Sunday, November 25, 2012

Earth Oven Pizzas

Spent the whole day cooking pizzas and pumpkins. A lot of work for a unique taste but also worth it for  observing the rhythms of the meadow




Starting the fire


first pizza ready to go in


I will say mildly blackened food has a rewarding taste that differs from the electric oven failures. Plenty of variations to work out with the earth oven like heating it up hotter and longer for the start and a tool to remove all the fine hot ash. You'll see during this first time I kept a fire going in one corner of the oven to keep the temp up. This was moved around from one side to the other depending on what I was cooking or burning in most cases. 
The rolling fire posed a bit of a challenge when retrieving the pizza with flames running along the inside top or out the front where the oven exterior is black. So, a wooden peel was quickly constructed. The door also had to be soaked in water and propped up for a fresh air draw to keep the fire rolling. A chimney this spring once we're above freezing at night will be great to keep flames and smoke a good distance from my face. 
These are the ways I discovered to manage cooking with a open flame but not absolutely necessary I hope if 
next time a larger fire is made in the oven, burned longer and then removed when reduced to coals. Then the door can be sealed shut to hold the heat with no flames to contend with. Also, a precook on the crust just like electric cooking would be helpful so it's more evenly cooked in the center.
So, this was a good first try to work out these learning lessons but maybe not a daily affair just yet. This type of oven can easily be improved upon and adjusted since it is merely clay, sand and straw. It was a great reason to spend the whole day outside and exciting to finally use. 




Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Monday, November 19, 2012

Howling like the Wind



Ride
into the backbone of the Earth
where hearts pounding against
the icy air
hear
a wolf howling like the wind
the deep swirling spirits
awaken
luring us past
icy water falling
on a sky bridge between
ancient stromatolites and ravens riding thermals



the wolf pack grows and echoes
throughout the valley
reaching
the entrance of the tunnel
as the icy sun sets
behind illuminated snow and clouds
leaving only shadows and silhouettes








Monday, November 12, 2012

Sunday, November 11, 2012

An Arctic Bird's Winter Paradise





the highlight of my day
numb inflexible hands in an arctic bird's winter paradise, discovering a new way
along the other side of the river
with clear views to the bottom, Common and Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, American Widgeons, Canada Geese, Magpies, a Muskrat and the larch leaf drop
in lofty pillows along the trail with only berries, bare branches and conifers.  

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Sky Silver


Sky silver
casting a shade of icy blue 
reflecting in evening light
he paints rainbows 

Sky silver 
casting lines on
the reflecting river 
oncorhynchus paints the undercurrents

Sky silver
wind casting currents
the reflecting raven
paints with iridescent wings 








Thursday, November 8, 2012

Migration in Retrograde




waking 
during the morning of dawn stars, vaguely remembering vivid dreaming, the intense pulsars of fleeting light
passing
he found the unlikely flying soloist 
still 
velvet to the touch 
pollen dusting the lower left wing 
stuck 
to the middle of the road in November
at 48 degrees north 
the painted lady feeling missed migrations, her lost dream of yesterday and the vibration of planets in retrograde 










Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Chirality



Another day with the distorted sun
light suspended 
then filling my heart 
with an enduring warmth 
keeping the embers of my spirit burning
as laughter travels like an echoic wind  
from the kinetic rule makers of merriment 
suspended 
in a new vantage of perspective
  




Monday, November 5, 2012

Sinusoidal Projections



Nearly every morning
has been filled 
               with the late arrival of a grey sun 
   barely perceptible 
the silver lining illuminating
   a thick blanket of clouds 
with only one inversion adventure 
worth 10 minutes of direct sunlight
                                    for weeks

This morning we we're greeted with a sea of cerulean so irresistible
we bathed in the ocean of the sky.  redefining                   

~ delighted ~ 








Saturday, November 3, 2012

Excerpt from Frederico Garcia Lorca,  "Landscape"

    By mistake the evening 
had dressed in cold.
  
Through the mist on the panes
all the children
watch a yellow tree
change into birds.

"Paisaje"
 
 La tarde equivocada
se vistio de frio

Detras de los cristales
turbios, todos los ninos, 
ven convertirse en pajaros
un arbol amarillo






"Floating Bridges"

Every step we take on earth
brings us to a new world.
Every foot supported on a floating bridge.

And I know that there is no
straight road in this world-
only a giant labyrinth
of intersecting crossroads.

And steadily our feet
keep walking and creating
-like enormous fans-
these roads in embryo

"Los puentes colgantes"

Cada paso en la Tierra
nos lleva a un mundo nuevo.
Cada pie lo apoyamos
sobre un puente colgante.

Comprendo que no existe
el camino derecho.
Solo un gran laberinto
de encrucijadas multiples.

Constantemente crean
nuestros pies al andar
inmensos abanicos
desenderos en germen.

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