Monday, September 30, 2013
Herring Creek Fall Rendezvous Part I
Cool in the glowing shade
Of the sun blessed trembling aspen groves
Most still green sleeved
But soon to turn
Slight breeze blows
Across recently fallen snow drifts
Lingering and hanging on
Against the fading summer
In rimrock ledges of ancient volcanoes
With greetings of joy
And the good tidings to soon come
Low sun and long shadows
Hang around longer these days
Creating atmospheres and longings to join them
Calling
Asking quietly to gather together
From near and far
To enjoy harvests
And build blazes against the oncoming cold
And relish in the relaxation of the night
As the long awaited preparations are done
Let the hours of play
Wash away the toils
As the long shadows welcome you in
Northern and Southern California Bushcrafters gathered together at Herring Creek below Sonora Pass this weekend. 17 or something like that members of Bushcraft USA showed up. It was a pleasure to see familiar faces again and to meet new ones. Thanks to everyone for the good times.
Who needs figure four deadfall when you've got Barbie booby trap quicksand?
continued...............
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Finished a Few Sheaths
Finished these sheaths today.
Jersey mask, Connecticut mask, and MP Bowie sheath.
Thanks to J from J Leather on Bushcraft USA and all the other leather crafters on there for the ideas.
Got to hand it to you guys who make flawless sheaths. This stuff is much harder than it looks.
Jersey mask, Connecticut mask, and MP Bowie sheath.
Thanks to J from J Leather on Bushcraft USA and all the other leather crafters on there for the ideas.
Got to hand it to you guys who make flawless sheaths. This stuff is much harder than it looks.
Monday, September 23, 2013
For a Moment Far Above
The glint of light in the eye
That flashes eagle's mind
Soon as he crests the mountain ridge
Granite spired and jumbled blocked
The wind that fans
Through eagle's feathers
Cool thrust driving throughout
As he wheels and banks towards Tamarack Lake
Gliding low over the marsh land meadow
Now muted but still green with life
From the new autumn melding
With summer's fading grace
Small ribbon of a stream
Meandering its way through the marsh
Now directly under eagle
His reflection keen on the glassy surface
When sudden burst of wing
As the stream abruptly falls
Sending thousands of crystal sun reflections
Tinkling softly ringing towards the ripples upon the lake
Over the mistings and splashings
Rejoicing in the glory of far falling waters
Eagle crests the cliff
With a swift sweep of tail feathers
Climbs sharply as the lake now lies below
Higher up then stalls far above
And time stands still
For in that stalled moment he judges
Wind, trajectory, depth, health
Reading the instantaneous signs
Electric flashes in his mind
Connect and bursts consciousness
Of the nourishing rainbow under lake's surface
He lives for this moment
And he thrives
Today the world welcomes Liam
My sister's boy
May your spirit soar with eagle
And may the moment spark within
That flashes eagle's mind
Soon as he crests the mountain ridge
Granite spired and jumbled blocked
The wind that fans
Through eagle's feathers
Cool thrust driving throughout
As he wheels and banks towards Tamarack Lake
Gliding low over the marsh land meadow
Now muted but still green with life
From the new autumn melding
With summer's fading grace
Small ribbon of a stream
Meandering its way through the marsh
Now directly under eagle
His reflection keen on the glassy surface
When sudden burst of wing
As the stream abruptly falls
Sending thousands of crystal sun reflections
Tinkling softly ringing towards the ripples upon the lake
Over the mistings and splashings
Rejoicing in the glory of far falling waters
Eagle crests the cliff
With a swift sweep of tail feathers
Climbs sharply as the lake now lies below
Higher up then stalls far above
And time stands still
For in that stalled moment he judges
Wind, trajectory, depth, health
Reading the instantaneous signs
Electric flashes in his mind
Connect and bursts consciousness
Of the nourishing rainbow under lake's surface
He lives for this moment
And he thrives
Today the world welcomes Liam
My sister's boy
May your spirit soar with eagle
And may the moment spark within
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Windsong
Stiff breeze today
Good, clean, all day long wind of change
Brings good tidings on the air
News of substance and worth
Lovesongs upon the windsong
Rhythmic claps of helping hands
To rattle the ridges
And whistle the pines
Harmony to purify the mind
Kind prescriptions for good health
To chase away the cough and congestion
That settles in over time
Across the land and open pores of lungs
In stagnant air left to clog at will
Finally
Finally not gonna hit the nineties
Except when caught outside the shade
Found exposed between the oaks
Not seen that in nearly 3 months
Fiery heat beaming from above
With direct intentions of life giving warmth
And life taking dryness permeating through
Smiles and eases gently turning away
Offering a slight repose
By leaning against the wall
And shrugging with indifference
Basking in this summer's trophy hall
This breeze brings new renewals
Autumnal waftings of the not far off
Fresh rain on the dust and dirt
Baked apples and cinnamon
Coffee upon the campfire smoke among the damp leaves
A little sugar to stir the soul
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Misty Mountain Hop
There is a hill in this land
Where I am sure that spirits dwell
For whenever I approach it
On a chilly, cloudy winter's day
When the surrounding countryside
And nearby hills and mountains
Are shrouded in misty fog
So that this hill is the only one
That is within view
While standing at its base
Looking around before and during
The meandering ascent
It's grasses gold and green as ever from the rains
It's moss covered granite boulders and oak trees
Spark something in the back of my mind
That I am no longer in California
But some ancient land in the English countryside
Some shire of wooded glades
I do not strive or reach out to pretend this
It just happens
Must be the ancestral blood coursing through from long ago
Some oak woodlands have this effect on me
Standing on lawns between the granite boulder outcroppings
As their humble formations combine
Into one solid hill of rock
Rumbling and humming below me in vibrant undertones
As the cold bite of the frosty air
Tumbles around and down slopes
Chattering then leaving nothing but vast silence
The deeper I climb around this hill's gullies and ravines
Around boulders and through crevices
Through emerald wooded glen
The more I expect to find a hidden thatched roof cottage
Or peel tower ruins
Some form of medieval habitation of man
Or some morning dew glistened fairy ring
What does dwell here are ancient cave paintings
Left by the conjuring shamans of long ago
Black and white and red colored images of cave dwelling creatures
Spiders and tarantulas, snakes and ticks,
Centipedes, lizards, and some local plants
Perhaps ingredients of healing potions or spells
Shamans and witches far removed
From Merlin and Nimue of the Arthurian woods
But similar in many realms
And when the conditions are right
In the clear light of a winter's full moon
After glowing muted orange
As it first rose above the mountain peaks
Showing itself suddenly without warning
A soft glowing orb in the pitch black of night
Now shining bright white above the fog layer
In heavy mist hiding the land stretching out below
The hill becomes an illuminated island in the clouds
In all it's glory
Truly this hill has mystical properties
And given a chance to explore the rocky shapes and forms
Is a mystical delight for the senses
And a renewal of the spirit within
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Waiting for the Deluge
Thumbing through old
Worn at the edgePaper bag brown folders of records
Typed up or written down
On papers now soft as cloth
Between the fingertips
Looking for transactions and goings on
Of past happenings in the water business
These much too dry years
With not enough water to operate
Allow for catching up on the past
As the past catches up on you
Records and numbers boxed up
And left long forgotten until now
Footnotes and messages
Too boring but to the one's who care
Water here, water there
And water none at all
The never ending search
For plentiful irrigation
To feed the masses
Trying to piece together puzzles from the past
Numbers of droughts and floods
With no way I have found to find the next
And oh how I've tried
Flood control always
In the back of my mind
Thrown to the forefront
With each passing storm
And with each passing spring melt
How to spread water
Without causing damage
When it comes down hard on ya
Control
A silly term when land is flooding
Anything but
Flood minimizing is a term better suited
For something unwanted
And prayed for at the same time
As the well's pumps trickle to a sputter and cough
One wishes for a well oiled machine
Gleaming silvery at the heart of work's engine
But when the rain is falling
And the chaos is pushing at you
Downhill
Churning with limbs and matted leaves
Trees and tumbleweeds
All coming your way to plug up the works
The well oiled backhoe
Is off making other holes for waters to flow
And has left you low and wet
Instead of high and dry
This is what we've prayed for right?
For the mountain peaks
To send their deluges to our doorsteps?
Control the chaos the world cries out
But is that really the mountain's way?
No, mountain's got it's own way
Minimize the damage and move on to the next
For the mountains will always be there
Monday, September 9, 2013
The Lost Coast
The Lost Coast ghosts
Of shipwrecks and shanghai's
Old moorings and soundings
And cliffs of the wayfarer's lament
The vagabond and downtrodden
Washed up redwoods and whale bones
Thrashed souls like hulls upon the rocks
Coughed up from fathoms below
Down, down, down into the Sinkyone sinkhole
Through the dark forests and brush
A bright sunlit sea of whitethorns rolling
And undulating as the waves they meet
Down rain rutted roads
Best not travelled when wet
Past backwoods farmsteads in the depths
And fresh blown in scents
Down to the seaside prairie
With heathers and elk pastures
Where vistas of sentinels stand
Upright against the torrents
Great walls and spires of the Earth
As if a whole continent dared
Thrust itself bare-chested against the deluge
Of crashing waves from a relentless sea
Great white cliffs and black fin rocks
And black sand beaches washed down
Tell tales of the scattered shales
And the footprints of the long forgotten
Untold stories of discarded treasure chests
Of jade and agates and moonstone
That glow and shimmer underfoot
As the guardian seals watch silently in the breaks
And the elks watch quietly from above
In the afternoon shore pine shade
Counting the waves one by one
Grazing and lounging at their leisure
Where halved redwood trees
Get thrown upon the rocky shores
As if they were great battering rams
Against the Earth's castle gates
Through the mists it appears
That the land uplifts and rises away
Abruptly as if interrupted
From a deep slumber of endless hourglasses
Aggravated with furrowed brows
The land turns its back on the sea
Rises and slumps away slowly inland
To rest in the shade of giant groves
Where it can feel protected
In steppes and rolling prairies
Safe from the bothersome battering
Under sitkas and sea spray
Under blackberries and cypress
The land eases and rests
Under sword fern and salal
Moss wrapped alders and pampas
The land softens and rejoices
Weighted by rains and held down
Satisfied in its place
For it is lost no more
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Quick Getaway
Sometimes you just have to git in the car and go!
The fam wanted to head up to the giants to catch some of the magic hour.
Who am I to say no to that!
The fam wanted to head up to the giants to catch some of the magic hour.
Who am I to say no to that!
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