Taking our cues

Sometimes when I begin a post I have a fairly clear idea of where it's headed

and other times, as happened here, it veers off into another direction entirely.

This one has become an open thought, just some observations

about how connections can happen

and where they might lead,

so I'll leave it as that.

Backing up a bit, here's where my thoughts started ....

Michelle and "the boyz" had an impromptu practice session yesterday
so Isla and I headed over to the training facility to join them.
Working with our dogs is one of the great joys in our lives
and I'm certain it's the main reason M and I have became such good friends.

Sam, her Golden, is twelve years old now but still learning
new tricks.  This is a bit of platform training used in Freestyle
and Sam's just accomplished "four on" [all four paws square on the platform]
so he's been clicked for the positive behavior
and gets a yummy reward.

Benny, who's eleven, is learning verbal commands to understand

which platform M wants him on.  Here she's said, "Behind,"

and Benny has moved into position  -  M clicks

[clicker in her right hand] 

and will hand him a treat backwards.

Our dogs take turns - while one is on the floor working

the other dogs are enclosed in their crates or pens.

It's a great way for them to learn discipline while in close proximity to other dogs

and the crates also become their "safe spots" where they can always feel secure

and chill out if they need to.

We keep the exercises short & fast ... that way, the dogs stay fully engaged

and it's easier on the handlers, too, in the long run.

The dogs seem to love the practices as much as the humans.

We're building a mutual language through teamwork but perhaps best of all,

we're building comaraderie across species.

Here's the newest addition to M's doggy household, the spritely Border collie, Craig.

A youngster by comparison to his "old men" brothers,

he's barely three and believe it or not  HE  has become Isla's first boyfriend ... 

oh my, is she ever so sweet on the Craigster ... shamefully so.

They look like brother & sister - must get some portraits of them together soon

[more of that story another time].

Although he arrived with sheep herding skills under his withers,

M has some   additional plans   for this fine fella ...

as in

her next Agility companion.

So how might one teach a herding dog new tricks?

Practice, patience, practice, determination, patience, practice,

mixed together with a lively batch of hand signals,

verbal controls, body language

and endless amounts of positive reinforcement.

Taking the cue for "bow."

So far so good.

M is nothing short of focused & dedicated ... as for Craig,

OH what a happy dog he is !

After we finished, Isla and I headed to the beach.

I needed some stones for a project and anyway,

the bright afternoon was excuse enough to head outdoors.

We walked and walked 

and as the little stones clinked into my bag

I rewound thoughts from our day; 

about training, and learning ... how much dogs and humans have in common,

thoughts about how all of us take cues from our surroundings,

from what inspires, excites, 

and also from those who purposely or not

encourage us towards new directions.

Like Craig.

The beach experienced some leveling over winter which made for easy rambling.

Piles of driftwood were displaying their silvery lines

in the chilly sunshine, exposing their story, 

showing what they're made of ...

which reminded me of some lines back home.

This piece is finished now

and this stone is my next cue ...

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One day

A perfect autumn morn;  still, warm-ish ... seamless

... until the sun appeared with her own side seam

highlighting an oceanographic hemline outside ...

right angle seams inside.

Not particularly seaworthy,

but my very finest emotional thimble.

Destination ...

your drifting days are over.

Smooth sailing over calm seas,

peace at the end.

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Interior motives

The best laid plans, as they say...except when it comes to mark making with plants

and other sundry items,

it might be best to put ones expectations aside.

Here is the outcome from  last week's science experiment...

Things were going along quite swimmingly with my idea to stuff two pieces of cloth

~ one, 100% silk, and the other 100% ramie ~

with identical ingredients:  red cabbage, fresh young bracken leaves, a spiral coil of copper wire.

The wrapped bundles looked promising when they first came out of their simmered cabbage "soup"...

that is, until I got the not-so-bright idea of dribbling a tiny amount of full-strength vinegar onto Bundle #1

(shown in its "before" state on the left, HERE)

aaaarrrrgggghhhh,  the whole thing immediately went  P I N K

and worse still,

bleached out every mark except for the copper spiral.

Since you never learn anything the second time you're kicked by a mule,

I decided to leave well enough alone...

Bundle #2 was put up to dry

and Bundle #1 was, well, put out to pasture?

In the meantime, a potful of gorgeous darkblueypurpley dye was still sitting there

and I couldn't bear to throw it away...what if...

so I tore the sleeve from a silky thrift store blouse, wrapped it around a chunk of driftwood 

with some rusty metal bits

and after a good stew overnight and five days rest,

the binding came off...

time, oh yes, time is your friend.

These are priceless words from a wise, wandering alchemist.

The driftwood soaked up quite a lot of color.  In fact, the cloth felt quite dry as I peeled it open

while the wood was still heavy from the moisture.

And it smelled like a big boiled cabbage, tah boot!

Dry down knocked that pink back to a pale lavender, but the blues stayed quite true.

The next thing that happened

reminded me of school days.  Ever try to use that line,

"Sorry teacher, but my dog ate my homework"?

True to her nature, Quinn ate my bundler.

But the "homework" was safe.

: : : :

Special thanks goes out to Dianne, who recently posted a series of photographs

from her time in San Francisco...all processed with the Snapseed app.

They are glorious and she inspired me bigtime ~ I used the app for this post.

Please go see her images HERE.

: : : :

To everyone stateside celebrating the 4th this week, Happy Independence Day all!

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Natural succession...

isn't always pretty.

A typical scene from our woods in winter...blow down, something we can count on.

Topsoil levels are shallow in most parts of our island.  Saturate the ground with enough rain,

throw in some wicked winds

and you might find this on your next walkabout.

On the other hand, around the coastline, you can guess where the trees are going to fall.

How far will they swim

and where will they next take up roost...?

If you view this as *litter,* you may need to reconsider.

Never was there a finer building material for the imagination, as exemplified by these great forts

and time-worn shelters...they pop up almost overnight around here.

But this is transient real estate...don't get too attached...most likely they won't be there next season.

I've found another purpose for this refuse; no heavy lifting, no construction skills necessary.

They fit in my pocket,

travel well,

and serve a very important function...Douglas fir, madrone, red cedar, all working together.

So smooth in the hand from all that tumbling.

And on a lucky day,

I can find ones with a natural slit in the end for holding the tails...

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Hunters & gatherers...

While the light continues to wane, so does the harvest from the garden.

All that remains has been cooking up mighty fine...

my favorite soups, made from everything local.

If true confessions be known, these are my personal elixirs of life.

The nights are much colder now yet I don't even care...what a year for fall color!  

Such extraordinary veins on thus copper-toned ninebark...

Seed collecting is underway

for everybody who lives here.

And we are all greedy.

These chickadees are quite tame, almost TOO tame...

hard to get anything done in the garden because they will find you wherever you go.

They'll land on your shovel or the brim of your hat, your glove...and if they're not landing on you

they are scolding you incessantly, "WHERE ARE MY SEEDS???"

So I gave in and set up this impromptu feeding station on a fence post

right next to the veggie beds.

Cheeky devils.

I've resorted to some other rather drastic measures 

like covering seed heads with used dryer sheets.

Who knew that one of the beloved foods of chickadees would turn out to be my 

prized Angelica stricta 'Purpurea'?

I'm not alone in my ways...

if you want a good chuckle, go see what my blog friend, Kaite, gets up to

with little nylon sockettes in her garden Down Under.

We do what we must do.

Home is where your hair is.

(you've heard that old saying, haven't you?)

After many years of scattering my hair trimmings around the garden

finally,

I've discovered evidence that it's been put to good use.

It's the little things in life that make things homey, that can

make your day.

Doesn't take much to make her day...

best shotgun rider ever.

I wonder if she can pick up radio transmissions from Canada with those ears?

We went looking for these.

Well, I did anyway...she's not much for sticks.

Frisbees and wabbits, now that's a whole 'nuther story.

Hoping for good tannin in bundles...

...ingredients for more stories.  This time, written with

bracken, salal, red amaranth and wild blackberries.

More end-of-the-harvest cooking.

Before I forget...the dryer sheets prevailed

and I did claim my due share of that Angelica seed (quite the bounty!) 

so if you are stateside & would like to try this lovely specimen in your own garden

let me know via email.

I've plenty of seed to share.

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June returns on the tide...

Had a brief stroll down memory lane this afternoon...came upon this sea glass that I beaded into little bundles back in 2007...my very first improvisational bead embroidery, the June page for the Bead Journal Project of that year.  It's all about water and I named it  Driftwood.  For that BJP I was exploring a sense of place, my relationship with where I live.

Size 4" x 6"

I love that I can look at it today and know  e-x-a-c-t-l-y  why I placed each bead, each object, where I did.  I cut my beading teeth, so to speak, on this piece.  Holey driftwood.  Perfect for pushing a bead needle through.

Driftwood needs some barnacles, don't you think?  And every tide should bring some pearls to shore.

See this corner - this is very special to me because it is, quite literally, where my beadwork turned a corner.  Those lime-colored bugle beads are surrounded by the first size 15 (extremely tiny) seed beads that I ever sewed onto fabric.  It's uneven, sewn all higgely-piggely but I am quite fond of it anyway.  You know how that is when you're really nervous to try something but then when you do you find that it changes the way you work...forever?

Me and size 15's...we're best buds now.

Back to this stroll I was on today...it began with an effort to look through my stash of fabric, see what I might have on hand.  That's when I realized that I primarily have a whole lot of Indonesian batiks, collected back in 2007 for the above project.  These may not suit an upcoming project coming in on this June's tide.

More about that - and turning new corners - is for another post...

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