The Alluvial Valley of the Lower Mississippi River, map 6/15, Army Corps of Engineers, 1944, Harold Fisk, chief cartographer Documenting the seasonal cycles over the past few months (see my Week in Bloom postings) has me thinking a lot about bioregions and watersheds as the most appropriate scale for human interaction with the natural world […]
Tag Archives: deep craft
Shanty Boats and Scow Schooners
the scow schooner Annie L, built in 1900 by Emil Munder, unloading hay in San Francisco As hay bales begin to dot the fields I’m reminded how little the landscape of West Sonoma County has changed since the late 19th century, when scow schooners still sailed down the rivers to deliver cargoes of hay, timber […]
The Week in Bloom
elegant windlass at each pair of posts, framing a gateway The only sounds punctuating my bike ride to the coast along the quiet, eight mile stretch of Valley Ford-Franklin School Road were the sweet song of the meadowlark perched on fence posts and the eerily creaking eucalyptus in the wind. As I climbed the long […]
Preparing for Mildred’s Lane
naturalist/essayist John Burroughs In preparation for my residency and lecture at Mildred’s Lane late next month, I’ve been studying the upper Delaware River, reading about its history and looking at maps. I was struck by a passage by the nineteenth century American naturalist/essayist John Burroughs, describing a boyhood trip down the Delaware in his book […]
Mowing the Meadow
mowing the high meadow grasses One of my favorite tools is our hand-pushed, mulching mower. As with all of my favorite tools, I like the physical activity and related mental state associated with using it as much if not more than the end result. Mowing the Meadow is a great excuse for taking a long […]
Final Oakland Installation Dispatch
Lake Merritt, looking towards the Northeast James and I completed the lenticular murals yesterday by clear-coating them with a protective, anti-graffiti glaze. Touching every square inch of the surface of the images reminded me how much the tiles have been handled over the past eight months, how much care has gone into realizing a hand […]
The Week in Bloom
Rhododendron are at their peak We beat the heat with a day at the beach on Sunday, very much in need of a rest after a grueling final push to complete our murals in Oakland. My limbs were soothed by a long walk in the surf, a quick dip in the chilly brine and a […]