The Heron

I drove to Hidden Lake Gardens today not to get inspired, but to accomplish a mission.  My mission today was to try and spot Crow and photograph them.  But, the Crow and weather were uncooperative.  I saw no Crow today.  On my way home I thought about all the things that inspire me.  Birds are up there on the list.  Trees, rivers, lakes, and nature in general inspire me.  But that’s not the only thing.  Music inspires me.  When I got back from New Mexico last Fall I tuned into Native American Radio on iTunes.  I always feel a connection to Native American music and Native American art.  I met a Native American recently who told me the only difference between a Mexican and a Native American is a border along the Rio Grande.  Then there are books.  My studio is filled with books.  Literature has influenced my life more than anything else.  I am constantly referring to quotes from Thoreau, books on Zen, fly fishing philosopher John Gierach, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Edward Abbey and various poets.  Right now I’m reading the book, “The Best of Beston”…poetic prose of nature writing.  My favorite quote by Beston relates to birds of course.  I heard it on a BirdNote podcast.  Here it is….

” We need another and wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals.   Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion.  We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves.  And, therein we err, and greatly err.  For the animal shall not be measured by man.  In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.  They are not brethren, they are not underlings; they are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendor and travail of the earth”.

I like this quote because I truly believe that humans are no more superior to birds than they are to ants, fish or horses.  We have become completely disconnected from this Earth, walking around with our cell phones and internet at our fingertips.  They’re just a crutch.  Birds dont need a GPS to migrate from Canada to South America.  Animals can sense a Tsunami.  So fixated on power and electricity we are.  Without it we are hopeless.  Superior no.  Feeble yes.  That’s what we are.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080924/COLUMNIST23/809240261

I finished this print this morning.  It will be the last linocut that I do before the Artalicious Festival Sept 19th and 20th.  I almost called this print “Creepers” because that’s what Nuthatches do and because of the Virginia Creeper at the bottom.  

I’m off to the local frame shop now to purchase materials for framing.  I need to frame this and about seven others.  I’m framing three of these.  One is for the festival, one will be donated to the Stubnitz Environmental Center fundraiser in Adrian, MI and one is for my wife’s dental hygiene office at Dr. Lark’s Dental Office.

I chose to do this print because of my love of trees and birds.  I started a bark photograph collection a few years ago.  Whenever I go to Hidden Lake Gardens I stroll through the Conifer Collection to take photos of bark and pine cones.  I’m also a bird brained birder.  My dad inspired me to learn more about birds.  He has had bird feeders for as long as I can remember.  Now that he lives in Tennessee it’s more of a challenge for him because the Black Bears in his neighborhood are pretty crafty at tearing down feeders and destroying them.  Anyway, this Spring I purchased a “Petersons Birding by Ear” CD and that turned my curiosity into a full blown passion for birds.  This print will most likely be the first of many future bird prints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a linocut that I finished back in June for a friend’s wedding.  The inspiration for this comes from various trips to Hidden Lake Gardens last Fall.  

The battleship grey linoleum was purchased from Dick Blick.  I used Speedball cutting tools.  The ink is water soluable oil based ink from Daniel Smith.  The paper is Rives BFK.  I used a Richeson Baby Press to make the edition.  I painted the dried prints with Winsor and Newton brand watercolor.  

My friend Jenna purchased the block so no more prints will ever be made of this.  I did save one artist proof for myself.  This proof will be on display at the Art-A-Licious Festival Sept. 19-20 and then again at Pentamere Winery in November.  After that it will be permanently displayed in my studio.

I’ve been spending a lot of time fishing Devils Lake lately.  About ten days ago I went out with a friend on a Thursday night.  The wind was strong out of the East and the fishing was poor.  As the saying goes..”wiind from the East, fish bite the least”.  Between the two of us we caught three small fish in a three hour time span.  That trip bothered me a little.  I’ve been fishing all my life, fished for most species at one time or another, in rivers, lakes and oceans.  Now I’m 41 and feel as though I should have a good grip on what I’m doing.  But, this summer has been rough.  I thought about it and realized that I haven’t been fishing like I used to.  I used to get up on weekends at 5 am.  I hadn’t gotten up that early to fish in a long time.  So, this weekend I decided to go back to my old ways.  Saturday morning I caught three small Northerns and two nice Smallmouth Bass from 6:30 am to about 8:30am.  Sunday morning I got up early again.  Not a soul was on the water.  The sun was just below the horizon and the water was as smooth as glass.  I went to my usual spot.  Within my first six casts I caught and landed a beautiful 18″ Largemouth Bass.  Another fisherman trolled in soon after out of nowhere.  I made a few more casts and hooked something BIG.  At first I thought it was a pike.  I saw him flash beneath the surface and couldn’t believe my eyes.  He fought like a Pike but made a charge to the surface and slapped his tail, making a spectacle out of himself on a dead calm morning.  I reeled him in a little closer and spotted the snout.  It was a Garr….bigger than any I’ve ever seen.  I looked for my net.  As I reeled him close to the boat I noticed he wouldn’t fit in my net, but I wasn’t about to reach down for him with his aligator teeth and three treble hooks flailing around.  I scooped him up the best I could and got him in the boat.  There’s no way this fish would have ever been landed had I not been using a 25 lb Maxima leader.  The 25 lb leader was wrapped around his snout.  Only one treble hook was in his lower jaw.  The hook popped out easy.  But, his jaws were clamped down tight around the Maxima.  I had to use my hemostats to pry his mouth open.  I laid him on my gunwale bench and took this picture with my camera phone before I released him.  He measured 36″.  I inspected my leader and it was nicked up pretty badly.  I gave it a few tugs and it seemed ok.  After all the excitement I looked up and noticed three more fisherman anchored nearby.  I decided to move to a second spot.  After three casts from the next spot I hooked another big fish.  I figured it was a pike by the way it was fighting.  It was.  Northerns usually come easily to the boat but then make a second run when they see you.  I let him run.  I used to lose Pike when I was younger because I tried to land them too quickly.  I landed him easily and put him in my live well, along with the Bass.  I knew my family wouldn’t believe my day if I didn’t have proof.  After I put the 25″ Pike in the livewell I looked up to see yet another fishing boat crowding in.  I decided I didnt need to fish any longer.  I hooked three of the biggest fish I’ve ever caught in less than one hour.  After showing the fish to the family I released them both.  I spent the rest of the day trying to stay cool.  Later in the evening my niece wanted me to take her out fishing.  I took her out but decided I would just relax.  I didnt want to ruin a perfectly good day of fishing with a bad night.  She fished and I sat and watched the stars for about 10 minutes.  Well, that was all I could take.  The water was calm and begging for a Jitterbug.  I made a few casts…then suddenly, during a cast I heard a “plink”.  I knew exactly what it was.  My rod felt light.  I heard the Jitterbug splash somewhere in the darkness about 50′ away.  I knew why it happened.  The Gar.  I should have cut off the abraded line but didnt.  Another lesson learned at the expense of a Jitterbug.  I put the rod down and went back to star gazing.

This is just one of the photos I took at Hidden Lake Gardens this weekend.  It’s not perfect….but I like it.  I took this photo the day my uncle died.  So this one is for him.  Love you Hector.

My Uncle Hector from Corpus Christi, TX died last night from cancer.  In the words of Norman Maclean, “Eventually all things merge into one and a river runs through it.  The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time.  On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops.  Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.”  Hector is gone from this world but still lives in my heart and mind.

“Nuthatch”, Linocut, 6×8

I plan on hand painting this when it is dry.  It should be ready to sleeve and or frame by next months Art-A-Licious Festival in downtown Adrian, Sept 19th and 20th.  I also plan on donating one of the prints to the Stubnitz Environmental Education Center fund raising auction on Sept. 27.

It’s been a rough week.  I came down with a cold, but that’s nothing.  I’ve been thinking about and praying for my Uncle Hector who is battling Cancer.  Last night I spent the night at Devils Lake.  I woke up early, with a sore throat and runny nose.  I kissed Kayleen and headed home.  I thought about my parents who left their home in Tennessee for Corpus Christi, TX last night.  I made a quick stop at the gas station on the corner of Round Lake Hwy and US 223.  The golfers across the street at the Devils Lake Golfcourse were laughing.  The world didnt seem to care that my uncle is taking his last breaths of life.  I drove on and stopped at Hidden Lake Gardens.  A friend asked me to stop by to pick up two Paw Paw trees that she had get rid of.  While there I decided to go for a walk.  I walked through the demonstration garden.  I walked through the Conifer Collection.  I walked around Hidden Lake.  It was early and the dew was still on the flowers.  I’m glad I had my camera.  I walked through the Arid House and thought of my Uncle Hector.  The dry desert plants always make me think of Texas.  While walking through the Hosta Hillside I stopped to listen to the water coming down the man made cascade of rocks.  I looked up and saw a small yellow bird.  It wasnt a goldfinch.  What was it?  I looked closer.  It was a Hooded Warbler….the first Hooded Warbler I have ever seen.  It flew away.  I walked on.  My cold was telling me to go home.  I picked up the Paw Paw trees and headed back to Tecumseh.  There was work to be done at home.  My goal for the day was to trim the bushes around the house.  It took most of the day, but I’m glad it’s done.  The yard looks good to me.  I cleaned the birdbath.  I put seed in the feeders.  I took a shower, ate some soup and fell asleep on the couch for three hours.  The cool night air coming through the window feels good.  Tomorrow I will call my parents to check on Uncle Hector.

This is one of the photos I took for the creation of the linocut.  The owners, Carol and Duane Flint are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.  I love everything about their store, the creaky wood floors, the smell of sweet tobacco and fresh popcorn.  If I get a chance I’ll stop by the Historical Museum downtown and get some historical information and post it here.