time out

after the giddy excitement of having my work accepted 

by a rather lovely store in Los Angeles

it was good to retreat 

to the woods and shores of Haystack in order to be a quiet student

thinking about traces and marks

under the guidance of Helen Carnac

the weather varied from almost tropical

to cool fogs and mists

there was time to walk barefoot in the woods

and to eat wild strawberries

i will admit to cooking up the odd brew after hours

there were lovely rust marks on the steel plate

that appeared overnight after i left some fern fronds 

resting on it

light-and-shadow drawings

and the enchanting Maine coast landscape, those rocks

perfect for drawing and dreaming in the daytime

and

at night, the best place to lie back companionably

gazing up at the heavens and the shooting stars

or marvelling at the fireflies below

all the while listening to the lick and curl, slap and splash 

of the incoming tide meeting the small waterfall

that chuckled its way down the hill

through the bog

and out from under the tree roots

to the rocks and the shore

+  +  +

i filled an entire journal

stitching in extra pages

and

even having to let out its waistband