Is it Spring Yet?

While I generally love winter, I'm finding myself longing for the sun and some warmth.

Not much more for today, just a reminder that it is still winter here in our northern clime -- something we should enjoy despite the temptation otherwise.  

Poems Without Names

At the very end of May, Chase Hill Folk celebrated the goddess Saga (the goddess of poetic inspiration, among other things).  Being so soon after Rites of Spring, I had been working on a short poem about my experience with one of the rituals there, and decided to offer it at the Sage blot.  I've never worked in this kind of poetic form before, so it was exciting to try.  As I shared it with my local community, I thought I'd post it for my broader community as well.

So here it is (in its currently title-less state) -- enjoy.

-Adam

Heavy, thick days ahead

filled with expectation, packed to the brim.

Secretly empty, silently changeable.

Mystery waits for untrained eyes,

new sights and sounds and feeling,

growing and shrinking the light within,

pushing and pulling, looking for instinct

and stumbling.

Dark crows the night

where creatures awake and tell their tales.

Energy from below and within cracks and cackles,

howling with fear and crying with laughter.

A flower, the clay of earth, the embers deep within.

Fleeing, fleet of foot, paws pounding earth,

finding what once was home.

Familiar.

Frightful shines the light from mechanical monsters,

stolen away to dreadful ends

hiding tree to rock.

The sound stops.

Walking slow, soundless,

will anything hear the steps with the rain upon the leaves

and streams overflowing?

Quiet approach, but no prey, only isolation.

The steps up to an empty shell that do no creek.

Wet wool comforts in heavy air,

thick with frozen breath and anticipation –

– no, apprehension.

Is the end inevitable?

Could it continue, long enough to break normal and set free, but lost?

The chant of reality pulls back,

struggling and kicking, like the drop after addiction.

Exasperation and exhaustion – the tortured moment before the bandage comes off.

And when it's gone, it still lingers.

The liminal space calls.

It stands, waiting for a trip and a fall – a miscalculation or relapse.

But the mask is off, and the water is cold.

Shape is solid.

For now.   

Snow Juggling

A nice snowy distraction...
    and some fun learning how to make animated GIFs with GIMP in Ubuntu.

Yeah, I know, geek geek geek....

Ye Olde Benche (Additional e's Make It Medieval)

The necessity:  A bench that is medieval in design and construction, durable and weather-resistant, and completely collapsible.

The challenge:  A bench that can be made with medieval hand tools.  And, what the heck, uses mortise and tenon joinery.  

The product:

Now, I didn't make this bench with medieval hand tools -- but I could.  And, if I can put together a good enough inventory of period tools, I will.  The design is simple in concept, but I've never made a piece of furniture that relies entirely on mortise and tenons for strength.  After some consultation with a good friend, the plans came about quickly:

The mortises were easy to mark and cut with a square and chisel, and the measurements transferred well to the tenons on the side panels.  Each side panel has its own mortise for the crosspiece, as well as a gothic arch at the feet.  The crosspieces have round mortises and wedges.  All of the joints come apart to collapse, but won't fall apart in use.  

The first bench had passable mortises.  The second, made today, had substantial improvements.

There is a risk of the 5/4 pine splitting when fitting the tenons (which happened -- during the initial assembly).  Unfortunately, pine is not very forgiving on the cross-grain.  However, a few pieces of pine attached across the grain -- glued and pegged -- did the trick.  The end product is a fully collapsible bench without a single piece of metal.

If all goes well, these benches will be available for purchase at the Ironwood Artisans' booth all summer long.  Stop by if you're interested!  Check out our website (www.ironwoodartisans.com) for a schedule of our shows.  Also, make note that we are now selling products through our website!  

I'll be perfecting this bench design over the next few weeks.  Perhaps, soon, I'll be building them by hand at shows.

Until then, Cheers!

Seeds of Spring

It's here -- unmistakably.

Fifty and sixty degree weather has descended upon us, even on this cold westward hill in Southern Vermont. It's so warm, in fact, I bought a cherry tree yesterday. I can't help but think about planting in the garden and mowing down the old flower stocks from last fall. But not yet!

LESSONS IN GARDENING:

In our climate, we can't afford to wait for seeds to start in the soil outside; at least, not all of them. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and a host of other plants must be started indoors for any measure of successful harvest. Others -- such as peas, spinach, lettuce, chard, and carrots -- don't mind a little chill in the air (and honestly do better without the heat of the summer sun). To any naysayers who proclaim that Vermont is to cold for most plants: cheer up! Plants just need a bit of a boost to get going.

But, before even the cold weather crops can be started in the garden, it must be dry. Tilling in a wet garden changes the soil composition, and in any case, it would be a mucky mess. That's why I have to wait until the soil is drained, and slightly warmer.

Until then, I'll be starting seeds for the warm-weather crops, and crossing my fingers for dry days ahead (I can't wait for snap peas!). For those who aren't keen on starting from seed, I suggest going to the farm market for seedlings. There are plenty of farms in our area that start wonderful seedlings, and I end up buying a few even though I start from seed (some plants are harder to grow than others, and I only have so much time....).

It's unusual working in the garden in March. But, you'll hear no complaints from me. I'm just looking out for that errant cold snap that's sure to come between now and the frost-free date (usually in May).

Until then, happy seeding.

Ironwood Artisans

I've been spending a bunch of time OVER HERE:

www.ironwoodartisans.com

...if everyone is wondering why I haven't posted in half a year. Oh, and full time job as well. In any case, we've just recently updated our website, and we have lots of goodies for those who want gifts for the holidays!

(This is the sort of stuff that's been taking up my time. Cute, eh?)
But, I've still got a billion projects going at once -- and I'll try my best to post them.

Until then, Happy Holidays!

Brooks House Fire

Here are some pictures of the big Brooks House fire in downtown Brattleboro on Sunday night. Here's a link to the Commons article, which is really quite good:

I have some new pictures to post of Rhinebeck, NY, and some other fun things. Hopefully, I'll get to them in a few days.