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]

Seeking a Troll

Wouldn't want to meet this guy crossing a bridge. (Riggins, Idaho)

It's Reddy Kilowatt!

Reddy Kilowatt - the logo/mascot of Idaho Power Company for at least the last 50 years.  Nostalgic for me to see this happy guy again!  Did Reddy have a nemesis? Click over to Lileks.com and see this matchbook cover featuring Willie Wirehand from Minnesota.

More Signs of the Times

Signs of the Times

There's a certain message here someone is trying to make very clear.

The Snake River looking downstream from Swan Falls Dam, southwest of Boise, Idaho.

Trip to Idaho

I spent a few wonderful days before Thanksgiving in the Salmon River country of central Idaho.  Fiddle Creek is between the whitewater and steelhead trout fishing towns of Riggins and Whitebird.  The steelhead eluded us, but we saw lots of wildlife - elk, mule deer, golden eagles, magpies, turkeys, Canada geese, and those energetic little gray dippers, the ouzels.

Payette Lake in McCall, Idaho.  Brundage Mountain Ski Resort is not far from this lovely little burg.

My father fishing on a rocky bar downstream from Riggins at the place our family calls "The Rock" - a large vertical outcrop that juts into the Salmon River at the head of a deep slow hole.  Informational signs describing the geology of the area are along the roadside here.  We cannot pass this place without "dropping a line" to see what is biting, any time of the year.

Fordham Eel Spear

One of a couple of dozen hand-forged eel spears in my collection.  This one stamped "Fordham" on the center tang.  The 1876 design was by Fordham's business partner, one Samuel Parker Hedges, of Sag Harbor, Long Island, where the Fordham shop was located.  See p. 381 of this book on L.I. genealogy.

Surfers' Ashram - Surfing With an Om

Attention surfers.  An ashram for surfers has been established in the Indian state of Karnataka.  Go figure!

Swine Flu

Swine flu seems to be everywhere these days, even in the remotest places in Amazonia.  It is suspected of killing a pregnant Yanomami Indian woman and three children in the rainforest on the Venezuela/Brazil border.

The Sky, As I See It

Guy Fawkes Day, Iranian Style

Israel unveiled a cache of hundreds of tons of rockets, mortars, missiles and anti-tank weapons on a ship seized at sea near Cyprus.  The weapons were shipped from Iran; Israeli officials aver they were bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon.  Read the Voice of America article.

I've lamented before: "Some people just like to blow up other people."  That's no world I want to live in.  Sue for peace.  Live peacefully and encourage others to as well.  Peace begins inside each individual, and with the family and community.

Currently Reading

The Songlines, by Bruce Chatwin.
I recently picked up a printing of the 1988 Picador trade paperback and have begun reading it.

I'm not a newcomer to Bruce Chatwin or his work.  Being sorely afflicted with the antique collectors' disease (corkscrews, Ainu bear carvings, eel spears, to name but 3 categories) I have read his last work Utz.  I've digested The Viceroy of Ouidah, On the Black Hill, and his In Patagonia.  I own and have read a galley proof review copy of Nicholas Shakespeare's biography Bruce Chatwin.

I've a copy of Chatwin's What Am I Doing Here? that I will read next.

The Bond Minicar

The Bond Minicar - a historic bit of Lancashire technology.  The survivors of the 26,000+ produced are now the stuff of automobile collectors.  An advert in my Autumn 1957 issue of The Countryman claims this little car got 85 mpg.  The cars were produced at a former rope factory, Sharp's Ribbleton Lane premises in Preston, Lancs.

Warren Buffet's Christmas Train Set

Some folks love the Christmas train set they received as a kid.  Some even go on as adults to build elaborate layouts that fill a basement or attic.  Then there's Warren Buffet, the world's greatest investor.  He just agreed to buy, through his company Berkshire Hathaway, a whole railroad,  Burlington Northern Santa Fe.  Forty-four billion in cash.

Conversation Through a Windshield

A draft of a new poem:

Conversation Through a Windshield

The wind hurried
Through breaks of goldenrods,
Late for a dance with the cottonwoods,
Pushed by a storm stalking up the valley.

My friend, the towheaded farmer with over-sized hands,
The one with a crooked nose
And a forehead like an anvil,
Struck a serious gaze through my old truck's windshield
At the looming gunmetal clouds
And asked aloud, over cherry-red cheeks,
If God approved of cremation, and
"Do you think its gonna rain?

I said, "The ripening wheat fields down by the river
Dream of terrible hailstorms this time of year."
"Did Evan get that cutting of alfalfa baled this week?"

"Myra left me last night", he says.
"Gone to her sister's over in Pocatello."
"Kids are resilient," I say." They get back up
When they get blown over."

"I cleaned my pistol last night after she left."
I said, "Hey, let's hunt in Arbon Valley this year."
Then silence as the pickup droned up the blacktop.

Then, through the windshield he says
"I want my ashes scattered in the Teton River
If it's OK with God and you."
"That long riffle where we saw the double rainbow last year."


[Submitted to Subtropics literary journal on 1/6/2010]

Water, Amazing Water

Tonight I watched this 2-hour web video about water and came away with a few inspiring thoughts.  I may not look upon water the same way again - how my thoughts and actions and living affect this vital resource that enables life to survive on this world.

On Poetry:

"Poetry should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance." - John Keats

I firmly believe all of us have poetry that lives within us.  Some of us have to wrestle with ourselves to bring it to light.  I have danced around the firelight of that struggle lately, almost afraid to indulge myself in that fight, but at the same time am compelled to boldly stride into the brighter circle of that very light, again.

It's winged sumac time in north-central Florida. Isn't this a lovely photo of a female indigo bunting peeking over a cascade of sumac fruit clusters?  Hat-tip to my good friend Mike D., who captured this image recently and posted it to his Flickr stream.  He's an impressive photographer, and I recommend you give his site a long look.

Waltzing Matilda

For the past two days I've really enjoyed listening over and over to this beautiful arrangement of the Australian bush song Waltzing Matilda played on a handcrafted parlor guitar made by Rebecca Urlacher.  I'm sure you'll like it too.

This Just In

I'm back to blogging after a several month hiatus during which I've experienced many changes and heartbreaks.  The Clog-wife left and is living with someone else.   I've resurfaced and am up and moving again, and trying to recover the old fire inside me.

Obama: License to Jive?

This just in: Reportage from the belly-, leg- and zipper-seams of the US fabic indicate that now Obama and Michelle are in the White House there will be a resurgence of white people who feel empowered to connect linguistically with African-American friends who don't speak at all likethe Obama First Family. Scions of the popular music and film industries are reportedly waiting to see how "things play out" before committing themselves one way or the other.

Rhymes with "Month"

Can you find an English word that rhymes with "month"? Some folks are on-the-prowl.

O Holy Night

The early evening sky was especially lovely tonight with a pink sunset graced by a sliver of moon. On nights like this one its easy to park the car in the driveway after the commute home and linger outside to watch the colors go away and the stars begin to glimmer.

Render This

I got to monkeying around with Adobe Photoshop and created a mock book cover. I hope nobody is actually writing this book, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has already gone through several printings.

The original image was a rather unremarkable photograph of some swirly foam making its way downstream from Big Shoals on the Suwannee River in north central Florida. The 4-mile hike the clog-wife and I took on that bright winter afternoon was far less chilling than the mock book cover would suggest.

Got Melamine?

The Chinese food-contaminant melamine just won't go away.

Now we learn that the Chinese may have been feeding fish and seafood raised for the export market melamine-laced feed in order to boost protein content.

Time for a bumper sticker assault.

Christmas Recipes

So there are these things called blog carnivals, if you hadn't noticed years ago. I've had a recipe or two published at The Carnival of the Recipes, and being somewhat of a foodie and dedicated home chef, enjoy following this carnival to glean ideas.

The most recent, holiday Carnival of the recipes is now live, courtesy of A Boy Named Sous, who's repast is titled "Eat it like it's Stollen". Check it out. Find some ideas for that missing dish that will make your holiday entertaining complete. You won't be disappointed.

Christians Dampen Halloween?

Here in north-central Florida Halloween is subdued, judging from the turn-out in my home neighborhood. Not a few children we know informed us, upon inquiry, that they would not be trick-or-treating in our familiar neighborhood because they were required to attend to a "Fall Festival" put on by the pastor of their local church.

Halloween traditions aside, what is the beef with Halloween? Its origins are not evil, and Lord knows that all of us, including our children need an escape, a time out of time, or a dip into liminality, as the Folklore students would phrase it.

Halloween is not and has never been an enjoinder to be or do evil. Halloween is a once-a-year healthy evening in our lives when we can experience for a moment something else apart from our rule- and prescription-driven lives. Time-out-of-time where we discover something about ourselves and others.

The kids knocking at my door were polite and gracious, to a ghoul, fairy, or mutilated linebacker from the hometown football team.

Barn Owl Pellets for Tight Budgets

Stocking up on stuff for the 3-day Memorial Day Weekend, or perhaps for the 2008 hurricane season?

Don't forget barn owl pellets. At the link you'll learn that they're "great for young students and tight budgets."

global warming, barn owl, Memorial Day, owl pellets, owls, owl food, prey items, tight budget, hurricane, hurricane season, 2008 hurricanes

Pat Your Little Foot, Sally Ann

Video of the Clog-wife flatfooting to the fiddle and banjo accompanied by yours truly on guitar in the sitting room of a friend's old frame house in Micanopy, Florida.

Pat Your Little Foot, Sally Ann

Dave Forbes - fiddle, Chuck Levy - banjo
The four of us as "Fear No Weevil" will perform two shows at the Florida Folk Festival next weekend.

Micanopy Florida, fiddle, banjo, flatfooting, Sally Ann

Gumbo Limbo

The Clog-wife, her son, and I walked/bicycled downtown to watch the hot north Florida Cajun band Gumbo Limbo play at the sinkhole bandstand at the High Springs farmers' market. Members of Gumbo Limbo are friends in the traditional music and dance circles we move in. All, including us, are former members of or are somehow connected to the Cross Creek Cloggers. It was nice to be outside on a bright summer day listening to good music and dancing a bit. We'll all see eachother again in a few days since we're all performers at the Florida Folk Festival next weekend. We returned home to a meal of meatloaf, yellow rice, and fresh green beans.

I photographed a couple of butterflies feeding on lantana in one of our gardens:



Giant Swallowtail




Zebra Swallowtail










technorati: swallowtail, zebra swallowtail, giant swallowtail, gumbo limbo, High SpringsFlorida

Eight Belles/Eight Bells

The national Irish is up following the catastrophe at the 2008 Kentucky Derby wherein second-place finisher Eight Belles crashed after crossing the finish line.

Eight Belles was euthanized after she shattered both front ankles as she pulled up around a quarter-mile beyond the finish line following her second-place finish behind Derby winner Big Brown. Eight Belles was the first filly to compete in the Derby since 1999.

The Clog Almanac admits to weeping upon learning that that filly was euthanized subsequent to crashing to her knees after crossing the finish line in this great national horse race, one of our nation's annual hallmarks, the Triple Crown. Thoroughbred champions display characteristics that resonate with many of our highest valued qualities and aspirations: a will to succeed and win; joy in competition; indomitable energy and resolve; and a totally committed heart. It is the animals themselves that endear so many to this "sport of kings". The Clog Almanac suspects that these same qualities made horse racing so beloved by such kings and their subjects alike, and to many of us as well. It was difficult to witness the end of such a great animal.

The death of a great filly, a horse loved by her trainer and owner is causing a national re-evaluation of this time-honored tradition - and the collective blame-game has begun:

Some question the wisdom in racing young horses.
Some question letting fillies race against colts.
Some question the wisdom of running a field of 20 horses.
Some question the so-called inbred champion blood-lines from which champions emerge.
Some question the individual track characteristics.
Some question the industry's adherence to tradition rather than embracing changes that would advance the humane safety of horses and their riders.

The Clog-wife, who exercised/trained thoroughbreds for nearly a decade, and who exercised horses on many tracks ranging from the deep and fluffy Saratoga Springs to the hardscape of Churchill Downs, opined that the race-day surface of the latter was firm enough to walk across wearing high-heels. Perhaps this overly-hard surface contributed to Eight Belles' faltering and ultimate demise.

Horse-racing suffered a devastating loss when Barbaro, the first horse to be interred at Churchill Downs, suffered a similar fate and eventually, euthanization last year for a similar injury during the Derby. This industry apparently has not taken heed of the many factors that have again come to the fore in this years' tragedy. The Clog Almanac believes the racing industry must adapt if it is to remain the "sport of kings". We are not sure if synthetic tracks are the only answer - breeding and training also are extremely important aspects of the solution as well.

The Kentucky Derby website has precious little to say (as of 5/5/08) about the controversies and the sadness following the demise of Eight Belles. One would think that such lucrative concerns would be more interested in the long-term sustainability (read economic and social acceptance) of such a franchise.

One wonders what the patrons at the pub Eight Belles, in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, said when they learned a great horse sharing the name of their local gathering place had been put down?

"Eight bells" in the language of seamen, has a meaning as well: Eight Bells signals the end of a watch. In addition, sixteen bells are rung at new year: Eight bells for the previous year, and eight bells for the New Year. We suggest that the watch of the horse-racing industry has just begun. Let's not see a repeat of this year's Kentucky Derby. Perhaps in this next year, we will see changes that protect the wonderful creatures of a national icon - the great thoroughbreds that compete in the great horse-races that are part of our national conscience.

Kentucky Derby, 2008 Derby, Eight Belles, Eight Bells, Barbaro, Churchill Downs, horse racing, ship watches, ships watch, horse race, Triple Crown, Saratoga, Saratoga Springs, Big Brown

Garçon! I Didn’t Order Healthcare for You and the Chef!

Restaurants in San Francisco have taken to charging patrons for the health care payments required by that fair city's Universal Coverage Ordinance. Typical required contributions are $1.17-$1.76 /hour/per employee for establishments who employ 20 or more workers.

Check your bill, and then refuse to pay that portion I say. What are tips for? Sheesh. Cost of business and all that - charge me more for the meal and let me decide if I'll pay it and the customary tip for Christo's sake.

SanFrancisco, health care, healthcare ordinance, universal healthcare ordinance, California, Sanfrancisco, Sanfransicko