Ants in My Pants

From the canoe -
I spot a raccoon walking the drift logs on the edge of the north marsh. Ducks move into the water as it nears them. It disappears into the cattails, but sunning turtles sliding off of a log signal its approach and soon it reappears. Then it is gone again. A kingfisher flies past. A small iridescent blue swallow dips and darts low over the lily pads hunting insects. A heron stands, still, just ten yards away. My legs burn from swamp ant bites that I got while dragging a truck tire out of the lake. Back in the NE lagoon, there are many wood ducks and dragonflies. A heron flies out of the brush. Herons look so out of place when they fly through dense woods. One would think that those long wings would not pass. I grab another tire. It has sat, for years, just 50 yards from several very expensive lakefront homes. I wonder why they would let something like that just sit there for so long...

Around the Lake in Eighty Days

80 days of canoeing and blogging since November 21. K joined me today. We walked the canoe east to the big lake, which was much choppier than expected. The wind was from the SE, but with ten miles of like behind us, the waves were bigger and more irregular than expected. No photos during the first mile as I needed to keep the boat on course and we were taking some water in over the gunnels every once in a while. The water is reasonably warm and it isn't uncomfortable to be wet, unlike in the winter. Once in Union Bay, the waves subsided, as expected. In the NE lagoon, we spotted several wood ducks and two eagles. There were some herons about, but the cattails, irises and other vegetation have grown up quite a bit and visibility into the marsh is limited until fall. We did collect some trash, maybe 10 gallons, but with the plant life up as it is, much of the debris that I haven't yet removed will be hidden from sight until October. Anyway, gave K a good tour as I am uber familiar with this part of the lake. Then, through the cut and south to the bottom of Portage Bay where we took out and walked back up the hill.

To the North

It is a beautiful June day with temps in the 70's and a nice breeze. I head to the north end of the big lake. There are four bald eagles circling and fishing not far from shore along with two gulls that are doing some fancy diving after fish. I have apparently had some effect on the amount of plastic debris in Union Bay as it is getting difficult for me to collect enough junk for my sculpture project. The north end of the lake collects debris, in fact it should collect everything that hasn't gotten caught up in the miles of shoreline to the south (winds tend to be out of the south). I set out from a park and scoot along the shore. Most of the park's shoreline is overgrown. I dunno, maybe this is to discourage swimming here as there is a lot of debris on the shore. The lake here has a firm sandy bottom, so I can wade and collect junk when I need to. Unlike the marsh, where most stuff is floating, a great amount of the sandy berm forming the shore is comprised of plastic. I find lots of tennis balls, many more beach toys than usual, some picnic ware, and I get my first tennis racket. I cherry pick the trash, collecting the best sculptural materials - I'll be back to pick more later. Loaded up, I paddle a mile out to a distant point and back, just for exercise.

Summer is here

Back in the water after a week exploring the desert. Summer is here, the water feels warmer, lily pads are growing in the marshes. I set out from the big lake today, heading north. I shoot a photo every 100 strokes, but when I start collecting garbage, I lose count. It's a project for some other time. Lot's of geese in the water now. They have hatched their goslings and are done with their nests. As I get into Union Bay, there are also lots of dead little fish. Seems like too many, but I'm no expert. Crows are enjoying the bounty, but I'm sure herons and eagles prefer live food. I also notice some large carp-like fish. Probably escaped Koi (goldfish) ie fancy carp. They are wrestling in the lily pads. It is a pleasant day with a light wind and plenty of sun. I pick up about 20 gallons of junk, 3/4 of it I can use in my sculpture, the rest is disposed of properly. I also pull out two car tires. I don't feel like getting deep into fetching plastic from the marsh because I get tired of netting dead stinky little fish.

My Best Nightmare Coming True?

I'm in want of someplace different, so, I paddle north in the big lake well past Union Bay.

A seaplane with an old piston engine rumbles into the air, but it is well out of sight. The sound drifts off for a few dozen paddle strokes before the plane comes out from behind a hill whose trees have absorbed it's noise. It flies south past me towards Mt. Rainier. When I reach Wolf Bay (it is not much of a bay - not since 1916 when the lake level dropped 10 feet) an eagle flies past and then perches in a tree along the shore where crows pester it. It whistles a deep haunting tone back at the crows.

I am almost to Sand Point before I see the first motorboat. I turn around and head south.

As I near the lunchcounter, an eagle flies out of the NE lagoon. It is hunting and I see it splash full body down into the water. It comes up empty, circles some and splashes down again. Again it comes up empty. This time it circles, gradually climbing and gradually widening it's arc until it finally flies back to the NE lagoon.

I have to push many drift logs out of way to access a rich plastic debris spot. It is getting more difficult for me to collect plastic junk. My best nightmare may be coming true. I fill my boat with about 50 gallons of junk. Some of it is the pebble grain styrofoam, which I especially hate because it falls apart and soaks up so much water that I cannot use it for my artwork.

Iris Time

Yellow iris's are in bloom along with some of the lily pads. So while I scoop trash from the windward side of the marsh islands, I am treated to a yellow spatter of iris flowers right at my eye level. Today it is in the 60's with a light wind. I start at Portage Bay, paddle to Union Bay to pick trash and then exit at the South end of Lake Union. But --

My first thoughts came as I walked my canoe to the lake and since my hand is well inside the canoe, I guess I can compromise and count it as a view from the canoe. I'm making a sculpture using the plastic debris that I've recovered from the lake. I want to be as green as possible, but the sculpture also has to survive outside in the weather. So, I'm gluing it together with some heavy duty industrial glue. I thought of melting it together, but that brings in the use of fossil fuel - plus the toxicity of melting plastic. Of course, natural fiber cord could hold it all together, for awhile, at which time it would self destruct and end up back in the trash cycle and the message behind the work is lost. Saving the environment will require some compromises also. But, it will also require no compromise on many issues. That is where we will fail as it is human nature to see everything as negotiable. And, Mother Nature is tolerant in the short term, but does not negotiate on the long term.

Hearty Plastic Soup

Paddling north in Lake Washington on my way to collect 30 gallons of plastic from the marsh for an art project. I'm thinking about ownership. What makes a house yours? What is it that makes land or water yours? How do you really own something? Legally, one pays their money and they own "it". But, this is ownership in the shallowest of terms. People that frequently buy and sell houses, moving from town to town - do they really own their house? When I talk to them, their home seems to be an investment and at best a place to stay.

Ownership isn't about an investment, or about investing in, it is about "being invested in". It is more than the easy surface, more than the paper deed, it is about "the deed", the action, the involvement, it is about "being".

I can get snooty about the bay. I have to remind myself that everyone gets to set their own price of admission. I don't have to remind myself that you get what you pay for.

Saw some geese. One eagle soaring high and one in the trees near the entrance to the northeast lagoon. Also spotted three ducks (remember how many ducks are here in the winter) but I was too lazy to dig out my binoculars. It turned out to be a very nice day and I ended up with 40 gallons of plastic junk because I was able to access a particularly rich bowl of plastic soup.