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.

Ironwood Artisans

We're preparing for the big upcoming festival season over in the land of Ironwood Artisans! If you haven't heard of us, take a gander at our recently updated website: www.ironwoodartisans.com . Trevor and I were two of the original partners last September, and the business has taken off to new heights since then! It's exciting (and scary) to be involved with the business world, but with good friends and lots of help from fellow merchants, we've managed to navigate our way through a number of shows and festivals.

We're currently preparing for a number of Renaissance festivals and pagan festivals, and in the process, had to take pictures of 'the Artisans'. Here is our classical, dour photograph:

...and a picture of the lovely ladies:

Of course, we can smile, too:

...and when we're pulling an all-nighter to get ready for the show....

More pictures to come in the next few weeks. For more Ironwood related photos, check out our website or find us on Facebook.

Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging.
-Adam

The Weight of Water

Once again, we've had another ice storm on our mountain -- beautiful when the sun comes out, dangerous when the wind blows. Luckily, most of the deadwood fell in the ice storm of '08, so this one wasn't as damaging. Just a few power lines down, and no one severely hurt. Of course, it was very isolated -- just like the storm in '08. Ten minutes east down Route 9, and there wasn't a trace of ice. Just rain. I love micro climates.

Lucier Road

Path to the Cabin

Allison's Yard, West View

Driveway and Guineahen Coop

Here's to the coming of spring.

Peace out,
-Adam

Sugaring Season Again

Yesterday, we stared putting up buckets hoping for the first few drops of sap from the sugar maples this year. This will be the second year we sugar (though, I'm not sure if I can use sugar as a verb), and I'm very excited to see how well we do. Last year, we made just over two quarts of maple syrup of varying grades, and I hope to make at least one gallon this year.

A number of people have asked me how to produce maple syrup, and I'd thought I'd give a quick run-through of the process. Very simply, you take raw sap from the sugar maple tree (Acer saccharum)* and boil it until it reaches the consistency of syrup. You have to get the sap (tapping the tree), transport the sap to a pot or evaporator, filter our impurities, and then boil off the excess water.

*now, you can use sap from other trees, but the sugar maple has one of the highest sugar to water ratios -- about forty gallons of sap makes one gallon of syrup. By contrast, the red maple sap has much more water, making a ratio of 80:1. Still tastes the same, but takes much more work.*

For a small operation like ours up on the mountain, we have ten taps, ten 5-gal. buckets, and a few big pots that sit on the wood stoves. However, some of the larger sugaring operations in the area use taps with rubber hoses that transport sap to a collection tank, and they use a special shed with large steel pans and wood heat to evaporate the water. Some people still prefer the old galvanized metal buckets, and go around to collect the sap with their tractors.

To tap the tree, we drill a small hole through the bark into the living part of the tree, and then hammer a hollow metal tap into the hole. We hang our plastic buckets on the tap, and check them every two days (or so). After we get the sap, we filter it through cheesecloth, and then boil it in every large pot we can scavenge from the kitchen. After a few hours, we are left with warm, fresh maple syrup (and nothing compares to fresh maple syrup -- nothing).

After the maple sugar season, Trevor and I hope to tap some birches and attempt to make birch beer. Luckily, it requires most of the same equipment as maple sugaring and brewing cider or mead. I'll be sure to post our progress with both experiments.

Soon, it'll be time for mud season and prepping the garden. Until then, we'll have to settle for sugar and snow.

A Progression of Photos

If you happen to be on Facebook, take a gander at my new album of cabin photos. It's a progression of photos from the beginning of construction in May 2oo9 to the completion in December 2010. It's stunning how far this small plot of land has changed in just two years. Now with the cabin done, our focus will be on the land around the cabin -- pathways, trails, gardens, wildflower plots, and other features. I can't wait to get started! Unfortunately, flowers don't grow well in snow....

Here's a parting shot just for kicks and giggles:



***ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 1/12/2011

For those who don't have access to Facebook, you can see the pictures through a public link here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2006835&id=161600417&l=8b6331a0f7

Enjoy!

A Wolf with Red Eyes

Like a green maple leaf or a white snowflake, the overused symbols of nature remind me of a card shop – glossy photos of beautiful landscapes captured on heavy card stock and printed with catchy phrases or notes of love, thanks, happiness, or grief. In some ways, I can connect to them and understand that in that instant, those photos were of a real time and place – beautiful, remote, or even dangerous. But more often, I associate them with heavily-scented candles, boxes of mid-quality chocolate, fluorescent lights, and soft jazz music.

I promise this narrative is leading to the profound thoughts I had just before New Year's Eve. Reflections, even, that inspired me to record important events throughout the past year. But before I can reflect, it is my duty as a writer to inform the reader that these reflections are like the glossy images on Hallmark cards: selective pictures of a dynamic, moving landscape. Pictures can lie by hiding the whole truth, and so will I. But I trust you, the reader, can understand why I choose to condense and edit my past year.

Early in 2010, I found myself living in a half-completed cabin, struggling with broken wood stoves and drafty doors. Trevor and I had no running water, and we woke up to 40 degrees – curled up under four blankets with two dogs. We luckily found a new wood stove, and as the sunlight crept back from the solstice, our cabin became more habitable. I looked forward to a summer where the cabin would be finished.

At the same time, I fulfilled a dream of becoming a certified Emergency Medical Technician. The class was deadly boring, but the experience with the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Company was invaluable, and continues to be to this day. Sometimes, the experiences are silly, or routine – fire alarms, down power lines, or unusual events at Vermont Yankee. Sometimes, the experiences are hard. Car accidents, medical patients, deaths – to name a few. For the first time ever, I performed CPR on a woman, and though we worked for what seemed an eternity to start her heart, she died. In short, it changed my perceptions of death in this world, and I understand the hardships of those who try their best to save a dying life.

Spring saw renewed work on the cabin, and the construction progressed quickly. The siding was finished, paperwork went to the state for running water, trim was completed, and rooms formed from utilitarian boxes to cozy and comfortable living spaces. For the first time in my life, I learned to tap maple trees and Allison, Trevor, and I collected many gallons of sap to make a half-gallon of maple syrup. Fresh syrup from the boiling pot has a flavor that cannot be matched by anything in the store. It was a sweet adventure. And speaking of sweet, I ventured into the world of Julia Child, successfully making her famous Chocolate Mousse and croissants.

I also learned many lessons in fixing cars and trucks, and wandered further into the world of electricity – a fascinating and fun way to spend work hours. The workshop started to form into a reasonable shape, and the unthinkable occurred: Allison's basement was cleaned!

The summer saw more cabin work, sawing wood, splitting wood, and occasionally good healthy fun (such as caving and climbing up marble-carved waterfalls). I also had the pleasure of meeting a small gray fox from only ten feet away – a beautiful wild creature. I was lucky enough to get photos, and meet with a good neighbor who I had never really known.

The end of the summer saw the formation of a new small business of which I am a partner, Ironwood Artisans, and the return of a good friend, Edwin, from China. It also saw the departure of another close friend: Ashley, who ventured to the west coast to play in the woods. I miss him still. The cabin continued to take shape, though the water was delayed for longer than expected.

Over the summer, I had added many new woodworks to my repertoire: kitchen counters, cabinets, jewelry boxes, chessboards, board games, bull-roarers, custom bookshelves, cutting boards, wind chimes, and others. I feel that in 2010, my woodworking skill starting moving from amateur to semi-professional. I am especially happy that I could achieve this. Papa Katrick, wherever you are, I hope you are proud. I certainly couldn't have done it without you.

I would also like to say that I have a greater appreciation of the hazards of table saws. That is all.

I rediscovered music, and have since picked up my trumpet again and fiddled with random sheet music. I occasionally played with the guitar, a new (to me) mandolin, tin whistle, didgeridoo, and, surprisingly, my voice. I pulled out my watercolors, and managed to sketch a few pictures. I have taken more photographs, and started to learn the basics of photography.

On the other end of the spectrum, Trevor and I raised Guineahens, and planted a very successful garden. The tomatoes overwhelmed us, and we had more squash than we could cook. Mint, sage, strawberries, carrots, peas, and peppers overflowed in our small plot. We agreed last year: the 2011 garden will be bigger and better. I have full faith that it will.

We also experimented with fermentation again, and I successfully made a dry hard cider that I have been enjoying very much. Trevor made juniper mead, which is aging gracefully under the kitchen cabinet. I hope to make raspberry cider in the new year, and Trevor wants to try gooseberry mead.

In raising poultry, I found the necessity to learn how to shoot a gun. I've since practiced with rifles and handguns, and it has changed my perception of firearms. Soon, I will be in the market for a .22 or a 30/30 so that Trevor and I can protect our livestock. I have also experienced the awful necessity of shooting predators by clipping the wing of a Barred owl who had attacked one of our hens. I hope the owl survived, but I also hope she finds a new hunting ground. My next shot will be more accurate.

I found more time to reconnect with family, but not enough, and I hope to more in the upcoming year. Trevor and I took a week-long vacation, and it was perhaps the most relaxed I have felt in years. It's hard to realize how hard I've pushed myself until I stop. The next month, We entered into the National Novel Writing Month to attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days. I am happy to say that Trevor succeeded at his goal, and is on his way to writing a new novel. I didn't reach 50,000, but I did pull out an old story and started a new. By the end of the month, I had totaled 12,000 words.

The beginning of December was filled with craft shows for Ironwood Artisans, and the middle of the month was a flurry of plumbing and electrical work on the cabin. I can now say that the cabin, having started in May 2009, is finally finished. Of course, there's still a few bits of trim here and there, but trim work is perpetual – kind of like dusting or washing the windows. I am happy to be living in a complete home with my boyfriend, two dogs, and a wonderful warm woodstove.

Now that I have taken you on this wandering and incomplete adventure through 2010, I hope you aren't too lost or bored. It is, in essence, and exercise for me to remember the many things that happened over the last year. I hope to remember them and learn from them to make my 2011 even better. I have much hope that it will be. Though the last year is still a collection of glossy, card stock memories, I have a dynamic and moving life in front of me and ahead of me. I will do my best of absorb it all – and take advantage of everything this beautiful place called Vermont has to offer.

Happy New Year.

It's almost here...

Ten minutes until I enter the depths of my novel -- a world after death, before the afterlife. Garm, Barry, Faelis, and others will be there, waiting for someone's last breath. Wish me luck!

Woodstove Season

Leaves are hanging on trees by thready stems in southern VT; the last rainstorm brought many of the yellow and red decorations down to the ground, collecting in the culverts and ditches beside the dirt roads. It's most certainly woodstove season again. The nights are chilly, and the last flowers are dying back. The asters and mums adorning our front stairs still show bright yellow, orange, and purple, but the marigolds are fading fast as well as the other summer perennials.

As the growing season ends, building season winds down with it. There is still work to be done, but my friends and I are working at a more casual pace. The temptation of sitting by the fire and knitting is much more difficult to resist, especially when the alternative is crawling around under the cabin in the cold. But, it needs to be done!

The cabin is coming along nicely. The crawlspace is 1/2 closed-in, and we have a new deck out back. The front porch is screened in, and the mudroom is cleaner than it has been in a long time. The loft is done, the living room is done, Trevor's study is done (and beautiful), and the kitchen is very close to being done. I'm nearly finished with the 6' counter to install as an 'island'.

Plumbing and septic work is taking time, but it is out of my hands, so it's not nearly as stressful. State paperwork is a bear to work with, but is a necessary evil. We'll be gifted with a full bathroom, a working kitchen sink, and both hot and cold water. Possibly, we'll even have one or two outside spigots! Trevor and I are eager to be able to cook in our kitchen for the first time with running water. Mmmm, the scones, pies, pasties, and stews will be wonderful.

The activities of the last couple months have been numerous, and would be a chore to remember -- but the highlights include building a tree house in the Marlboro forest, becoming Coyote to tell myths and stories to new students, becoming a partner in the new business Ironwood Artisans (go see our work at www.ironwoodartisans.com !), learning to shoot a rifle, exploring old barns in the area, and visiting with a local fox. I'm sure I've forgotten a bunch of things in there, but I'll write about them some other day.

In the meantime, enjoy some pictures:

Trevor's Completed Study, North and East Walls
Trevor's Completed Study, South and East Walls

The Back Deck in Process of being Completed

My First Completed Chessboard (I didn't make the pieces -- but aren't they pretty?)

The Foundation Wall on the East Wall.

The foundation walls are complete on the East and West, and have been covered in shiplap and insulated with rigid foam. Hopefully, it will keep the underside of the cabin much warmer (especially because there will be plumbing under there!).

I don't have many pictures of the inside of the cabin at the moment, but I will work on taking more so I can share them in this blog.

In the meantime, peace out.

Old Memories

I came across some old 35mm photos in my computer this evening. They were from the summer of 2006 -- photos I had taken from my Minolta manual, but hadn't developed until much later. They are a bit grainy, and the color is a bit off, but they are memories, nonetheless. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Raven and Sabertooth from Mission:Wolf

Stone circle, "Goblin's Dance", revisited in late August 2006

Lightning storm in Colorado

The old power house at Staatsburg House near Rhinebeck, NY

Gardener's shed at Staatsburg House

I may go through some of my old wolf photographs and post a few, as I have nearly 1000, and I only have shared maybe 20 or 30. I haven't had a place or a reason to pull them out since I finished with my plan at Marlboro College, but some of them are very pretty, and I'd love to make prints of them someday. Perhaps when I obtain a color printer. In the meantime, I hope everyone can enjoy them digitally.

Peaceful dreams,
-Adam

August Arrives

August has finally rolled around, and with it come tomatoes, squash, cool nights in the 40's, and clear starry skies. As usual, I'm staying as busy as ever, but I long for a relaxing week of reading and sipping lemonade. We can all dream, can't we? Things are progressing, however, and the cabin is looking more beautiful than ever. The living room and kitchen have been completed, and there are books on the bookshelves and blankets on the window seat. The mudroom is done, but full of furniture and boxes awaiting their new home. The loft is close to completion, only needing a few coats of polyurethane and some cabinets. The only rooms left are Trevor's study and the bathroom. Soon we'll have a house!

My life has been full of distractions, which in some ways have been welcome, but in others have been stressful. I like the occasional day of trail work to take me away from construction and cabinetmaking, but what I really need is an afternoon of music and online games, or a walk in the woods with Shadow. The fire department has been stressful, as usual, and not as gratifying as it was in the past. But these things change, and sooner or later, I will feel more fulfilled. I have spent a great deal of time in therapy, and it has made my life calmer and sensible, but I really need to spend more time working on myself and my mind to be happier, less anxious, and more complete. I have been spending a lot of time with friends and acquaintances, but I could be doing a better job connecting with those people and listening to them. So many things to work on, but so little time. Such is life.

There have been happier moments, though too rare for my taste. Card games late at night with friends, food spontaneously made from the garden, or trips downtown with Trevor for tea make me much happier. Or, ever popular, Shadow's bath time:


For now, I'll hope for more completion of lingering projects, more time for relaxation and friends, and definitely, more puppy hugs.

Summertime, but the Livin' Ain't Always Easy

Not too many words today -- just pictures:

living room -- almost complete

exhaustion

new guineahen coop

before...

...after

Roof for a commissioned arbor

trim details...

Cheers.