The Same Bird

A plethora of little gray birds of assorted species

Labeled by man for their various calls, beaks, and plumage

Flitter back and forth to the seeds I’ve laid out

There’s no fear or misunderstandings between them

They know they’re all the same bird


This poem contributed to
dVersePoets Open Link Night #7

Endings and beginnings

Rick playing at Nordica Auditorium - University of Maine, Farmington, 2010

It’s extremely calm out tonight.  We’re expecting Hurricane Irene (my sweet, amazing mother’s middle name was Irene and her birthday would have been yesterday.  Much love to you, mother.)  The hurricane’s been reported up the east coast, yada yada. . .  but tonight you could see a few stars and after battening down the hatches I was drawn outside.

I was sitting out on our lakeside deck, listening to the loons and thinking about the summer we seem to be quickly leaving behind.  I was brought back to the night Rick and I spent at Cobscook Bay State Park in Downeast Maine back in July.  We had arrived mid afternoon and set up the camper fairly easily though it was our very first outing without the camper experts from The NitPickers Band.  We looked at the map of the park and decided to go for a hike.  Nice shady trail with interesting sites described in the park map.  Got to the top where there were vistas of what I’m guessing were Canadian seas.  Saw a couple of kayakers; the water looked pretty calm.  Note to self: I think Rick and I would have been fine in them without a guide had we brought the kayaks.   

We hiked back to camp and made a dinner of Thai noodles w/chicken and a bottle of Clos du Bois.  We dined outside at the picnic table and later Rick pulled out his guitar and played and sang sweetly . . . heartbreakingly . . .  Townes Van Zandt, Kevin Welch, his own originals.  It was one of those perfect summer nights.  There’s no other place I would have wanted to be.  I couldn’t stop smiling all night long, even in my sleep, I’m sure. 

Anyway, here I am sitting out on our deck reflecting how that had probably been my favorite night of the summer. I noticed I’d run out of wine so went inside to make a drink of some sort (when I refilled the liquor cabinet after having the new floor installed (see previous post) I put all the almost empty bottles of liquor on the top shelf with the intention of using those up before hitting the lower shelves.) 

When I got inside I heard Rick upstairs playing the guitar!  Baby!! I was just thinking about you doing exactly that!! . . . Come on outside on the deck and keep doing what you’re doing. . . and he did.  J    I found the makings of White Russians on the top shelf.  Made up a shaker; offered some to Rick who declined after having drank the other half of our bottle of wine.  This was one of those nights where a half a bottle of wine equaled just getting started for me  . . . with help from the caffeinated soda I’d had earlier. 

It struck me that this Rick, playing the guitar on this night, was the Rick who wrote those blogs.  The one who might quote Alexander Graham Bell saying “when one door closes, another door opens” or more likely a Kerouac quote that conveys the same message. 

Anyway, he came out.  I enjoyed the loons . . . crickets . . .  peepers . . .  and Rick’s lovely guitar and vocals, bestowed upon just himself and me, and the loons, which made it all the more special.  Especially on this particular day when he made the momentous decision to quit playing banjo after 33 years with various bands in Pennsylvania and Maine.  A very tough decision attributed to focal dystonia – a long story – but basically a loss of up to 90% of his former ability.  It was just frustrating and unfulfilling for him to play so he decided to walk away from the banjo . . . leave the band . . . .  The timing was right in that the band doesn’t have a gig for a few weeks and the rest of the band is at a bluegrass festival – the best place to recruit a new banjo player, with a second festival coming up next weekend. 

But on the guitar . . . an instrument that asks for finger movements different from the all too familiar forward reverse rolls on the banjo, he sounds competent, comfortable and happy, if not yet expert.  He played several Townes Van Zandt pieces.  My favorite – To Live is to Fly – brought tears to my eyes.  Some Kevin Welch . . . candles burning on a warm sultry August evening . . .  420 . . . impending storm.   

Simplicity and presence, a little melancholy, perhaps a slice of excitement and anticipation, helped it to be one of the premier nights of 2011. 

Later . . .  was just icing on the cake.  J     And here I sit, listening to Bonnie Raitt radio on Pandora . . . the rain is pounding . . .Irene has arrived . . .

my cup runneth over. . .

               this 27^th day of August, 2011 . . .

Home renovations

When Rick and I bought this place we knew there would be years and much money spent before it got to the place where we wanted it to be.  I always said it was a "complicated" property, which is why we got it at the very reasonable price we paid.  It needed a new well, something had to be done to separate the double wide from the cottage.  We initially intended to have the double wide hauled away and renovate the cottage.  But when it came time to move in - about 18 months after we bought it - housing prices had gone to hell and my house in Gardiner which had been appraised about five years earlier at $250,000 was now sitting on the market unwanted at $150,000.   I had taken out a home equity loan on it to help purchase this place so I now owed about $120,000 and the $100,000+ that we had thought would be available to renovate the cottage no longer looked likely.  

So we took another look at the double wide and decided we could make do with that.  The cottage has become storage space as we moved from a 14 room house with a huge two car garage into a 7 room house with a small one car detached garage that sits out by the cottage.  It will never be a showcase home but it's comfortable and that's what matters.  Over time we have put in the new well, separated the water and electric from the cottage, built a two car garage with a great room overhead that we use as my pottery studio, Rick's music studio, an exercise room and an extra bedroom when we have guests. We also had a 12 x 65 foot deck built towards the lakeside of the house.  Oh yes, one of the first renovations we did was the master bathroom, putting in a big new shower, tile floors, and a granite counter top.  

From the beginning I've always wanted to put down new floors and take down the strips that hold sheet rock together in mobile homes, have them taped and mudded, and repaint.  Well, having to do so much infrastructure work, the cosmetics have taken a while to get to.  But we just finished phase one yesterday - new floors in the tv room, living room, and kitchen.  Huge improvement.  

Next week our handyman, Todd, is scheduled to come and take down the visible beat up skirting and replace it with a brick look product, which should help the curbside appeal some.

We still have lots of work to do:  paint the kitchen cabinets (or replace them?), replace counter tops, take down the strips, tape and mud them and repaint throughout.  Maybe a new window or two, maybe redo the second bathroom at some point.  And we should probably replace the one-hour bookshelves we put up in the den with something a little more stable and aesthetically pleasing.

Like I said . . . a work in progress.

Cleave Poetry

Have you ever heard of Cleave poetry?  Check it out: http://cleavepoetry.wordpress.com/

Cleave : is a contranym, a word with 2 opposite meanings:

verb 1) split or sever along a natural grain or line. 2) divide; split.

verb 1) stick fast to. 2) become strongly involved with or emotionally attached to.

In its most basic form it is three poems:

two parallel ‘vertical’ poems (left and right)

a third ‘horizontal’ poem being the fusion of the vertical poems read together.  


Click on the poem to make it big enough to read.  

This poem contributed to
dVersePoets Open Link Night #6

April Camp

Another gray day breaks over the April marsh

if you weren’t vigilant, you might think the morning held only bleakness

but for brief moments the sky roils in pinks and blues

above an army of gliding eiders

A magnificent bald eagle is perched sentinel

hoping to discover what Mother has lain before him this day

Then, as suddenly as it came, the marsh has turned bleak once again

the dead branches protruding from the water’s dusky surface

reflect black on black in perfect symmetry

The drab sky blends with bare branches of birches and alders

still bereft of any semblance to July’s verdant greens

or October’s vibrant reds and yellows

Even the drab colors of the osprey that has taken over the eagle’s hunting ground

meld into the muted landscape  

proclaiming their rightful place

in this somber spectacle of slate colored scenery

Posted for dVerse poets open link night.

Glazing - aargh!

I just emptied the kiln from my latest glaze firing.  I've been hesitant to do a glaze firing because the last one I did was terribly unsuccessful.  The chun glaze came out whitish/cream colored and totally blistered.  The other glazes were blistered as well but not nearly as badly.  I realized that I had kind of rushed the firing - not waiting a full hour between turning the switches on.  In fact none of the witness cones (4, 5, and 6) even bent. So this time I waited a full hour and even an hour and 10 minutes on the last 3 switches.  I put the chun pieces back in hoping they might cure properly, to no avail.  The chun glaze actually flaked off to some extent.  The other glazes, mostly royal blue which has always been the most stable glaze one could ask for, even blistered.  I noticed it had done that previously but mostly when using porcelain clay.

The first few times I fired, pieces came out nicely, especially the royal blue.  I don't know why it's changed. So now I'm Googling and trying to figure out what the problem might be.

More vacation 2011 in photos

I took Tammy Trask out on The Cobb for her first kayaking paddle.  Gorgeous, hot day!   We hung out in the shade on the deck for a nice lunch and long chat after our expedition. 

The view paddling back to camp.  

The flowers are starting to fill in nicely.  

Geraniums.

As always, come July, the wild rice and duck weed are in full bloom

The marsh begins to look more marshy now that it's July.

The NitPickers playing at White's Beach Bluegrass Festival.  

Rick and I on a hike in Cobscook Bay State Park where we camped for a couple of days.

At the vista, looking east towards Canada I believe.

The easternmost point in the USA - West Quoddy Head Lighthouse.  I asked the clerk in the little store why it's "West" Quoddy Head but still the most "eastern" point in the US.  She said because East Quoddy Head Lighthouse is in Canada.  

The view from Lubec.  You can see the boat we chartered, The Lorna Doone, for a whale watching tour.  

East Quoddy Head Lighthouse with sardine weirs in the foreground.  

East Quoddy Head Lighthouse.  You can actually walk over to the lighthouse during low tide.  The tides there run between 20 and 50 feet!  

The wind was blowing madly at Liberty Point on Campobello Island so we thought we'd try to recreate the Cadillac Mountain photo I took of Rick a few years ago.  

Me at Liberty Point, Campobello Island.

Me picking rocks on the very rocky Raccoon Beach on Campobello Island.  I camped at this location as a senior in high school.  It was great to see it again.  

Returning to the USA.

Downtown Lubec.  We had dinner at a nice little restaurant overlooking the bay called Cohill's Inn.  

Popham Vacation 2011

We just returned from a very nice week at Popham Beach.  This is our third year of renting a little one room cottage overlooking Popham Beach.  We decided that next year we will bring our camper and use the campground like the rest of the NitPickers.  We only had the truck camper when we started going there and that's just not someplace we wanted to spend a week.  However, with our new 18 footer I think  we'll be pretty comfortable.  What I'll miss the most is the great view (which we won't have from the campground) and the nice deck.  However, the campground is about a third of the cost of the cottage so there's a lot to be said for that.

It was a little overcast and foggy on Sunday and Monday but it didn't rain and it kept the heat down a little.  Robert and Ame came down to visit on Monday, July 4th, and stayed for the fireworks.

Crystal and Rick - July 4, 2011

Robert, Ame, and Rick - 7-4-11

Robert - the Buddha

Sexy man coming out of the sea.

It was a pretty laid back week - spending days on the beach or the deck, reading, sleeping, a little swimming, walks, hanging with friends, and then most evenings spent with the NitPickers playing music.  We had dinner one night at Spinney's - not the greatest food or service but the only restaurant in the area.

June 17, 2011

I left work at 3:00 on Thursday and went directly to camp to kayak for a couple of hours before meeting up with Eddie to go to 223 for a benefit and then we went across the street to Cafe Bangkok for dinner.  We made a short stop at Hattie's and I got back to camp around 10:00.

I was woken early - like 4 a.m. - by several red squirrels chattering at each other over the seeds they discovered I'd put out yesterday.  If I'd been smart I'd have just shut the windows but instead I let them keep waking me up every half hour or so for the next 2 or 3 hours.  I finally gave up trying to sleep around 7 and took my tea and breakfast to the deck and enjoyed the sun.  I decided to forego a morning kayak paddle in order to run some errands so I went to the gym, stopped by Hannafords to get some groceries, and went to Harvey's to get some flowers but they were so unhealthy looking that I decided to wait.  I got back to camp and prepared all the planters and read for a couple of hours before Rick texted to say that he was on his way out.  So I took a quick shower and when he got there we went to The Fat Toad for a drink with Robert and Amy and then to The Mad Dog for dinner.  We made a quick stop in Hallowell and then went back to camp.

Saturday we went into Longfellow's Greenhouse and picked up the flowers and took them back and got them all planted.  Rick had also brought the lawnmower out so he mowed the lawn and things looked pretty nice.  We just hung out and read and Rick fished a bit.

We made barbecue for lunch but got a massive downpour just before dinner so had to improvise and make some baked spaghetti.

Pottery and Lilacs

Here's the fruit of the kiln from Monday's bisque firing.  I used underglazes on some of the pieces.  I've got a lot of glazing to do.  

I cut some lilacs from a tree out front of Chris and Sara's new apartment.  I'd been jonesing for some lilacs and the minute I saw their tree, knew I'd found a way to satisfy my craving.  I love lilacs!  We planted a couple of bushes last summer but only one flowered and I wasn't sure if I should cut the flowers yet as the bushes are still so small.  However, when I got home today I noticed one of the major branches of the bush had broken off - probably during the hail storm we'd had earlier, so I finished the break and cut the flowers and added them to my bouquet I'd gotten last night.  Our lilacs are a much brighter purple than the typical lilacs.  They are so beautiful and they smell so great when you walk into the house!

Memorial Day Weekend - 2011

I got home from camp about 10 a.m. on Friday to help Rick get the new camper hooked up to his truck, backed down our driveway, and packed up.  I anticipated the hooking and the backing part to be more difficult than it turned out to be.  It all went pretty smoothly and we got it all packed up and drove it out to Glen and Holly Bowman's in West Gardiner for their annual Memorial Day Weekend picking party.  No hired bands - just 50 or so campers, tents, etc., and lots of people hanging out and playing music all weekend, predominantly, though not exclusively, bluegrass music.  We had dinner plans with Lance and Regina - (Lance is new faculty at UMF) so our plans were to just set the camper up on the site with the rest of the band and head back home to get ready for dinner.  The weather started out drizzly but by the time we got to the site it was very hot, sunny, and humid.  

We got it set up and everything was go except the water didn't work.  There was water there, the pump was running, but the water just drizzled out of the faucets, at best.  We messed with it with help from Woody for a while without great results.  We knew if anyone could figure out what the problem was it would be this crew as they all have a great deal of experience with campers but we figured we'd bring back enough water for the weekend in case we couldn't figure it out.

We were hungry by then so decided to make a short stop at The Fat Toad to visit with Robert and have some lunch.  We were out of there within an hour, made a stop at The Evil Empire to get a new camp table (Rick stole last year's camp table for his music equipment in the new room) and some other things.  Got home in time to take a short snooze and showers and headed out to Hallowell about 5:30.

We met up with Regina and Lance at The Liberal Cup and had good conversation and a nice meal.  It was the first time I'd met either of them and it was fun getting to know them.  They were in town to find a home before heading back to Illinois on Monday.  Apparently they found a nice house on a small pond in Weld that they took a year's lease on.

After dinner we took them on a tour of Hallowell, walking down to the river, pointing out all the pubs along the way, showed them the interesting artistic display of junk down beyond The Wharf, stopped into The Wharf to briefly check out the early show, then walked back to Hoxter's and listened to Pat Pepin's band for a couple of beers.  We then went back to The Wharf for the later show with Stevie Jones' Dirigo Band and some more conversation.  We parted about 11 p.m.  I think they quite enjoyed the night out, as did we.

We were back at the campsite Saturday about noon and after a bit of tinkering, Richard discovered a plugged filter in the water line, removed it, and our water was working fine.  He's a genius!  They picked most of the afternoon and evening with lots of people stopping by, many with instruments, many just to listen.  We slept well in the camper and repeated the events on Sunday, making a nice dinner of spaghetti and Italian sausage and a bottle of Clos du Bois.  Somehow managed to stay up until about 3 a.m., slept well again, woke up Monday morning and headed back home.  Again, we were worried about having to back the camper back into its spot off the driveway but it went in there much slicker than anticipated.  Even the dumping of the poo into our septic system wasn't nearly as gross as we'd expected.  All in a day's work.

Rick mowed the lawn and then we watched Black Swan and the latest episodes of Treme and Game of Thrones we'd taped while away, and I ran a load of bisque in the kiln.  

Chris and Sara got the keys to their new apartment Tuesday afternoon so we took a truck load of their things up for them Tuesday night.  A nice college student's apartment - a little dingy, but spacious and a great location just a quarter mile from campus.

Friday, April 27th

I came out to camp Wednesday after work and a trip to the farmer’s market on the Gardiner Commons where I picked up some greens, fresh new baby carrots, fresh baked rye bread and a sweet zucchini bread.  Unpacked and put my things away, refilled the feeders with the last of the seed, and brushed down all the kayaks, some of which had been setting unused since fall.  It was very windy and the stream was fairly rough.  I went for a quick paddle across the stream to the marsh that is only accessible during early spring.  The water was much calmer there but there was little wildlife other than the red winged blackbirds singing and flitting around.

Justin and Keeley texted me they had arrived to kayak with me so I paddled back.  I was a little worried about Keeley going out for her first time in the windy conditions but we decided to give it a try.  By the time they got all sorted out with paddles and life preservers and got into the water the wind had died down some.  She caught on very well after a few tips.  We paddled downstream into the wind, keeping close to shore until we got to the narrower part of the stream and crossed over. Not a lot of wildlife about still except for a pair of loons playing further down the stream and a few of the other usual characters – red-winged blackbirds, swallows, etc.  On the way back there was a bald eagle overhead being harassed by a couple of osprey. 

We returned and the mosquitoes and black flies became very aggressive so Justin and Keeley headed home and I went inside and toasted a slice of rye bread, piled on some greens and cheese with a little mayo, the fresh baby carrots, and a Beck’s made a lovely dinner.  

I read for a while but the music from peepers and other unknown night critters serenaded me to sleep fairly early, waking to a foggy morning but a brightness overhead that promised some sun.  It became very windy by mid morning and stayed that way throughout the day.  I took another paddle around the osprey island and down to the early spring marsh returning to camp and my book for the reminder of the day and into the evening.  The poor little red squirrels are sitting on the squirrel box, empty of seeds as I only had enough to fill the bird feeders.  Occasionally they’ll jump to one of those but caution doesn’t let them remain there long.  I suspect Cobby (who was by last night) has been terrorizing them and keeping them on their toes. 

So it’s Friday morning and it feels like Sunday morning as I’ve been here for what feels like two days, not seeing a single person yesterday.  Nice.  I woke up a little before 5 and had to take some photos of the stark beauty.  I would love to stay a couple more days but other plans call.  We’re to load the new camper this morning and drive over to Glen and Holly Bowman’s for a weekend of bluegrass jamming.  It’s only a few minutes from camp so maybe I’ll escape back to my fortress of solitude here if the need arises.  I completely understand Rick’s love of bluegrass picking but it’s quite another thing if you have no musical talent and remain but a spectator.  I need to remember to bring my djembe out to camp where I can drum with only the non-judgmental critters as my audience.  

A heron video I took last Friday on The Cobb

A quiet little video of a heron out on The Cobb, on Friday the 13th of May, 2011.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAVDLNT3p_8

And here's a still of when he finally did take flight.

Here's another photo of him perched in a tree.

I got up early on Friday morning and cleaned up the studio from some glazing I'd done several days ago, wedged up some porcelain balls and threw six tumblers.  I then took a short nap and threw some stuff together and drove out to camp, stopping in Augusta to buy a Brita water filter pitcher.

Got to camp and filled the feeders and then jumped in the kayak.  I paddled for about 2 or 3 hours; went over in the cove across from camp and then down to the Route 126 bridge, and then back around the back of the islands where the osprey nest used to be.  That's where I took the video.  I came back to camp and put things away and headed back home to shower and get ready to go to Guthrie's.

I slept in late on Saturday and then spent a few hours cleaning, sweeping and washing the kitchen floor, vacuuming, dusting, laundry, etc.  Rick had to go up to campus for graduation.   Sara graduated but the ceremony was held inside and tickets were scarce so I didn't attend.  It was nice to stay home alone, even though I spent most of the time cleaning.  Once Rick got home we spent most of the afternoon and evening watching movies.

This morning I got up before 5 a.m. and went up to the studio to trim the tumblers I'd thrown on Friday. I also put up the rest of my pottery collage posters.

I thought we had a graduation party for Sara today but found out about 10 a.m. that the party is next Sunday.  That was a big relief because I really just wanted to vegetate, which is basically what I ended up doing.    I did actually get around to painting these tumblers I'd made a couple weeks ago with underglazes.

Loons, Eagles, and Assholes

Discovered Friday morning that our neighbor somehow managed to get a building permit to build a house on a beach front lot to which 40+ families in the Tobey Development have a right of way.  We dealt with this issue two years ago at the Planning Board and they agreed that the ordinance did not permit a home to be built on the lot.  Somehow, under the cover of secrecy, he managed to slither back in this spring and get the permit.  We'll be consulting with an attorney tomorrow to see if there is recourse.

Friday was a beautiful day but I couldn't stand to sit on my deck and listen to the construction noise as they further raped the beach front lot with more tree cutting and digging.  So we decided to take some supplies to camp so that we could go back out there Saturday afternoon to spend our first night.

We went to Danielle and Shawn's adoption party Saturday and headed right out to camp afterwards.  Unfortunately it started raining just as we left the party and was still raining when we got to camp.  We hung out for a bit and by 5 p.m. the sun was out and the wind had died down.  So we unloaded the kayaks and went for a paddle.

As soon as we got to the other side of the stream we saw this beautiful juvenile eagle perched high in a tree.

We explored around the area for a while and noticed some dark clouds moving in so headed back to camp.  About half way there we came across a couple of very vocal loons and I took this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7PYrfBD3L4

Deck furniture returns

I enjoyed a nice Sunday around the house, cleaned the studio and then had our first barbecue of the season.  Rick brought the table and chair set from the cottage and Jared helped him with the grill.  Justin and Keeley came over for hot dogs, hamburgers, and salad.  Keeley made a delicious chocolate and vanilla pudding pie.  

I don't think we had the deck at this time last year.  It makes spring feel like it comes earlier because it's so much warmer up there off the snowy ground.  

There's still more than 2 feet of snow off the front of the deck.  It had been in the high 60s or low 70s earlier in the day but got pretty chilly by the time we finished dinner. Came inside and lit some logs in the fireplace.  

Yesterday I did a bisque firing using a cone 04 in the kiln sitter.  It fired for about 6 hours before the kiln sitter shut it down.  The bottom witness cones were 05 06 07 and the 05 and 06 bent fairly well.  The witness cones on the top two shelves practically dissolved, leaving parts of the cones on the shelves.  Guess those two shelves are hotter than the bottom one.

Pottery Notes: Second Successful Glaze Firing

I had been having trouble with the kiln.  I tried to fire it twice last weekend and neither worked properly.  I foolishly discovered that I had mixed up which was off and which was on for the switches, so I was starting with it completely on and gradually turning it off.

I figured it out by opening the lid and and starting from scratch and watching the elements come on as I turned the switches.  We also used it to heat the garage up so that we could work out there.  

We cleaned the garage and then built shelves for the new kitchen pantry.  I love how much it holds and it really helps in decluttering the kitchen.  

So after we finished working in the garage I loaded the kiln and started it about 5 p.m. and it was done firing by about 11:30.  I think the pieces came pretty nice, mostly.

Left is brown clay with true celadon and underglazes; center is porcelain with true celadon;
and right is also true celadon on porcelain.

Tumblers with oil spot glaze.

Two tumblers on the right are seaweed glaze.  They look rather
metallic - much like a raku firing, but more controlled. The tumbler on the left is Vert Lustre outside, shino inside with shino dripped on outside.  I really like that combo and think I'll use it for the teapot I made Charlie. 

Royal blue with chun plum and true celadon. Really nice combo.

These all have true celadon.  Much darker on the dark clay.  I'm not
sure why the two porcelain pieces look so differently.

Various underglazes with blue rutile glaze inside.

Teddy bear brown underglaze with colored underglazes on top.  I ended up giving this and some other pieces to a
colleague who was collecting things for her friend who was moving into a new apartment after having been in a
homeless shelter for a  year.  

Te

Royal blue and root beer glaze. Definitely not my favorite.  This royal blue is so much lighter than the royal blue on the small mug above.  I usually do a full 3 coats but I may have dipped the mug. . . hmmm... I really liked the way that came out better.

Teapot I finished building today.  The Chinese
letters are supposed to say Life

I made it for Charlie and got the Chinese letters from his book which in full
is called Life Lines but I decided to just use Life.

These are 4, 5, and 6 cones.  There was a Cone 8 in the kiln sitter and it clearly
got up to Cone 4, and just touched on Cone 5 I'd say.