The beauty of shells

Every shell is an accomplishment of elegance, design, and pinache.

I love walking the beach and admiring the intricate little world of sea shells. These opalescent former homes for various animals invite me to be small again and full of wonder. Who lived in this little place? What sea creatures did it encounter as the tides rolled in and out? Every shell is an accomplishment of elegance, design, and pinache. I consider it my solemn job as a humble beach wanderer stop, admire and applaud every architectural masterpiece!



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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

I wish I could write songs like Valdy

Oh I wish I could write my songs,
a great big mountain
of my very own songs,
Oh I wish I could write songs like Valdy.

I attended a fabulous song writing workshop led by Valdy. Wow! What a great experience. Valdy created an atmosphere of trust and safety that made it easy to risk sharing my own work. And what a treat it was for me to have Valdy sing some of his own creations to our small private class. Even though I use my writing skills for prose and poetry, this song writing workshop expanded my skills and got me thinking about trying my hand at song writing. Below is a my playful first attempt at a song :0)

Many thanks to the folks at the Denman Island Arts, my lovely classmates, and of course Valdy for a lovely two days of inspiration and fun.





I wish I could write songs like Valdy
by Jessica at Oceanwood

What a monumentally huge
Grand Canyon of a chasm
divides the inside of me
from the outside of you.

Oh I wish I could sit down
and pick up my guitar
fool around
Oh, I wish I could write songs like Valdy.

I face my monumentally huge,
Great Mother of a chasm,
I walk over to my side
of that scary wide divide
and call out to the world:

“Hello out there....there... there?”
And I hear a welcome sound
come back to me through the air

“Yes over here, hi ... hi ...”
And I am thrilled by the reply
cause I've got this mountain of stuff
but sharing it kinda tough
If only I could write songs like Valdy.

I have a book and some songs
over here, inside of me
And I holler,
"How do I get this stuff
over to you .. you ... you?"

You say, “try a trebuchet.
A trebuchet? Eh? I say?
Do you mean a catapult?
Where do I get one of those?

You say, “build it, of course and
and start flinging your stuff over.”

I say, "Oh, ......................"
Can I get back to you ....you...you?
Oh, I wish I could write songs like Valdy.

So now I'm reading up on physics
and leverage and flinging
cuz I got a monumentally huge
Grand Canyon of a distance
dividing the inside of me
from the outside of you.

And all of this book
learning
and back breakin’
construction
They wouldn't be
necessary
If only, if only,
if only I could write my songs like Valdy

(...rit...)
Oh I wish I could write my songs,
a great big mountain
of my very own songs,
Oh I wish I could write songs like Valdy.

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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Composting crib for branches

I asked our friend and professional logger, Duncan Stewart, over to help us limb some dangerous branches and remove branches that had begun to obstruct our view.  I was so impressed by his conscientious methods and great care he took with each and every branch.

As soon as the work began, I realized I would soon have a branch problem: what should I do with all the branches and greenery on the ground. I did not like the idea of a pile for burning: one, because it was a big mess; and two, the pollution involved with burning slash. So out of necessity I created this thatched "crib" for naturally composting the branches.

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*******           Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Awed by herring

Last week our family witnessed the wonder of the herring run. We stood in awe of this poetry-in-action and marveled at the miraculous dance of this Interdependent Web of Life.

The eagles soared over head…

The sea birds craftily herded herring in shore by “smack” landing in series on the water to form a semi circle “corral” and then gobbled up their catch…

A family of 6 sea lions rolled and feasted only a few metres off shore…

Female herring deposited roe on the shore side seaweed while male herring fertilizing the roe with “milt” creating a milky cover making it hard for birds to see the herring’s activities…

The next day, fertilized herring roe lie in the sun waiting for the tide water’s return.

May we always be blessed with the miracle of the herring run.

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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2009 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Why are there penguins in the fridge?

oceanwood101_0061wtmk, originally uploaded by Oceanwood.

We have had a family of penguins living in our fridge for the past year now. Actually, I am rather fond of them. There's Mama, Papa, baby brother, little sister, and, of course, a rebellious teen in our penguin family. Our daughter, Emily, first started our family's penguin-in-the-fridge tradition when she read a book called -- not surprisingly -- Penguins in the Fridge ( by Nicola Moon). Emily reasoned if one child could have a fridge full of penguins why not her?



Having this odd, flightless family as permanent tenants in our fridge has always reminded me of Beakman's World. Do you remember that crazy, fast-talking, mad scientist with black hair that stuck straight up who would perform wild and amazing experiments for children, all the while kibitzing with his not-so-distinguished giant lab rat, Lester? No? Well my google search today revealed that he is still on TV (20 years as a mad scientist is not a bad career track). I found this strange little icon from the Beakman's web site: do you recognize that tiny face?



If you have ever seen Beakman's World, you might recall that whenever he needed corny comic relief, the show would be interrrupted by a scene of a fridge. The fridge door would open and reveal two Abbot-and-Costello-like penguins who would tell really bad jokes. For example, one penguin would say to the other penguin, "Don, I am the only one I know who orders an anchovy pizza and says hold the pizza!" Don't ask me why but I loved those penguins. Emily loved them, too, and felt that every fridge should have joking penguins. Only she did not stop at two, but instead, created a whole pack-o-penguins (by the way: what is the name for a group of penguins? A herd? pride? flock? or what?)

In case you are considering inviting penguins into your fridge, I have to warn you, dear reader, that having penguins in the fridge is not always easy. Our penguin family does present some challenges to managing the fridge. For example, they move around quite a bit and can get lost behind the milk-- or worst squished -- behind the pickled herring jar (actually we don't have pickle herring in our fridge but I just felt this story needed at least one reference to herring so I made that part up). Or their little penguin feet can step in some fridge goo and get hard glued to the spot and require some serious rescue efforts to free them. And not surprising, we have to keep a close eye on the rebellious teen penguin to make sure no other teens are invited over for wild belly-sliding, fish-gobbling, all-night parties. You never know what could happen when that fridge door closes and the light goes out.

On the whole, however, even though extra care and supervision is required, I would still say a family of penguins living in the fridge is more than worth all the added effort. And after all, who can resist those adorable eyes?

link to Nicola Moon's book, Penguins in the Fridge

http://www.amazon.ca/Penguins-Fridge-Nicola-Moon/dp/1857937937/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213159079&sr=8-2

link to Beakman's World web site

http://www.beakmansworldtv.com/

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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2008 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Gray by any other name -- is still gray

I am sitting here at my desk in the heart of the West Coast Rain Forest. It has rained and Rained and RAINED, day after day for more days than I can count right now. I feel as if I have seen only two colours lately -- the omnipresent gray of the sky and the brilliant emerald green of all the freshly drenched, new growth on trees, shrubs, and grasses. In a way, the intense "wow!" of the green balances out the "ho-hum"of the all pervading gray of the sky. 

I hate to "pine" for something else than what exists in the Present Moment, but I found myself looking wistfully at this photo of our barrel of dry grasses taken one August. On that summer day it was sunny, hot, and dry. I think it even might have been too hot that day. I realize I can't quite recall that sunny, hot, dry feeling anymore. Today, like yesterday and the day before, I have been feeling cold with all these long days of rain. Three weeks ago back in May, in an optimistic mood, I turned off the heat in our home; but today, I finally gave up hope of an early summer and turned the heat back on. I hate to admit it but I can't put my turtle-neck sweaters away yet for the season, so they co-exist in squished quarters with my summer clothes in the closet. I don't want to complain about the weather so, instead, I have tried some distraction techniques.

At first, as a way to idly occupy my mind during this unprecedented precipitation, I started to think of a new shade of gray each day: gray, dark gray, gloomy gray, grizzly gray, and then back to gray, again. But this tack, frankly, was depressing me. As a result, the last few days I decided to reverse the trend and think of uplifting words, such as: glorious gray, grand gray, gorgeous gray, and generous gray.  The growing list of positive adjectives helped me -- a bit -- by making me to look more at the subtle and complex variations of gray; I am grateful for that new perspective. The disappointing news is, however, I am running out of inspirational adjectives for the many shades gray that can be experienced here during the rainy season. And we seem to have more rainy days in the forecast.



So, please, help me in reclaiming and renaming this drab colour we call gray.  I would love to have your "gray" suggestions to add to my list and keep me inspired until the clouds become emptied of all their rain and leave us to bath in sunshine once again.

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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2008 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/

Maiwa Handprints blends art and ethics

Maiwa fabrics, originally uploaded by Oceanwood.

When I recently had to purchase new bed coverings for our vacation home on Denman Island, I knew right away I wanted to go to Maiwa on Granville Island. I have always admired the strong ethical foundation of the owners' business practices. And the fabrics are gorgeous, unique, and humble in a way only handcrafted fabrics can be. While distinct designs grace every surface, each cloth has creative variations in how the dye has soaked into the cloth or tiny differences in the "resist" patterns.

The result of all this careful hand working is that the beholder's eye endlessly delights in looking at the cloth spread out on the bed. Maiwa truly allows one to blend Art with Ethics to create a peaceful and beautiful sleeping environment.

Below is our comfy bed decked out in a playful blend of "sea blue floral" and "chocolate spiral" covers.






I discovered a few years ago that Maiwa recounts their artisans' textile production stories in a DVD series. My family have all watched, with awe, Maiwa's DVDs on the natural dye, embroidery, and weaving processes of communities all around the world. My young daughter has been able to learn about the geography of the countries where artisans engage in grassroots textile practices, as well as, learn about the unique magic of natural dyes like indigo. Our favourite scene from the Indigo DVD is when an artisan takes a brownish-yellow, soaked and twisted cloth from the indigo dye vat and shakes it out into the fresh air. As the oxygen in the air reaches the dyed surface, the cloth changes from yellow to indigo blue right in front of your eyes revealing the true magic of natural dye chemistry.

And just today I discovered a podcast series on the Maiwa website called, "Voices of Cloth." I have downloaded each one and can't wait to listen to more textile stories.

If you would like to learn more about the remarkable stories of textile communities around the world; or learn about Maiwa's fair-trade practices, or just drop in to see Maiwa's remarkable store at Granville Island, I recommend visiting their web page at:

http://www.maiwa.com/index.html

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*******           Oceanwood Chronicles                                 credits and links             *******
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Photo credits: Photos by Jessica at Oceanwood.

Oceanwood Chronicles, copyright 2008 - Jessica at Oceanwood. Creative commons attribution, non-commercial sharing only (translation: feel free to quote me in context or use this entry but please always credit me for my work, thanks.) http://oceanwood.blogspot.com/