the solace of north

i've been wandering

northwards

taking some visitors to country

that is quite unlike the place where they live

it's a long way there

but worth the trek

my role was driver and camp cook

and keeper of the flame

feeding the wood stove in the kitchen 

and the donk that heats the water for the showers

[the visitors very kindly took on the washing up]

but in between i still found time for writing

and for drawing on and with country

on the seventh day

i left the visitors in Port Augusta

to make their way to other things

and went north again

this time a little west

past a lake of crystal salt

for a few days quiet work at the Observatory

where i found

six contributions for the Solace project

already awaiting me

all the way from the UK and the USA

as well as closer to home

brought to you by infinicam ARP-6082

it's been most heartening to read the comments on the previous post
as well as those over on my FarceBook page
[for those who haven't yet dipped a toe into the water, you have until December 13 to do so]
all of which encourage me to keep poking at the keypad
in the hope that words will form and flock together

i managed to create order from chaos +
restrain my belongings sufficiently to allow them passage on a plane
leaving Portland behind
where i had enjoyed not only the precious gift of time
[you'll find some of the results here, beautifully documented by my friend Christi]
but also enjoyed a life very different to the one i lead at home
where everything other than the post office is at least 30 minutes away by car
which encompassed
walking to the store to buy food
having frequent dinners with friends [and cooking for them at mine]
and wandering Portland on foot [fabulous bridges and more of them than you can point a forked stick at]

and now
via two blissful nights in San Francisco
[you really appreciate a queen sized bed when you have slept for six weeks in a single where your feet hang over the end]

i wandered to a favourite hill
found a heart in my pocket [thank you Sandra]

and hung it on a tree
[the one in the middle of the first photo]

a little later i wrote a poem about it
other people have left hearts not far away too

and my friend r tells me that Tony Bennett
was in SF just last week
eating [but not singing] at his favourite restaurant
that's ok
i sang it for myself.
and another one for the heart.

i gathered leaves
at a place where i know i will always find them

wandered down to Aquatic Park
had a quiet talk with some stones i know there

and left them to the incoming tide

yesterday morning i reluctantly gathered my bits again
picked up a rental car
and motored northwards

on the way i met a man
tall, sturdy, silent type.

i liked his kitbag
[that nice boy over at Whipping+Post makes a similar one]

i stopped at a railway line
to collect dogspikes for the class

made a silly self pawtrait

and kept on going
until i reached the ocean

i have arrived in Fort Bragg for the ultimate class of the year
[please see definition '1' here if confused by that pronouncement]
slept encircled by redwoods
where i am now consuming a most excellent breakfast

a salad of organically grown mixed leaves
smoked wild caught salmon
chopped green onions
a tomato
a handful of pepitas
dressed with greek yoghurt
salt
hot sauce

washed down with black coffee

and now it's time to go to work!

making for Hay while the sun shone

on my day off between the class in the mill valley

and pootling northward to Bonny Scotland [it is]

i was taken under the wing[s] of my friends Sally and Ben

and spirited in a magical four-wheeled jellybean

to Hay on Wye

described here most succinctly by someone else

and below in pictures

you can turn your whirled upside down

or

buy a basket full of bambis [eek]

or beetle time to the music

while wearing a crown of light

find a treasure in one of the bazillion bookshops

 and if you are hungry

eat lovely tapas at Tomatitos on Lion Street

and then pootle along a skyroad

for a quick photoshoot

with garments from "now" and "then"

thank you Sally for your patience!

then

it was nose for north

and now

i'm off to work

a sad farewell to a pair of good friends and an apology

there have been only three times in the last decade that i have cancelled a professional engagement. it isn't something i do lightly or without a great deal of consideration.

the first time occurred when two emails arrived; the first from the workshop host telling me that although the class was booked out he would only be paying me half my fee due to "unforseen financial difficulties" [meaning that not even my airfare would be covered] and the second was from a student-to-be in that same class telling me how excited she was to be sharing a room with me for the duration of the event. gulp.

the second was for private reasons, too complicated to be listed here.

the third; my taking advantage of the clause in the contract that allows either party to cancel the agreement at any time up to 30 days prior to the event, took place over a month ago after i had wrestled with flight bookings for the MISA class just passed and realised that there was a very real chance of finding myself stranded somewhere in the dark instead of arriving in good spirits and fine form ready to teach at Lopez Island in September.

now that i have actually been to Madeline Island i am glad i listened to my inner Border Collie. 

the island is very pretty and reminds me strongly of Latvia. lilacs and peonies abound, the road verges are bursting with wildflowers and strawberries, fireflies and owls bring entertainment to the dark, the dyepots produced amazing greens and my students were a joy to spend time with : but the process of getting there tried me somewhat. delayed inward flights, no less than three gate changes at Minneapolis airport [B to C to D - i think i've had the full tour now] before arriving at Duluth and a long journey in the back seat of a shuttle [during which my knees informed me that i'm not the spring chicken i once was] have vindicated the decision. [ my preferred mode of surface travel is in a car with me at the wheel and with a stop for wandering and wondering and leg-stretching about every 45 minutes ]

 

i'm truly sorry for the inconvenience and disappointment the cancellation has caused those students who signed up for the Fall class but when push comes to shove, the Lopez Islanders did book me first and do have a right to expect me to arrive on time and unflustered. just to get back to Minneapolis took more than half a day...and i had only allowed a day to travel between Madeline and Lopez. with not one but two ferries and three or four plane trips involved i could see disaster looming large on the horizon. all it takes is one good storm or one missed connection and it all goes down the gurgler. my fault entirely for wanting to accommodate as many folk as possible and for over-estimating my capabilities.

 

 the folks at MISA asked me to write to students and explain myself

- i figured it was best done here where it wouldn't get lost in translation.  

+ + +

and what is that picture of the boots about?

 

they became infested with a breeding colony of chiggers during my stay on the island and i was forced to abandon them in San Francisco. squirting the insides with insect repellent didn't quell the libidinous enthusiasm of the tiny terrors and so i had to leave my trusty friends behind.

sadly my command of Spanish was not adequate to explain to the kindly housekeeping person at the Kabuki that these boots harboured unpleasant surprises. i do hope she didn't try them on. if they sit in a Goodwill sorting shed for long enough, maybe those chiggers will have shuffled off this mortal coil -  i really couldn't risk bringing them home and introducing a new pest to Australia -

i'll spare you the image of what they've done to my leg but i can assure you i won't be exposing the bare flesh of my calves anytime soon.

...we don't want to frighten the children...

the last 9 hours before the pond hop

on the beach at San Gregorio

no stones, so i piled driftwood

a favourite winding road

California poppies wild in California

Pacifica

i spend my last nine hours in California revisiting favourite haunts

driving familiar roads that take me back in time

stacking wood and then some stones - that pale one on the top

came in my pocket from Drakes Beach, near Point Reyes

and 

the third one down

was found perfectly split

i had a perfect and ridiculously cheap lunch

at the small taqueria that occupies part of the gas station

at Pescadero

across from the thrift store where i found a number of cashmere sweaters #

my friend Claudia gave me this white stretchy dress

one of a new series she is working on

it has great shape

and fabulous pockets

i stitched around the neckline while waiting for flights

[it won't stay white for very much longer]

there was an all too brief stop in Auckland
followed by a fabulous view of beautiful Awhitu

and then after a few more hours i was home
where someone was waiting
[and immediately took up her position on the suitcase]

+    +    +    +    +    +    +    +    +

#  to be transformed into a big sloppy-joe/hoodie arrangement

with a big pocket across the front for my hands to meet in

and perhaps a tiny silk pocket on the back, just in case of notes.

i need something warm and soft and comfy for cool evenings