Crane Whispering? Hardly.
Published April 8, 2010 | 
Among the many odd things I’ve done in my life, I used to work at the International Crane Foundation. It was there that I learned to impersonate Mama Crane. That allows me to occasionally get up pretty close as in the picture above. Here’s that story. (Just in case you didn’t see it before) One thing I can tell you.. Mama don’t whisper!
Hot Wheels
Published April 4, 2010 | 
We’ve all got wheels to take ourselves away
We’ve got telephones to say what we can’t say
We all got higher and higher every day
– emmylou harris
So, I have this friend who’s getting the kayak bug. He doesn’t want to do those “crazy” things I do (Isn’t it strange how sea kayaking or rolling can be seen as “crazy?), but wants to fish… and maybe cruise around a bit too. Of course when someone asks for this sort of advice and has never paddled before, you have to keep Karma in mind. Whatever advice you give will have repercussions in the end. I find it’s best to open doors to ideas, rather than offer my faux-expert advice. Continue reading
Back in Black
Published April 3, 2010 | 
Watching the painter painting / And all the time, the light is changing
And he keeps painting / That bit there, it was an accident
But he’s so pleased / It’s the best mistake, he could make
- k. bush
Ok, so there’s this whole vanity thing. (Disregard anything I may have implied in my last post!!). No, I didn’t suddenly buy another skin boat. This is the same beast with a new doo. Next comes a glass of red wine, some fine paint brushes, some leather, and a carving knife… I think I’m re-discovering my inner artist. Still, chances are even that I could end up selling it when I’m all done. We’ll see. But for the moment there is a certain joy in having a kayak that I can fiddle with. This canvas boat has become, my canvas.
Dairyland Boatwerks – Dealing with Oxidation
Published April 3, 2010 | 
My old warhorse has seen better days. It’s been some years now since I bought my 1996 Nigel Dennis Romany Explorer used at Rutabaga in Madison, WI. I’ll never forget how scary it felt to drop the $1500 back then on of all things, a kayak! Now after years of paddling, some harsh landings, intimating crashes, and just years of sitting out under the Midwest sun, the warhorse was in desperate need of care.
Pliable
Published April 2, 2010 | 
All that steel and stone
is no match for the air, my friend
what doesn’t bend breaks
– ani difranco
Thanks to a sudden bit of warm weather and a few hours of hard wind, the ice has cleared from my local lake. Finally I can once again go paddling just a few minutes from my front door. My first local paddle of the year was made even more interesting because I had a new kayak and a new paddle and both were happy to just go with the flow.
First I have to say that as much as the new skin-on-frame boat gives me hell when rolling, it tries it’s best to make up for it as a cruiser. It’s a fast and sturdy little craft. While you can feel a slight flexibility in the hull, my sense is that it’s much more sturdy than the more modern folding kayaks I’ve paddled. A kayak with too much flex can feel mushy and awkward to control, while a stiff hull tends to bang into waves and feel almost combative in the liquid world. A well made skin on frame, I’m told, should simply feel one with the water.
That I am one of two planets dancing
I am part of two planets dancing
– bat for lashes
What is important is often confused with what is required. What is required is rarely important at all, other than to those who require it. What is important is often very different. Thing is, sometimes you must do what is required in order to be free to do what is important… (yeah, it’s one of those posts…)
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