PoemPost - August 22, 2010

TWO

Highland

Droplets
Misting thru my fingertips
Invisible, yet tangible

Slowly
I progress, but do I miss out
by holding back?

Conscientiousness
Reason, Logic, Morals
Self-control
Can tear you apart
So that you miss feeling the most
as it passes you by

Both

How do you wander without any anchor?
Is it easier never to drag in the sand?
Or harder to never stay at port,
to always be searching.
What does it mean to pass another ship? To long for their companionship, unsure of how they'll feel about you. Did you ever desire to raft up? Or to speed on past?
Do you ever feel torn in two?

QuickPost - August 17, 2010

Poetry night happens again. This time just four of us attend and I read, among others, my 3 favorites this summer. This time, though, we spent much more time discussing poetry as a concept, and I contribute to the conversation by reading poetically the Wilderness Act of 1964. In fact, if you remove the word foremost and the word Federal, it does sound lyrical, even though it was written as legislative prose!

Towards the end Deb discussed the dichotomy that we pursue as social beings who also seek out solitude. Companionship. Quiet. Love. Personal Space. Laughter. Being Completely Dependent on Oneself. Community. The Night Sky. This is my personal bipolarity that I know I will attempt to straddle for my entire life.

QuickPost - August 14, 2010

8/14/10: 4 nights in a row slept outside at camp, all inspired by my night at Imp campsite. I started on the office porch, diagonally so I would fit. I continued for two nights on my sleeping pad in the field, falling asleep to the night prior to and the night of the peak of the Perseids. The skies were dark and gorgeous and the shooting stars were somewhat abundant. The final night of the series began by standing with guests outside their cabin watching the stars, to all of us migrating to the field for a better view and staying up until 3 AM to catch the best night of them all so far. With a mass of blankets, we each lay on a glider cushion and curled up on our own.



(A few days later, I find myself nostalgically reminiscing in my head about this night. The week was no better than any other. The people the usual mix of nice and wonderful, and demanding and obnoxious--typical for any of us on vacation. If you read August 17th, I think that may explain why I linger on the bubbling joy of the evening spent int he company of L & B, an especially kind guest).

QuickPost - August 13, 2010

Friday, August 13, 2010: I unexpectedly have time to climb a mountain during the work day, and I head for Caribou. A beautiful, rewarding, and pleasantly challenging trail leads me to the mountain. On the way down, I watch for the falls on the map. I think I miss them so I swim, but then I come upon one, pouring over like a cup that dollops a quantity, but awkwardly. There is not even a path down to it! I find the BIG falls shortly later, and it is such a large swimming hole, I don't even want to go alone. I make good time, and I make plans to return.

QuickPost - August 3, 2010

I often convey to friends that while it can be scary in the outdoors, it can also be freeing. Today I went to town for my day off. First I went to see Toy Story 3 by myself, and fell asleep for 20 minutes in the middle. As a result, I missed how all the toys escaped the evil baby daycare room and wound up at the trash compactor. Then I went to the Met and they were out of Chai. Then I went to the bookstore and there were very few used books. Overall, the day was not particularly successful in terms of what I go to towns for. Then I went to Pudding Pond for a little stroll. Immediately taking a mountain biking path instead of the main/walking route, I weaved (wove?) my way around, paying attention to my sense of direction. When I came back out at the powerline cut, I turned left, not really sure where I was, but having taken lefts all day, I figured that would continue to send me back to the beginning. I walked way far along the powerline cut, almost to the end, wondering why I hadn't crossed it once if I crossed it a second time. I went over just one more hill, thinking I needed to go all the way back and should have turned right initially. But then boom! There I was.

The following schematics (not present) contrast where I thought I went, and where I actually went. I really wish someone had been tracking me. It was a good day for getting lost.


No American wilderness that I know of is so dangerous as a city home "with all the modern improvements." One should go to the woods for safety, if for nothing else --- John Muir

I often convey to friends that while it can be scary in the outdoors, it can also be freeing. Yesterday I went to town for my day off. First I went to see Toy Story 3 by myself, and fell asleep for 20 minutes in the middle. As a result, I missed how all the toys escaped the evil baby daycare room and wound up at the trash compactor. Then I went to the Met and they were out of Chai. Then I went to the bookstore and there were very few used books. Overall, the day was not particularly successful in terms of what I go to towns for. Then I went to Pudding Pond for a little stroll. Immediately taking a mountain biking path instead of the main/walking route, I weaved my way around, paying attention to my sense of direction. I thought I had traveled two units up so I turned left one unit and then left one unit again. When I got back to the powerline cut, the trailhead was nowhere to be found. Wondering if I had traveled PAST the trailhead in my series of left turns, I turned left again, and walked and walked and thought perhaps I should turn around but I was approaching this end of the power line cut. "Well, I might as well finish it off before turning around and walking back (to where I started) for half an hour!" I thought to myself.
A moment later, I came upon the trailhead!? Turns out those series of left turns had occurred when my sense of direction was discombobulated. In fact, I had traveled two units up, then one unit up, and then another unit up! So when I came out at the power line cut, I had four units to walk back to get to where I started (much longer than I thought), and thankfully I turned left to do so!

No American wilderness that I know of is so dangerous as a city home "with all the modern improvements." One should go to the woods for safety, if for nothing else --- John Muir