So if we're ever out for a walk

...and you say, whoa, what a nasty pile of crap, don't be surprised if I, upon gleefully squealing WEASEL!, reach in my pocket, pull out a penny and set it beside your discovery. Don't be surprised if I then whip out this book


flip it open and exclaim, no, it's not fisher
then, in an echoing bellow, YES

WOLVERINE!!!

In the introduction to Mammal Tracks & Sign, Mark Elbroch talks about cultural tracking and, in a later chapter, he discusses visual thinking. Today, as I read this, I couldn't help but think about this poetry-related post and its link to a greater spectrum.

So they changed

...the sign at Tulabi Creek.


I couldn't believe it. It's been a creek for as long as we can remember. I went on about it all the way to Saskatoon. I went on about it at the reading. Why change a creek to a brook? For years I've been noting the birds we see at Tulabi Creek. Yesterday, for instance, we saw five Spruce Grouse and a Northern Hawk Owl near there. So on the way home today I was planning a big post on this. On names and naming. I was stoked by the time I sat down and googled. Of course what I found hadn't even crossed my mind. It looks like Tulabi Creek was not always called a creek. I pulled down the Atlas of Saskatchewan and, sure enough, the sign is now right. It's really Tulabi Brook.

*
Before the celebration, we went to the Mendel Art Gallery. I specifically wanted to see Hysteria and the Body, a touring exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Canada. I was especially interested in seeing the works by Louise Bourgeois. It was worth the trip.

Then I checked out Machines at Play, an exhibition of automated drawing machines and a kinetic and sound installation by Montreal artist Jean-Pierre Gauthier. Wow. That's where H and I spent the bulk of our time. If you're in Saskatoon, be sure to check it out. It's amazing.

*
Last evening I read at The Gallery / art placement inc. as part of the Hagios Press celebrations. It was great to see everyone. The reading was held in conjunction with the opening of Top to Bottom, a lovely salon style show that will run until February 19. The Gallery / art placement inc. is a great space for a reading. As I stood there with my poems, facing friends, strangers and so many strong paintings, many of which are landscapes by artists whose work I've been following for years, I felt so incredibly lucky. And at the end of the evening I left with cake, a gift from a writer. I am lucky, indeed.

The Celebration

...is the name of the bag I bid on last night over at Darfur Project - Eclectic Bags. I loved the bag the moment I saw it. The description of it only made me want it more. All day I kept returning to see how the bidding was going. When H got home from work I called him into the office to have a look. He saw immediately why I wanted it as his eyes went straight from the screen to the piece by Cara Winsor Hehir that hangs above my desk. You can get a glimpse of Hehir's piece here and in an older pic here. Her piece and the bag share a certain spirit. So, at 7:30, I crawled out of the tub and looked again. There was 30 minutes left before bidding closed. H came by and asked if I had bid. I said no. I was still thinking. I already have a wonderful bag from the Darfur Project. It was a gift from Ariel. No matter, he said. Just do it. It's a good cause. So I finally did. With four minutes to spare.

*
Speaking of celebration, Hagios Press has three events planned this month for Saskatoon, Lumsden and Regina. I will be at the Saskatoon event. I took this from Facebook:

HAGIOS PRESS: THE YEAR THAT WAS in Saskatoon
Date: Tuesday January 20, 2009
Book Table 7:00 p.m. Program starts 7:30 p.m.
Location: Art Placement Gallery, 228 - 3rd Avenue S.

Hagios Press invites you to join them in celebrating their 2008 publishing year! An evening featuring readings by Hagios Press authors & great deals on Hagios Press titles!

Hear readings by Hagios authors: Terry Fenton, (Land Marks: The Art of Dorothy Knowles), Allan Safarik (Yellowgrass), Brenda Schmidt (Cantos from Wolverine Creek) as well as readings from You by Gary Hyland.
Free admission. Refreshments provided/cash bar.

I hope to see some of you there. As I've mentioned before, my plans for this year are quite different, so I will enjoy this celebration in that fair city. Who knows when I'll be back.

It was only -24

...yesterday, -29 with the wind chill, one of the nicest days we've had in a while. We were out scouting for tracks when we came across some lovely culverts. The light was so soft.


H took this pic while I was taking pics. I posted a few of mine as well. You'll notice I had no mitts on. I hadn't planned on shooting as many pics as I did and was out there longer than planned. My hands were pretty cold by the time I got back to the car. But there was hot chocolate waiting, so all was good.

*
The romance of objects.

Calm Things is indeed a gift

...in the fullest sense of the word. Calm Things by Shawna Lemay is the most beautifully written, generous and honest collection of personal essays that I've read in ages. Thought-provoking to say the least. Because the clean, pitch-perfect prose never calls attention to itself, I was left looking at a world through Lemay's eyes and with Lemay's clear, wide-angled vision. What I saw was a well-rounded world. A moving world. A world I both know and don't know.

In my last post I had described this book as a gift from me to me, but I didn't know then how true this was. Amazingly enough, the second last essay in the book, titled "Of Coffee Pots, Tea Cups, Asparagus and the Like," actually looks closely at "the gift." I must admit, though I've been the lucky recipient of countless gifts, the matter of giving and receiving is, unfortunately, something to which I've given little more than superficial thought. Lemay refers to a number of books throughout, but it's the books mentioned in this essay that I will seek first. And the nests! Because of this essay I know I'll never look at a nest in the same way again. And that's a good thing.

While I'm certainly no expert on still life, I am a visual artist and a writer, and it's the world of the artist and writer that Lemay presents that rings so true. In her words I found a clearer reflection of myself. Of my way of life. Of my joys, my frustrations, my dreams. And when one sees such a clear reflection, one can't help but look more closely.

I wanted to read this book slowly. Take my time. Think. But no, I couldn't put it down. I finished reading Calm Things last night before I went to bed. So there I was in the wee hours, glowing in the dark, still thinking, feeling more alive and more at peace than I have in quite some time.

This morning I looked at the title essay again and gave more thought to what Lemay says about details and connections. Oddly enough, when I took a break to refill my coffee and check Facebook, I saw that I'd received an invitation to a reading featuring Tim Lilburn, along with Shawna Lemay and Kimmy Beach on Monday, March 23, 2009. The evening will begin at 8:00 pm and will take place in Room 101 of Michael Hall at St. Peter's College, Muenster, SK. I hope the weather is good. It's a long way, but I want to go. I know and admire the work of all three and have met Lilburn and Beach before. It would be wonderful to hear them again. And it would be wonderful to finally meet Lemay and hear her read from this incredible book.

Now I'll go dust my studio. It's calling. I think I'm ready. It's time.

The top two books

...in this pic came in the mail today. Gifts from me to me.


They are Calm Things, a book of essays by Shawna Lemay and Lemon Hound, a collection of poetry by Sina Queyras.

The bottom book, Writing Saskatchewan: 20 Critical Essays, edited by Kenneth G. Probert, is a gift from Tracy Hamon. It arrived before Christmas. I had piled some heavy books on top of it when I was working to meet a deadline and inadvertently bent its spine. I tried to straighten it, but it's as bent as ever. I hate when I damage books.

It's sad to see a photographer

...who disturbs resting birds and disrespects private property. Today a photographer, in her close approach on foot through the ditch, caused a flock of ptarmigan that were resting in our yard to run across our lawn. So not cool. I suspect part of the reason that ptarmigan have been hanging around our yard for so long is that they are left relatively undisturbed. We peek at them from our windows so we won't startle them. There are no dogs running loose in our neighbourhood. Local traffic sometimes slows down to look when the ptarmigan are feeding, but that's it, as most of us are used to seeing ptarmigan in town. This case is hopefully the only exception. The photographer was on our property at one point, but perhaps she thought she was still in the ditch. Who knows. We considered walking over to ask her to back off and to chat about ethical birding, but that would risk disturbing the birds even more.

*
January 4

No ptarmigan in the yard this morning. No ptarmigan napping under the willow in the sun. This is how it goes.


Time to move on.