Old Signs of Life in Idaho

A Mask to Hide Behind

Another one of my roof-tin masks.

And another - I like this guy alot.

Reflections on a Painting

Photograph of a part of one of my finger-paintings on grocery bag paper, behind glass with reflections of the office and window behind.

Poem - New Love in the Evening

Here's a draft of a new poem I'm working on and hope to submit to a journal eventually.

New Love in the Evening

The sky, a scrim of damask;
The bay a pulsing sheet of satinet.
We lay among the whispering sea oats
Sharing smiles and tentative touches
In sunset's sudden brilliance.

No tsunami of salty passions
No urgent struggle and tangle of limbs,
No shuddering of the earth beneath us -
Just a gentle convergence of warm awareness,
Like an imperceptible shifting of sands before the breeze,
A stirring and swelling of innocent desire
Sweetly buoyed by a slowly rising tide of nascent love.

I bent to kiss your lovely hands,
Surprised by your tears as you leaned into my arms,
While the new moon sailed above,
Stately as a swan,
Attended by a skein of twinkling stars.

[Update: submitted to Poetry Magazine on 1/13/2010]

Tin Masks in My Office

Tin mask I made titled "Dr. Wilkerson's Palsy", after my former dentist who suffered a bad bout of Bell's palsy and retired shortly thereafter.

Another one of my masks, untitled.

A Countryman's Year

A Countryman's Year - births and deaths of animals and extended family members; planting and harvesting, hardships and Hallelujahs; the day to day struggle to survive, and perhaps to prosper for a season.  This original waltz melody perhaps captures the feeling of a year experienced by a country family.  This simple piece of sheet music has been viewed over 12,000 times in the past 24 months.

A Countryman's Year

Look North, to the Winter

Another front from the north brings icy blasts into Florida.  Temps may dip into the high teens in my area.  Mind the water pipes!

Milk of Human Kindness - Poem

The milk of human kindness

Is poured out on the floor.
The angels of compassion
Have all bolted out the door.
The fear of unbelievers
Glides blithely down the stairs
And fouls each verdant Eden
In this world of earthly cares.
Eve has jilted Adam
Abel is slain by Cain -
The serpent in the garden
Walks amongst us all, again.

There'll Be Dancing

Will be rehearsing this week with other musicians for a special contra dance on Saturday.  Not the usual band; this one a pick-up band, of sorts.  All friends.

Sign of the Times

I hear it has been snowing up north.

Bacon

Just say'n, y'all.

When Hell Freezes Over

I can't report that all the water pipes burst in the night, or that my citrus crop was ruined (don't have one).  But it got cold last night.  Was at a friend's until after midnight and returned home to a house that was 45F inside.  Likewise this a.m.  The high today will be 46F so I don't expect the house to warm up at all today.

Poem Written During a Staff Meeting

Parchments and palimpsests
Hiding in dark cloisters:
Dust and knowledge gathered,
Past and present sleeping.

Who will stir these dry leaves,
Feel the faded velum?
Trace these timeless stories,
Tell these tales of ages?

Health Care, Recession, Terrorism, Unemployment - Google Trends

As 2010 begins, two issues occupy the limelight in the nation's public discourse. I did a 6-month comparison of Google search volume of the terms "health care" and "recession" in the United States.  The blue line corresponds to volume of searches for "health care"; the red line, "recession".  Here are the results:

One might conclude that Americans are thinking or worrying more about health care than they are the "recession" economy, especially in the last half of 2009. Let's throw in another term, "terrorism" just for comparison. Again, blue="health care", red="recession"; orange="terrorism".

Again, "health care" is generating more search traffic. "Terrorism" is down there with "recession". Lets see how "unemployment" (green line, below) measures up to these three:

In this comparison, "unemployment" generated the most search traffic, and was consistently high for the entire 6-month period. Roughly 10% of American workers are unemployed. Roughly 10% of Americans have no health care. These two issues are the more immediate worries to families and individuals - while "terrorism" and "recession" appear to be background issues.

St. Augustine FL

I spent 12/27 in St. Augustine with daughter Maggie and our dear friend Deborah.  We had great fun in the cold wintry weather.  One highlight was eating hot borscht with pirogies, spinach/feta pie, and a greek salad, served up at a little mom and pop place on Aviles St.


Dooryard sculpture and wrought iron.

An old doorway arched in coquina blocks.

Old window with hurricane shutters.

Stained glass window, Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine.

Castillo San Marcos

Old arcade piece

Maggie and her doting father at the old carousel in St. Augustine.  Only $1 per ride!

Maggie and Deborah on the carousel.

Yuletide - The Winter Solstice

Today is the Winter Solstice - Yuletide - the shortest day and longest night of the year. Take the bright lights of the season into your heart and together with your own inner light go out and do some good in the world.

(Payette Lake, McCall, Idaho)

Visions of Sugar-Plums

I made sugar-plums this afternoon, loosely following this recipe.  For dried fruits I used dried plums, apricots and cranberries, and added some walnuts as well.  All ingredients were chopped fine and mixed in a food processor.  Not wanting to use sugar, I dredged the formed sugar-plums in pecan meal, which has its own sweetness.  This being Florida, I used orange blossom honey to sweeten the mixture.

Banjo - Fairbanks Imperial

Photos of my A.C. Fairbanks & Co. "Imperial". Serial number suggests it was made around 1894.  I purchased it from Jim Bollman's "Music Emporium" in Lexington MA several years ago.

I love the signature prow-shaped "boat heel" at the base of Fairbanks banjo necks. The neck is mahogany; fingerboard is ebony.  The centerline of the neck also is slightly keeled like a boat, and is very comfortable to hold and finger.

Local Color - Florida

Winter hasn't quite arrived in Florida.  A cool snap during the last couple of weeks has brought out the colors of Fall.  Hickories and elms have turned yellow.  Sweet gums range from bronze to maroon to a decent orange color.  In this photo of an upland tupelo (Nyssa sulvatica) one sees a pleasing medley of hues.  This is one of my favorite Florida trees.

Bearing The Cold

A cold front plunged south into Florida and has turned everything chilly.  The low clouds drifting into the area are a sign of the rain that is expected over the weekend.  Gray skies this afternoon.  Typing by the light of my flatscreen monitor in the office today (I only use natural light from the window -- by choice -- not by necessity).  [bronze sculpture, McCall, Idaho]