that i will return home to an empty

dog bed. she's in good hands while i travel.

these two skeins (from above) will make the journey

from canton to ottawa to melbourne.

~~~

 this is my summer teaching schedule:

~~~

In the Ecotone, June 27-July 11, 2012

Nature's Colours in the City

Natural Dye Symposium

Melbourne, Australia

shifu

~~~

Pulp Clouds: Hand Papermaking, August 3-5, 2012

Long Ridge Farm,

Westmoreland, New Hampshire 

papermaking from indigenous plants

~~~~

i would love to meet you

at either of these events.

shifu making will include dyeing and mark making,

as well as spinning and weaving paper,

and textile techniques for book making.

papermaking will teach you 

how to do the whole process,

from plants in your ecosystem,

and make a sample book.

disturbance of blackbirds

i have some fiber news

but the neighborhood has other things pressing:

 after supper walk with wendy

 we were dive-bombed by

some red winged blackbirds

 already disturbed by some mowing that  

my neighbor started.

they had a lot to get off their chests.

and quite possibly had some murder on their minds.

 a closer look at the shrine

and i'm still puzzled by the fake fruit

(and mistletoe?)

 and the fence just above it

 seems to me to be so haphazard

any disturbance could 

destroy

 but it doesn't

a couple of calves, 

however,

could have a negative affect.

they are safely held in by wire and their mamas

about a mile away.

and, this week,

my friend (not bo peep, but katrina) who lost her sheep, 

found it. 

4 1/2 miles away.

less than two

 in preparation for my trip to australia

i'm making last minute

spinnings

 while the weather is moving all

around

the skies are 

strong

 in the distance

the high peaks

 and down the road 

but today it peaked

over 90 degrees.

wendy is panting

i fell into a huge nap after work

and now, now maybe i can breathe

a quart of strawberries

amish grown

filled my kitchen with ripeness

a suprise for

supper,

with tea and toast.

afternoon news

today i:

woke up in a strange bed in a familiar place

walked two dogs and found 

her.

grumble grumble she says

an hour later she was done.

the son has placed this on facebook.

it lives over the actual organ

on which he plays dirges.

&

the daughter has a new blog, palindromic, 
to document her gaylord internship at bird library.

 i found this little offering/shrine

on a way back road last week

plastic fruit and a rock.

happy sunday!