dot's small stone: January 17

NaNoWriMo metal keyfob
red bird singing against a blue sky
happy memories

small stone #17
by dot.
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dot's small stone: January 12

rain droplets iridescent purple
against the raven's obsidian black;
limp rust worm in its beak

small stone #12
by dot.
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Paddling Poet continues

We had a beautiful night on Lake River in Ridgefield, WA, Thursday night. There were four of us in our kayaks, paddling, drifting, being present, and taking in all that nature offered to us. The water was calm, the wind very mild, the temperature just right.

After a short while, we came upon a blue heron standing in the water. Feeding. We've learned from Gail, our guide, that if we don't look directly at the heron, we can get closer. We also didn't want to disturb the great bird's feeding time, so we drifted. Closer and closer, looking without looking, anticipating. We did not want to mess up her chances at catching the fish nor scare her away. Well, maybe not "scare" her, but force her to throw up her wings in disgust at our rudeness and fly away to a quieter place to feed.

Later we saw what was probably a family or clan of beavers. Swimming toward us, then away, then diving deep and leaving behind a couple of nice big branches with tasty leaves. Did they forget their dinner or was it reinforcements for their home?

We took notes as we floated near the railroad ties bridge into the wildlife refuge. We wrote poetry. Then after returning to the boathouse and climbing out of the kayaks (still not my most graceful maneuver - but I do get out without falling in) - after which we sat along the dock and shared what we wrote, listened, offered encouragement and said what was strong in our writing.

A lovely night.

And we agreed to add another session - which will dovetail onto Ridgefield Kayak's Birdfest paddle. The migratory birds will be passing through and departing; they offer special paddles at that time. We decided we'd do a semi-impromtu paddling poet for those who want to participate. And those on the paddle who just want to listen or just paddle out of earshot are welcome to do so.

The added session in conjunction with Ridgefield's Birdfest will be on Friday, October 8th, from 4-6pm. As with the first three, reservations are required. They are especially required for this paddle, which will fill up.
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The Act of Showing Up

As I've hinted at here and there, I have been struggling to write. Creatively write. I've written plenty for syllabi and course outlines and introductions for students and defense of why I gave a student a "D" and in search of internship placements.

But writing for "me" and what I hope will be a growing audience was stalled.

I met with friends here and there and tried to continue the CLF saga (my 2009 NaNoNovel). I did manage to do a little editing on two pieces and did get one submitted.

But the new, the raw, the starting over - stalled. Or the completion of my 2009 NaNoNovel - stalled.

I tried prompts. I tried to "just go" -- lurch, ayup, nada.

But tonight I turned a corner. I met with my awesome writing friend, Jenny, this morning. Over coffee and egg panini at one of our favorite writing spots, we discussed her novel which I am excited to see coming to completion. I opened a document to work on it, made a couple notes, and we talked some more.

Great conversation. About self-publishing, about Amazon self-publishing and the ramifications of that. About e-books and Kindle and other electronic reading devices. About how to get more information about self-publishing something you are hoping to get published by a company. It was great and inspiring.

Then we had to separate and each go our ways to teach. The student I was in a rush to be there for didn't show up. So I had time to grade a little and do more preparation for next week. Then I taught my two classes.

And took my time to drive a major road - instead of the freeway - in the pouring rain and a little wind through rush hour to.... tada ... my ultra-favorite writing spot, which just happens to be open 24-hours a day. And there I met a new NaNo friend (I met Jenny and Christi - another writer friend from afar and an interpreter - during NaNo last year) and the newest member of my growing writerly support group, Deb.

And, tonight, at last, I wrote. I finished a short piece I will be submitting to The Sun once I get some feedback.

Tonight I feel like I finally broke through the wall of the stall and found my way back to the path. And I have one foot on it. There is a ways to go, but I'm finding my way.

Finding my way because, even though I was feeling like it was sometimes useless or I was failing, I still showed up.

I showed up and showed up and opened the documents and put down my very few words here and there and. I found my way back. Right now I'm waiting for my other writer friend, Alexander, to show up. And I'll see if I can put together a little bit more.

One step.
One bird.
One minute.
One thought.

With a little help from my friends, I wrote a piece tonight.

Skamokawa, WA paddle

Ridgefield Kayak took a new trip today and I was there with them. It was beautiful paddling from Skamokawa, WA to Cathlamet, WA - a total of about 7 miles. The original plan was to end at Skamokawa, but the weather prediction, along with tides and all those things the guides check, indicated some strong winds that would make it better to start at Skamokawa.

The trip was really nice. We went through sloughs, on rivers, a little bit on the Columbia river. We saw osprey, eagles, terns (I forget which kind), gulls (of course), Canadian geese, killdeer, purple martins, blue heron, a small young ill/malnourished coyote, river otter, neutria, and probably more that I either forgot or didn't hear what they were called. We paddled through steep banks where animals surely lived, along the edge of swamps, past abandoned waterfront property and some which weren't abandoned but looked nearly the same. We saw old piers where the plants are now growing out of the top, natural Ikebana which was incredibly gorgeous, one place that I named the "ghost forest" because of pier-like tree trunks sticking out the water, all the same height, in front of a forest bank.

I didn't take very many pictures, because I was busy paddling. And I was still getting used to a new style of hardshell kayak. It was a little nervewracking for a few minutes when we first went on the Columbia river portion, because there were little waves and wakes, as well as more wind. I felt pretty comfortable in the more snug fitting boat up until that point - so much so that I even attached my spray skirt (which means I wasn't afraid of falling in the water and not being able to get out of the boat because of the skirt) - but the choppiness and the wind were much more rocky. After a bit I adapted - and will admit to being glad the Columbia portion was fairly short. Next time it will be easier.

One paddler had been called in to work, so it ended up being three guides and three guests. Not bad odds! Everyone was a delight and it was a great day.




This short video is at our lunch stop at a sandy beach along the Columbia river.

Pronunciation: "Skamokawa" = skah-mock'-ah-way ; "Cathlamet" = cath-lam'- ett
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