Sacred Images

Pictographs along Picture Gorge..

Welcome back to part 2 of our Eastern Oregon trip..I know It's only been a month, but honestly, I just can't stand sitting here for the hours it takes to write these posts. I also space out how long it's been between postings, and not that much exciting goes on in my life. Mostly it's work.
On the way back from Eastern Oregon we drove back along the John Day river, the only green for miles, with spectacular landscapes around us.
Part of this route winds through a narrow canyon, and named Picture Gorge. Named so because the Paleo people who lived here painted spirit drawings on it's walls. Some of them have similarities to the rock art found in Europe, which makes sense given the time period they were thought to be made. That and the primal human need for communication with the Gods/Spirits/Ancestors, to intercede, bestow or assist. It could all also just be graffiti, we will never know for sure..
Even though they built a damn highway through it, it is still a special place..


The Gorge Looking back...we stopped for a picnic and look at the river..


Taking a rest...and the hills around us..



Spirit drawings...



Standing below, looking up...


The sheer walls, twisting stones, the seat of eagles.
I stand before the sheer rock walls my neck craned back taking in the beauty. Behind me the river rushes past. Between me and the river is the road. Usually one has to put up with the danger of being run over by vehicles charging past, and their intrusive noise ruining the natural peace of the place.
Not today. No cars or trucks come rushing by today, so I can almost imagine how peaceful this place was, before the road came though it. I can't help but wonder if it was the present century, would they have blasted a road though here knowing what treasures were on it's walls?



More Natural Splendor
The route we took was awesome, but as usual did I take enough pics? No.
It was an awesome road trip, and this week we have another opportunity for blogging content.
This coming weekend is the Summer Solstice, so we are off to our local Fauxhenge as I call it, or the Stonehenge Memorial at Maryhill Washington.


Maryhill Stonehenge Memorial

Off with some good friends to camp out over night, get up early(Wait, didn't we just do that for Beltane?...) and watch Sunna/Sol rise over the mountains. Swim in the mighty Columbia river for a good cleansing off of any bad ju-ju, Then it's off to our friends James and Karen's wedding! Should be an action packed weekend all round.
So happy Solstice everyone! remember when the Sun was at her depths, and winter reigned? Now we rejoice at the warm days, the growing grain and the fruitful boughs! Build a nice bonfire, have a good jump over it, feast, swim in the fresh waters, make wreathes of flowers and oak leaves to wear. Laugh, be merry!Enjoy the longest day of the year!
I know we will.

Yeehaw!

Wild Flowers of the High Mountains
Last week this time I was loading our truck for a much needed road trip to Eastern Orygon. Dan had a teaching engagement out in Baker City. He was also revisiting old haunts, places and re-connecting with freinds. Lucky me, wifey, got to tag along for the adventure.

We headed up the Columbia River Gorge, also called the Rhine of the West. More on that amazing place later. We drove for an eternity, along the mighty Columbia River, past Beacon Rock, Hood River, it's apple orchards filled with blooms, bees buzzing. The Dalles, on and on we drove..Until we turned right and began to climb into ponderosa pine covered forests.



The Elkhorn Mountains( Hunting horns blow loudly, Valkyrie's fly out of the clouds)
Behold the Elkhorns. New mountains, high , and dramatic they teem with Elk, deer, Mountain lions, and Wolves. Golden Eagles soar their craggy heights, and I stood in awe of their
beauty. During the day snow squalls dusted them, at night the full moon glinted off their peaks like silver.We we're headed for Dan's friend's ranch,
"Rancho Costa-plenty". Nestled at the feet of the mountains, they own 40 acres of land, three horses, two dogs, 2 cats and several little brown bats. They build their house together, and are some of the best people on Earth.



The Rancho, horse pasture, Washington Gulch, looking down off the ranch house deck.
Coffee and yoga on the deck every morning dahling, then a brisk jog down the road. Late breakfast, hiking all day..watching the eagles soar. Thanks to Devon and Rachael's hospitality I felt like I was at some sort of spa.


The Hills dotted with junipers..




Devon on his big , huge, trail horse.
This is the man you want on your side. Excellent horseman, carpenter, husband, and friend. Oh and funny...very funny..tells stories that will curl yer hair..tells jokes that make you groan..
We discussed politics and stories of life in the outback..


Me and Rachel and her paint, Flint Stone..
It was so damn great to hang out with another strong minded, type A, talkative, mountain woman who loves the land and is deeply connected to it. Italian and Irish, fair as a flower, feisty as a bobcat. Not just a fabulous horse woman, but an engineer/auto mechanic who worked her ass off to get what she has, Rides the trails with Her handsome Devon. We had such a great time laughing , blabbing, and getting to know one another. She made me feel so welcome, I didn't want to leave.
She was off to dressage class with her horse when we took that shot.



Here's the ritual:
I hide below the rock wall. YOU, the human get a stick. Then you throw the stick. I chase it and
laugh, and then return. No I do not fetch the stick, you have to get a new one.
Iam waiting....


Copper the red dog waiting for YOU to throw a stick.
Throw it already!



No! Don't go inside! Were having a game!!!


Okay, Iam still here..Throw the stick.
Repeat until you go mad.
Copper the red dog is still a puppy, she has enough energy to light up a small city.
She loves to run, run run. Oh and steal your shoes..try to find your boot on 40 acres..so you have to out them up high, or else Surprise!
After a great time visiting, and Dan's triumphant teaching was a happy memory..at the Baker City Interpretive Center ...We had, alas, to come back home to rainy Portlandia, but on the way we had some stops.
I am unfortunately not into snapping pics at everything, I missed a lot of shots due to my non-alertness..oh well, here's some I did get.


Wheels
Outside the carriage repair shop.
Wagon wheels, don't get any westerner than that!


The tackiness that only Western Americana yard sculpture can convey..Each cast in steel..
I have to confess to liking the buffalo alot.


"No." said my husband. "Just no!"
Fine then...hmph..
So we headed out, and around john Day we encountered something pretty damn cool.



Here they come!

"Oh you're gonna love this." says my darling husband.."It's a cattle drive!"
The truck winds down to a stop.
Wiry cowboys mounted up on bay horses come riding ahead of the herd. The bawling and bugling of cattle can be heard echoing down the canyon..Cattle dogs , squinty eyes and speckled like granite trot along beside the horsemen..The herd, a red, black, white and cream colored mass it moves with a slow, chaotic intent towards us. Iam so excited I can hardly contain myself.
This is something I have only seen in movies...or read about in books..

"Paula," I say out loud, "Is gonna dig this..."

I grab the camera.


Spilling up the side of the road.
Headed straight for us, 50 some odd head of cattle..The rancher is moving them down the way, to another pasture, or range. But all along the roadside is new, tasty green grass to eat, and so the herd is reluctant to move along. The herd is mixed beef cattle. Angus, Hereford, Charolais..



On the move
Spilling up the roadside...calves squeezing through fences, cows bawling after them, cowboys flanking them..chasing them back down onto the highway..
It's like a giant mooing amoeba...



Ca-boy on the hillside



Here they come!
The mooing and squalling of calves and cows is deafening. In the pitch of the mass the calves will get separated from their mothers, and their mothers are not happy. They holler and holler, looking for their babies..the babies squeal and squeal looking for their moms..All the time the cowboys move everything along..





We roll forward...into the mass of bovines..




Cute little calf.
Momma would not be happy if you tried to get too close.






Over HEre!!!!!!
The swirling herd, the loud bawling , the mooing, the smells, the big bodies inches from my truck, okay leaning on my truck..How do I convey to you what it was like? Being on a ship in stormy sea? While Nelson fires cannons over your head? The Cowboys yelling "Hyup! Ho! Heeyah!" as they use their coiled lariats to nudge the slow along, they canter by on the hillsides containing the mass of moo..

Mister Bull
I sit astonished as the big, well muscled Hereford bull saunters past the front bumper of our truck. I fumble for the camera, and manage to snap a pick of his rump..We are rolling along forward, the herd spilling away from us like water on a ships prow.
Mister Bull hustles over to the embankment to get in on the dee-licious grass his ladies have discovered, and sets to browsing.

Mooving along



Out of the past

It all felt like we had stepped back in time. The handsome cowboys, oh and they were handsome. Dressed in their work gear, they sported mustaches and suntans. Tall in the saddle, lean of limb, and confident in the saddle. Sparkling eyes like sunlight on a mountain stream...Wolf Woman I know you would have leaped from the truck and onto their horse!
The romantic image of the cowboy intertwined with the real thing.



Handsome Cowboy
Dressed in clothes straight out of the 19Th century, the blonde cowboy came riding up alongside the truck. I could only stare wide eyed as he sat on his horse, watching the straggling cows go by. Then I locked eyes with him. Sigh. Oh Wolf Woman, you would lose your heart to this one..Why if I wasn't a sensible married woman with a wonderful, handsome husband already...
I smiled and nodded to him..the truck jerked forward, and I tried to snap a picture without seeming a tourist..
He leaned forward in the saddle, tipped his hat and winked at I me.
I could not get a good picture, he was moving fast, and we were rolling.
It couldn't have been nerves..
"Oh gawd," says the Hubbinator.." Women and cowboys!"...
The Hubbinator rolled his eyes..and off we went..
I have to admit I did turn and look back.

NEXT: Picture Gorge

Bees and blossoms

Apple blossoms awaiting the bees..
We have a small apple orchard in the backyard. I mean tiny really. It is comprised of two red delicious and two mystery trees that produce amazing, sweet, red streaked golden fruits.
They have only ever been pruned in a furtive way, as I was always afraid of really having a go at it and wrecking them.

I finally sucked it up and pruned the heck out of them this year, after consulting a friend who knows how to do such things properly. He walked me through it, and shared his knowledge of pruning, which Iam grateful for!
So, I waited, and the buds unfurled, the old , shiny cd's hung in the branches kept the bud eating birds away. Soft pink petals opened and smelled so sweet...on all but one tree.
One of the mystery apples decided to just give blossoms a miss this year: only one flower on a usually heavy bearing tree.
What gives?
Iam not sure why it's not fruiting.
Didn't like the wassailing year? Pissed that I pruned it after 4 years of not pruning it...we left plenty of growth that should have produced blossoms...the green buds were already formed and about to open when I finally pruned the tall, whip like branches from it's top..
Is it a variety that skips seasons? It never has before..Iam vexed.
Iam just starting to take this apple growing thing seriously, so more research is needed..



Little Miss Bee
Yesterday I went out to admire the garden and see if the bees were out fertilising my apple blossoms yet. It was 70 degrees, sun shining gloriously, birds singing from above... and only one valiant little honey bee flying from flower to flower. ONE.
This is a bummer because while it had been a bit cool, this was warm day, and there should have been many bees, including the Mason kind buzzing around the trees..We have plenty of resident Mason bees, they have nesting holes in the shop, fence posts, little wooden blocks we set out for them..but they were still snoozing apparently.
Iam not sure if it's colony collapse, or just the lack of local hives to explain my solitary honey bee, but there she was. All alone, systematically hitting every flower. Better than nothing I thought. Thank you little Miss Bee!
So I thought I would do my best to snap a few pics of her in action.






She was so intent on her job that she never gave me a second thought. I waited for more to arrive but it was only her all afternoon.. I hope she went home and waggled out some directions for her hive mates, and that the next warm day we have (not today, it's 50 out and raining) will find plenty of honey bees all over my fruit trees.
Or as I l like to say, "Happy bees having sex with my trees!"
Ironically as I sat hunting and pecking this out on the computer, Wolf Woman called to share with me her news, That she is now the proud owner of two bee colonies, and has started her beekeeping in earnest!
Pretty cool.
Here's to the bees!

Work! Thistle hinges...

Drawing of hinges ...
Well as I have stated before things around here have been..well ...slow. Dan still has his historical/living history empire , axes, fire strikers etc... that always trickles in, but big ornamental jobs not so much. This of course has caused us much grief, since we have bills to pay.
Student loans, start up debt. etc... Like so many we have debt that grinds on us, and unlike some, I do not have a spouse who has a decent paying job outside of this work to lean on.
It's both of us in the same boat...
Being a sensitive and moody arteest it all started to get to me...bad. Winter did not help.
The Hubby had taken to calling me Denethor...brrrr.. not good!

So I have been making a concerted effort at being more optimistic, reaching out to freinds, and trying my damndest to not get mired down in fear.
As Churchill said "If you are going through Hell, keep going!"

That said with the warm spring weather and fragrant blooms of the green, growing things I feel more hopeful ...AND we have some new jobs. That helps , alot!

One is for a historical site here in Portlandia;
The Lone Fir Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Portland. We were contacted by the Friends of the Lone Fir to build some gothic hinges for an old utility building belonging to the Mclay family..
seeing as how they are a Scottish family, I proposed a thistle theme..Sometimes my job is so cool...this kind of project is why I don't just run off and become a hermit...:)


More of the drawings and the template...
I started with the smaller drawing for the clients aproval, and then blow it up to actual size on the steel. I used tracing paper to transfer over the other half of the hinge.



Drawing on 1/4 inch thick plate


First hinge plate cut out with plasma torch.
Now I have to clean up the slag on the edges, give the thistle flower some detail work with a chisel, and hammer texture the entire piece. We are cheating and not making the actual hinge part, but welding on some pre- made ones...I know,...I know.... not very traditional, but niether ws using an electric torch to cut it out... To be pure and true I should have forge welded the arms onto the body, or split and the pulled them out, using a hammer and chisel...However this is not even pretending to be a piece made with only 19th century methods, I didn't charge enough for that..
Can't wait to show you what they loo like all finished!

Also, as Mayday is fast approaching, and being a huge folky nutball, I wanted to remind everyone to go on and get up before dawn on May 1st. to celebrate the coming in of Summer with your local Morris men and women!
The above hot link will take you to a great site to check out Mayday/Beltane events in your area, ours is with the Renegade Rose and Bridgetown Morris, at the Rose test Gardens..
It's great pre-dawn fun.
Check out this article allabout our local event, a certain fruit growing lady blacksmith is interviewed in it...

http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=120940177025452000

Life

The Twins=Finn(on top) and Ulrich Aka Oolie
Last summer, in early July, we rescued two brothers from a life of crime on the streets. They are now officially one year old, and while not big cats, packed full of rambunctious energy . Their odd little ways, and different personalities bring me hours of entertainment...
Oolie likes broccoli and will go to what ever ends he must to procure it...Finn fetches toy mice and brings them back to you, He will continue to bring them back when thrown until you get sick of playing the game. Somewhere I recall reading that the Egyptians trained cats to hunt game birds, so I suppose he is just presenting a latent skill, that if I were clever , would exploit in the feild..alas...Iam not that ambitious to go duck hunting with my Finn.

,
Alice, Queen of All
The twins share the digs with Alice, who is seen here looking gorgeous, and Ludwig,

Luwig, named after the Bavarian King..with Finn looking on..
Viggy is the best damn cat. He is rides around on Dan's shoulders, talks loudly, likes to complain about the food, the service, and the other guests, but is always happy to see YOU.
Why am I spending time posting my cats pics and bios?

Well things have been so grim here and slow I have nothing to report really blacksmithing wise.

There are not enough jobs coming in at all. Last week a client canceled their remaining project, and so we are staring down the real fact that we might lose our home, shop and all.
I wish I could be all" stiff upper lip" and brave about this but Iam being worn away like rock on the shore..

Lambs Toungues

Hellebore, or" Lenten Rose" blooming outside the smithy..
Spring!
Things are beginning to look like spring. Here in Orygon, on the West side of the Cascade range, spring arrives a little earlier than on the East side. We have more moderate winters, and so by the end of Feb. Mother Nature is starting to wake up. It's been a weird weather week, hail, snow, frost, warm sunshine, 55 degress, the bees show up, and then more hail. Bees retreat. I put on another sweater. I start the day in the shop wearing three layers of wool, by midday Iam down to a t-shirt. Oh and my work jeans. Don't want anyone to think Iam going all nudist blacksmith...Anyways, my point is that spring time weather has arrived, changeable and whacky. Soon the chocolate Easter/Ostara eggs show up in the stores(Cadbury dark chocolate with fudge center please.Mmmm...) and the red shafted Flicker's begin their rat-at-tat- tatting on the metal chimney covers...Go Spring! yeh!
Along with the weather's obvious turn to a new season, my shepardess friends(and Ewe know who you are) have all started to see the arrival of cute little lambs on their farms, and as this is lambing season I thought I would get into the spirit myself. Check out my lambs toungue:


Drawing out the "toungue"
Now a lambs toungue is that nice swooshy bit at the end of a handrail. It's pretty to look at and much better for the hand than , oh...a sharp cut off bit of metal. It looks like, well a toungue. Hence the name, given Iam sure by some smith of antiquity who made the first one. Probably a Roman..
Iam building these as We are working furiously on a straight forwardhandrail this week. No more artsy roses, herons, or fish. They languish on the work table. It's back to basic hand forging . The client needs this railing for his house inspection, and we need his money for the mortage payment. Then it's back to the artsy stuff.


Lamb Toungue, fresh from the forge. Note tounguelike shape... I draw out the steel, that is lengthen it, making sure it's thickness is constant all the way to the tip of the ..toungue. Then I put the curl into it, and bend it in the legvise. ViolA!



Finished Toungue

Note toungue-y shape...I have achieved my goal!Waiting to be welded onto the handrail, and then hauled over for installation.

Here is some of the Heron gate, in parts waiting more work=

Heron wings, body and tail all in a jumble...
The rusty colored piece is waiting to be chiseled, shaped and goes on the other side of the bird's body. She is a three dimensional piece...


More Heron, breast feathers, wing...Time consuming chiselwork...sigh...if only I was getting paid enough for this work. Iam not. The bane of all craftsfolk=underbidding our work..undervalueing our work. You try to estimate fairly, but somehow it always ends up being more time, money, effort than you thought.
Marketing, Self promotion..being a business person. It's not something that goes with being an artsy type generally, there are the exceptions to this, I am sure.
Iam proud of the work I do, it's the business end Iam wobbly on. See previous post on introspection and wanting a mentor...
Oh well, off to the shop, the morning is slipping away.
I hope spring is making some inroads where ever you may be!

Roses

Rose Insitu
One of things I love(and hate) about about blacksmithing is being challenged. How does one go about making something they have never made before? Yes, it's a pain in the ass, but it is also good for educating yourself. I always bemoan my lack of training, so many others have way more training in this than I. Years of fancy arts college, then working for some awesomely talented established smith, learning their chops at the knee of some Olde Worlde Master in Czech, Germany or England. Slaving away as an apprentice, gaining the vast and arcane knowledge of this craft that I have only just scratched the surface of...Gawd it makes me nuts!!!!And bitter apparently...ha!
When Iam not being bitter and jealous, I have to invent, research and just come up with things on my own. Sometimes out of my own wild imagination...that's where the "artistic" part of artist blacksmith comes in.
Roses for a shop sign. I did some research, and dug up all the many ways one can make roses.
There are a lot. Some mind boggle-ingly cool and time consuming..Some I need to see made in the flesh first so I could ken the tecnique...Some just too.. well...ugly. Some kind of what I was wanting..In the end I just figured it out for myself.

Wild Roses
So I got some pipe, heat it and did things to it. Cutting out petals, shaping them with the hammer, fussing about until I had what I wanted. I used the large lobes of my brain, and figured out how to make wild roses..I didn't want to spend a million years on them, but I wanted them to look nice. Now I don't know if this is how they make roses in Praugue, but it worked for me.
All the pics I took were blurry, so no step by step Iam afraid. I can't take a pic to save my life, it seems to be a genetic affliction...
That all said,
There is nothing as good , well maybe laughing with friends or smooching the Hubbinator, as successfully creating something . When the image in your head is made real , your holding it in your hands, looking at it in this dimension..It's so satisfying.
Thank the Gawds I only had to make three.