2010 Issue 1

Just some random bits discovered when organizing for the coming year:

Forts
Eight stories high with a crocodile moat
and one secret chamber for casting our votes
a tower for prisoners, a dungeon for thieves
and a stockpile of snacks that you wouldn't believe
A cage for fierce creatures we capture abroad
for griffins and dragons and giants and frogs
there's only one flaw with the plans we have drawn
because Mom says no fort building on the front lawn


One day at derby
Bob likes to eat things he finds on the ground.
Every shape, any size be it pointy or round.
He won't take just a taste no he'll eat the whole thing.
Although sometimes he'll share with the people he brings.

Not a pickle too salty, not an apple too poor
that he wouldn't devour it, then look for some more
His courses aren't ordered, dessert first some days
if a brownie or cookie he sees as it lays.

For found food to him is a sweet symphony.
Even once saw him slurp a slice of bologna
An insatiable stomach though he gains not a pound
From the many weird wonders he finds on the ground.


Real Mower
A reel mower is a real mower can't everyone see
it still cuts the grass only less noisily

and without all the smell, and without all the gas,
and without all the cost, and it works just as fast.

it still takes fifteen minutes on a small city plot
but on small little lots, it makes sense, a whole lot

so go ahead laugh as you see me out back
walking quiet lines as I'm cutting my grass

you may think I look funny, you may claim it's much slower
then you do the same job on a big riding mower

The first snow of the year

Well it seems that time of year again when I regroup on things I want to do, try, or change about how I live my life. Art is the focus for the next year I have decided, be it writing, drawing, three dimensional randomness or whatever other creative realities may come about as a result of trying to be a little more intentional with this........I may cheat a little and post things which happened before my new initiative but haven't decided yet.

First go began with a coffee shop stop this weekend and an attempt at a poem.

in snow
the silence soon descends
cascades of white
a solemn hymn
to wrap all from the bitter cold
and winds that blow as darkness claims
in minutes, seconds, moments breath
still more of every passing day
in snow



in snow
take heart in solitude
the slowing pace
a time to taste
the stores of memories from the year
from springs sweet birth, the cycles start
to summers heat, where thoughts get lost
then autumns harvest, fast departs
in snow

in snow
the briefest respite take
breath slow and speak
in hearts true voice
those secrets hid within our souls
to those who share this winters night
for visions sown within our our dreams
give warmth, and joy, and love, and light
in snow

Keeping a Weather Eye

So things....hmmm.....where to begin.

At least a little follow up on the solstice pagaent it seems. The story of Yalmer the Woodcutter was of the struggle of a small business man who must be vigilant to remember why he does what he does in a culture where profits, possessions, and production seem to become dominant despite any proof that they actually make us happy. It involved deer costumes, many small forest animals, and a stationary bike powered table saw which yours truly designed and built out of scrap lumber from around the shop.

The story begins with Yalmer the Logger picking out the spot in the woods where he will set up his home stead. He enter the woods (stilt walkers) and finds just the spot to set up shop. There are plenty of trees for him to harvest and conduct his trade. He also meets and befriends a porcupine who assists him in his works.

As business grows he shifts from using an axe, to a cross cut saw......until finally he upgrades to the procupowered mill!!!!! So with this new technology, Yalmer is able to increase production (deer in UPS trucks stopping by to pick up wood and drop off his new orders). He begins to get overly enticed by catalogs..........

Deer and Doebuck Bambi's Secret
there was an assortment of fantastic titles.....

So tired Yalmer needs rest from all his work and purchases and begins to dream....but first a danceing deer montage!!

In his dream ghostly deer are overwhelming him with things. Stuff he wants. Stuff he thinks he needs. Stuff that in the end has him tossing and turning in his sleep.

So after waking up Yalmer realizes that he needs to slow down to find his happiness. With the help of his friend the porcupine he does and peace returns to the forest, the sun king dances, and all is right with the world.

Well that's all for now....I need to rest....just like the sun kid.....until next time be well and live the life you love

If you go down in the woods today....

So yes I have been lost for a bit it seems, at least to the electronic realm, but fortuately it is always waiting for us upon return from whatever has been keeping us away. The beauty of technology.

So was I at the teddy bear picnic? Nope. But I have been busy. Since last I wrote I took another timber frame course, helped out with the biggest event hosted here at North House all year, had a great visit with my parents, and even got out on the sailboat some more. So while there will be peaks of some of the things to come it seems today I will just be looking back at some of the last few weeks to try to figure out exactly what happened.

So more timber framing you say? Yes indeed I reply. this time I was able to take part in a beginner's class which fit me just perfect. We worked on the building you can see here to the right. The best part about this second course was being able to be involved with a building from start to finish. As a group we cut all the timbers and raised it. The problem is now I want to build my own house........

The week after the class my folks got into town just in time for the wooden boat show. This event serves as what seems to be the centerpiece of the North House year as well as the middle of the summer...literally. Falling on solstice the weekend is a mix of wooden boats, food, former students, instructors galore, demonstrations, talks, and more. Between the Chowder Chowdown and the Auction my folks had to settle for just enjoying the many festivities as this boy was running around crazy. One of the highlights of the weekend for me was being able to take part in the solstice pagaent. A former member of the Heart of the Beast Puppet troup in Minneapolis moved up here a while ago and has since engaged much of the town in stilt walking and paper mache. It is amazing to see what a group of motivated folks of all ages can create in under three weeks. Every year the story tries to focus on some aspect of local life as well as an event from the previous year. This year the pagaent told the story of a sawyer. I was put to task rigging up a stationary bike to a four foot cardboard tablesaw contraption which was powered by the sawyer's porcupine buddy (a local twelve year old) during the performance. I'll have a DVD when I return which might be an easier way to communicate the tale of this sawyer and the temptation of changing his work and life practices in order to make more money.

I also was a part of the musical group which accompanied the performance. I mentioned my musical background to the right (or wrong) individual depending on perspective and was soon roped into relearning to play the baritone for the performance. Mr. Fattey would be happy to know that my chops, after a few weeks practice, were not nearly as bad as i expected. I am however not ready to step back into the pit orchestra just yet.

This left me exhausted for my weekend (Monday and Tuesday) but also looking forward to some actual time to visit my folks. It was a great couple of day where we were able to get to many places I had yet to visit. We were able to go hiking up the gunflint trail as well as visit the historical center at Grand Portage. It is a bit like Plymouth Colony or Williamsburg with many on sight staff in period garb describing what life was like during it's prime as well as the history of the location. Having traveled to many places and many parks, I must say that the staff and setup of Grand Portage is one of the better living history sights I have ever visited. We were able to cap off the trip with a hike at to one of my favorite spots....Cascade falls. Oh yeah...and did I mention we went sailing!!!! It seems years but was only a week. More on the solstice pagaent soon.....I'm hoping to be able to tell the tale in pictures.

Sea and Sky

There is a rhythm to the natural world around. It's beats rise and fall with a song that resonateswith each of us. It calls to us in a language which we have forgotten or struggle to hear but which strikes a harmonic in the core of out being. We are after all a part of that world despite our many efforts to convince ourselves that we travel on parallel but separate paths.I have been reminded in many ways recently of the importance of the natural world to our well being and the very way we go about our lives. It pervades everything from the Cyclone in Myanmar, a program about a new moon on NPR, to the simple walk across the campus from the little yellow house to the campus office where I can't help but gaze out across the waters of lake superior. So why is it that we so often feel disconnected from this natural world? Is it of
relevance to humanity and society to recognize this relationship and seek to take it into account in our development, technological innovation, and anthropocentric lifestyles which cast us as independent of the rest of earth biological systems?For me the natural world was one aspect of what pulled me into this experience. I knew that I missed big water. Having grown up on Lake Erie and now living on the shores of Superior, the majesty of the great lakes are often lost upon those who have never seen them. They are of a scale lost on many simply because they are called lakes. Often I am struck looking out the windows of the little yellow house to gaze south across the water in the direction of much of the rest of the country and know that they are there, waiting unseen beyond the blue-green horizon of the water. It is an experience paralleled in many other I have had in the past. Sitting beneath the overwhelming presence of the Bethel sky in AK where one is dwarfed by the magnitude of an unobscured starscape which covers the entirety of your line of sight. The light as it grows or fades across the central american mountains, watched over by the hulking giant Tejumulco. While the majesty of those experiences stand out, I cannot however

ignore that such magic is everywhere. Perhaps it just takes a shock of such magnitude to remind us it is there. Before leaving dayton I often sought out trees as a respite in the natural
world. To me, a slight breeze and a certain bench was enough to once again feel the pulse of
this greater organism to which I am a part.

In exploring the town I have begun to go out into the natural beauty which permeates the surroundings on every side now that I have settle in a bit. Most recently walking out to artists point which lies on a spit jutting out into the lake. I have been told that it was originally an island off shore but was connected to the mainland at some point later on. It would seem that it was done to allow access to the light houses which reside there as well as a means of building a breakwall with which to shelter the harbor and ships docked here in town. To stepout on the rocks on the south side of the point is to emerge in another world. Away from town, from civilization and the noise and bustle which is currently tied so tightly to it. For me at least, what is left in such moments is an emptiness of the tension too often overwhelming us from day to day. An emptiness that rings with a calm and peace. It is an emptiness only of the buzz and hum which we have become so accustomed in our modernity but which is overfull of other treasures which seem lost in our advanced way of living. It is a space I have missed for far too long and it serves to remind me of some of the reasons why I came.Perhaps it is time for another walk in the woods.....Much peace,charlie

If I had a Paddle..... North House Volume II

First of all I made the mistake giving you all the wrong phone number.
Again, please don't call unless it is the evening (standard time) as I've
been told not to hold up the office lines.

The number is: 218-387-1800

Hmm....so what else happens up here?Well I just completed a course in which I made my own voyager canoe paddle. We started with a plank of wood so I am pretty impressed with myself as I think the thing might actually function in the water. For those of you who don't know about the voyagers...ask the Peters.....just kidding. The voyageurs (literally means traveler...go figure) were the licensed fur traders who worked with merchants out of Quebec. Grand Portage is just up the road from Grand Marais. They paddled all over the place up here and were playing around up here before we even won our independence. I mean these guys had to be tougher than stone to survive out here before all the amenities arrived. Thankfully in these modern times they take soft handed enginerds who don't know a spokeshave from a low angle plane but I'm learning. I will say that I can't help but think of the kids in the hall skit with the french traders...but I digress. More information on that whole thing here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coureur_des_bois#Voyageurs

Winter is still cold and heavy up here and while I am in some ways ready for the summer sun, the snow has been rather beautiful. My hoody would be great (SALLY SAVE ME!). I don't know if it is the lake, or just the difference in latitude but the gray that I've become so accustomed to doesn't seem to exist here. Even the snow storms often have the sun or blue skies dancing around behind them. I have attached a picture of the paddle I made. Daily I am blown away with just how incredible this whole experience is turning out to be. I just had to share the paddle (the one with the woodburning).....now all I need to figure out is how to make the boat and I'll be cooking.Charlie....or Charlemagne or however you would say charlie with in french (I'm trading in my pirate for french trapper

Fish and Guests - North House Volume I

Benjamin Franklin said, "Fish and guests stink after three days." Now every line has a context but in some ways I can relate to that one. After three days on the road I arrived a week ago Sunday in Grand Marais, Minnesota for this my next great adventure. While I was afforded showers by the folks who offered me accommodations, dinner outings, beefsgiving, and really great conversation. Big thank yous to those who made it possible. Admittedly, when I arrived from Dayton via Minneapolis via Chicago I did have a bit of the road on me. Fortunately there were not fish in the car.

So I made it. I am here. I live in the little yellow house (see the first picture below) which as you can see sits on the harbor on beautiful lake superior. When I got here things were in full swing with a pram class underway. I spent the first two days just unpacking my things and settling into my itty bitty apartment. The staff is really great too. "Minnesota nice" is a reality and makes it really comfortable despite the short amount of time I have been here. There is Greg the Executive Director. Scott the Program director from north of the border (that means he

is Canadian eh). Kay the office Manager. Mica the store manager. They are the four full time staff. Then there are two part timers Kelly and Bob. Kelly is the volunteer coordinator and Bob is the facilities manager. As with most operations of this nature everybody does a bit of everything and each is responsible for certain areas of interest. They are all "Minnesota nice". Well Bob is more of a Hagrid with a little bit of Filch (Harry Potter reference for those who just became completely

confused) so he is big, jovial, but straight to the point and is direct with you when he is annoyed. This may

however only indicate the Minnesota nice also includes extreme passive aggressiveness. I'll tell you more when I'm sure I've pissed a few of them off.

So the Pram class is taught by this nutter who was actually around for the start of things. His name is Mark, sharp as a tack, a bit of a class clown, and at times gets the Robin Williams "I'm really might be crazy....no really" gleam in his eye. Consequently he is a real rip.

The facility includes two big timber frame classrooms which basically amount to giant tool shops with really sweet equipment. (Matyas and Nichols...I now have the blueprint for the community work shops) It is like shop class on steroids. My flannel has come in handy in order to blend in a bit but I feel like my pony tail has me labeled as one of the hippies from up the gun flint. I'm not sure if that is helping or hurting but it should be long enough to donate soon so that will solve the problem all together. As expected, the beard is back and will be spending the summer with me.

To wrap up I'll just add that I did take my first course this past weekend. It was artisan baking so we worked in pre-ferments (sourdoughs of a sort) and cooked them in a wood fired oven. I now know how to make fougasse, focaccia, ciabatta, sourdough boules, an oatmeal and wild rice, and a rye. Pretty impressive to see it all listed. Definitely learned a ton and will enjoy using the oven all summer for pizzas and demos of bread making with folks passing through the North House. Also has me thinking that I am going to take the oven building class so that I
can help set them up in other appropriate places......DeRouan's....want a bread oven???!!! And who said thermodynamics couldn't get you anywhere.

Well that is all over the board looking back on it but a lot has happened. Figure this first one should just be a bit of an explanation of what is going on and then I can find something meaningful to write in the next few. So I've put down some pictures of the "classrooms" and buildings to kind of give an idea of the place.

Hope all are well,
Much love,
charlie

upcoming editions may include
Voyager Paddles (said with the voice of a french trapper)
Paddling to the sea with 3rd graders
Hot spots in down town Grand Marais

Here is a picture of the campus from the breakwall on the far side of the harbor --->