LAW #28 Cacophany Spring

This being the first spring we have spent on the river here, we were not prepared for the truly amazing variety of bird life here on the Upper Middle River.  Cacophony of course refers to the multitude of geese.  These flights of geese (the migrants, not the homeboys, but that's another story) seem to start about 3AM, rain or shine.  They've got great rhythm, but melody and lyrics?….huh!  Watching and listening to them calls to mind the stories of passenger pigeons filling the skies in earlier centuries.

Last week we saw the first Osprey, and early arrival (and a big one!)  Of course we have been watching the ubiquitous gulls all winter, along with a spectacular pair of Bald Eagles and two Blue Herons that insist that they own the river. 

The ducks are coming back as well.  A pair of them have taken up a quacking station on our finger pier and are apparently trying to nest on the roof membrane--thanks guys, but not interested.  Move along.

There's a also pair of starlings building a nest in the starboard stern piling of our slip--much fun to watch as we go up and down the stairs to the loft.

Other signs of spring are visible/audible hereabouts.  The first boat was splashed late last week.  People are everywhere on the hard, prepping their boats for another summer of fun on the water.  Oh yea! 

There was another melody of the springtime overture this weekend as well:  the ice cream truck was heard wandering through the neighborhood.

Now if we can just get them to stop at the marina. . . .

LAW #27, Rehabilitation

LAW 27, Rehabilitation. . .

. . . is a very long and arduous road to go down.  I'm not sure that i am up to the emotional and physical toll that will be demanded:  but after a roller coaster weekend with our dearly beloved feline companion Kallisti, i can see that may be where we are headed.  Kali (as she is known) is a 17 1/2 year old lilac point Siamese, who has shared our home and life since she was about 10 weeks old.  All cats are special, she more than most as she is the granddaughter of the dearly beloved Mungo Jerry through Loki, his son.  Mungo Jerry is another tale entirely, but suffice to say he was the prince of cats and the real owner of Mungo Jerry's Fat Cat Cafe which we ran for a number of years on his behalf.

But I digress, as usual.

After an emergency visit on Saturday, Kali was diagnosed with congestive heart failure.  After we were pummeled with treatment options, none of the promising, we elected to take her home, make her comfortable, and try to come to terms with the all too soon inevitable loss of our cat child.  She seemed fine Saturday, the drugs apparently working, but sometime Sunday morning she had a stroke which has left her partially paralyzed on her left side.  After a day filled with tears, and of course some internet research, we've decided, at least for right now, that she's not ready to end the game.  She is eating and drinking and trying very hard to make things work.  The cat may be Siamese, but she has a lot of Tortitude (if you're a cat owner, you KNOW what that means.  As an example of her attitude, here's a brief video of me trying to teach her to go up the stairs last year). 

So keep her and us in your thoughts as she undergoes PT.  Send Tuna Love!

More Later

Morgainne

LAW 26 THE SOUND OF THE WIND

Changes . There is a remarkable difference in the sounds of the summer  and winter wind. Having lived most of my life surrounded by the trees of the great temperate forests of America you would think that this is something i would have previously recognized. I imagine on some sub-conscious level i had. However, not until i had lived through both a summer and most of a winter here on the Empire  did i become fully aware of this phenomena.

Of course i had heard the difference in the winds before: but in the busy structured schedule of the mundane, everyday routine of work, school, etc. i had not been fully engaged in what was happening all around me.

After all, 'who can see the wind?' Neither you or i… but

Living on the river on the Floating Empire: living with the natural rhythms of my body instead of the demands of societal structure has allowed me to fine tune my awareness of the difference. Surprising, unless the winds are hitting gale force speeds you don't really see the winds of winter the same way you see the wind of summer. Winter winds here on the Middle River are mainly out of the north: since the river runs primarily north/south this results in very, very, very low tides during major winter weather events. The north wind effectively teaming up with the tide pushes all of the water out of the river into the bay. Last week we were literally 'floating' on the mud of the river bottom. Needless to say no one got off the boat that day, or the next.

I for one will be very happy to hear and see the winds of summer again.

More later,
Morgainne

GOOD MORNING JUST A NOTE

Alright, we are alive and well, and floating, albeit cold. We just got our new computer yesterday; which in case you were wondering is why we haven't been posting. We will be up and back to sharing with you  real soon now. Take care, stay warm and cheer spring on!

More later,
Morgainne

LAW 24: SNOW, AGAIN

bringing water to the boat

So our third snow storm of the season coincided with Mungo's birthday; and no, he did not view it as a present. Still, it was pretty, as most new fallen snow often is. Besides, we were snug and warm inside with no need to go anywhere as we had provisioned earlier in the day; laying in a few good bottles of wine and all the ingredients for the Beef Bourguignon that Mungo had requested for his birthday dinner.

almost done!

I will go into more detail about making this dish as a one pot meal on the Onboard Cooking blog, believe me, no cookbook treats it that way.

Looks good!

It was however very yummy, as you can see, plus we had good chocolate for dessert. Who cares if there is snow on the ground when you have chocolate?

I think he liked it!

Stay warm.
More later,
Morgaine

LAW 23 WINTER SOLITUDE REVISITED

Mungo addressed winter and the myriad ramifications associated with the coldest season while living on the Floating Empire just the other day. i wanted to revisit it from the studio point of view. This week alone i have taught myself another bookbinding technique and made two pretty damn good examples of French Stitch binding. Now that i understand the basic concept i can play with it. I've been making handmade books for  years: bland books; suitable for journals, diaries, sketch books, wedding books or any other use you could come with and 'artist's' books; books of prose, poetry and imagery. the act of making an object, a lovely object which will be used and cherished is one of the finest, most rewarding things i feel that an artist can do. I have always come down on the side of the craft in the craft/art debate. I mean really, just because something is useful doesn't mean it's not art!

first french stitch book just completed

I also attempted to make a casebound book, with limited success. Well, in my defense i just did it, thinking that i knew how they were put together, i guess i should have looked at some directions.

what i did on Tuesday and Wednesday!

binding detail of second book

Winter is a lovely time of year to be on the river. Yes, it is cold. Yes, we are usually the only people here, so yes, it is a little on the lonely side, but oh, the richness of time spent in the studio. Spring will be here soon, all of our friends will be back and we will have to balance studio time with play time. Until then, stay warm and creative!


More later,
Morgainne

LAW 22 SILENCE AND SOLITUDE

I awoke this morning to a winter wonderland of sorts. We had gotten about 3" of snow; the docks, the hard and the river were covered in a blanket of snow and slush that ranged from the purest white to a brilliant metallic silver. I admit my first thought was oh how beautiful; i should go out and take photos. My second thought was; snow equals cold and wet. Nasty. I burrowed back under the blankies. Alright; several hours later after a hearty breakfast of fruit and oatmeal Mungo has cleared the front deck and our solar panels i am finally ready ti bundle up, do my artistic duty and clear the stern deck as well. I am making split soup for supper, so the boat will be toasty warm and smell heavenly. We'll keep the snow where it belongs, outside and as images to enjoy.

More later,
Morgainne