I Wish, I Wish, I Wish I Were A Fish?

On the water, at least; if not in the water.  Looking at the fish as I glide above them.  Frankly, going swimming or diving would be great too.

I am definitely missing paddling the new board.  I had just managed to shift into that state of being in which working out is a real routine, a real need.

A selfish wish, to exercise outside, during this time of smoke and fire.

Still . . . .  

Photo by JP

Aiming for Fitness

 

Paddle boarding just might save me, particularly since the pools are closed or restricted. Whole body workout. Measured exercise for the problematic knees. Balancing exercises supposedly good for the aging brain!

And I live with such bounty, so many paddling spots bayside or seaside, an easy drive away.

(I have been commuting hours for decades for lesser rewards. In the pandemic, I am spending more hours at the computer, but some of my old hours at the wheel could go into a proper workout.)

--August 12 notebook entry

Meet The New Board

 

My new paddle board is definitely demanding: sleek and tippy. 

(Still, the test isn't genuine without the threat of failure.) 

But my legs and knees, while sore and stiff in the morning, seem to benefit from the exercise, and my spirit certainly has been glad to find salt water in this new way. I wonder, yes, if I should have chosen a cruiser, but all the books and the guides say buy the board that challenges you. 

Mere salesmanship? 

I will tell you after some serious workouts.

P.S. I do like how fast this board can be, even when I am merely in kayak-mode.

Expedition

A Fair Breeze

The stiff wind blowing in our faces as we paddled back from South of Van Damme is not an uncommon feature of kayaking that location, but we'd been really lucky for the past handful of trips and hadn't had to work so hard at the end of the trip.

If you look closely at the photo, you'll notice water drops on the lens, but if you look at the water, the waves themselves, you can see how the wind is whipping the tops off of even these small waves.

A good workout.

Swimming Again

Tomales Bay:
Off Pelican Point.

Credo

Salty, sandy, sunburnt, sore-muscled:
all the signs of a day well-spent.

Stretch and Kick

Lindamar prepfest, and power to them.  Stretching is good for you.

I did my own bare minimum of stretching before I paddled out and learned my own lesson that I need to be in better shape, better paddling shape, for the next outing.  Kayak-paddling muscles aren't quite the same ones, quite apparently, as board-paddling muscles.  I paddled the (soft) board out, and I realized quickly that I lacked oomph and push.  I made my way somewhat nervously beyond the breakers, not ready for a spin and ride nor for a silly wipeout, and rested.  Hmmmm.  I'm not moving very quickly and am tiring fast.  Realizations are good.  I paddled about for the practice, the exercise,  but slowly, slowly, slowly.  I tried a couple of waves, and then returned to the beach, chastened.  But happy.  Still counts, you know.

Then, I put the 9' board back on the truck's racks, and I pulled out fins, mask, and boogie board and went back out for a while.

Clay Dreams: Torso

Body English:

sculpture mix; transparent brown and shino glazing.

20-minute exercise.

Minotaur, Yearning

Minotaur:

sculpture mix; blue and green glazing.
Model-exercise: 40 minutes?

(Previous entry here.)

Merit Badge

Snorkel-cat:
This is the stamp I use to mark my swimming and diving--and have used for years now.

Simple system.  If I swim or dive, I stamp my datebook.  When I look back at the days or months and see red, I am gratified.  If I look back and see a lack of red, I am unhappy.  "Do it for the stamp" may seem a bit lame, but whatever gets me into the pool or ocean is worthy of merit right now.

2013 was not a very red year.  I need to get into shape, better shape, swimming and kayaking shape.

2014: I'm aiming at well-marked pages, plenty of snorkel-cats.  I earned one today.

Wish me luck.

Twigs and Visions

The Sleeper, Green: 
sculpture mix; copper carbonate oxide and clear glazing.

(30-minute exercise with model.)

Stretching

The Trickster.

Free Diving: Coral Cove

On a low viz day, unfortunately.  Still counts!

Lady of the Marsh

 Venus, A Study: sculpture mix; celadon or light jade, transparent brown, and floating blue glazing.

Art class exercise from a few years back: 40 minute session with model.  Practicing, both sculpting and glazing.  I look at her, and I think of what I have learned, what I can learn.

Practical Reading: Poetry in Motion -- McKay, Teasdale, and Wroth

Poetry Study Notes

--1.  Turn to Claude McKay’s “The Tropics in New York”:
What’s the story?
Who are the characters that we get?
What’s the scene, the physical scene?
What happens?  Is there action? Interior or exterior action?
What’s the mood? How can you tell?
What questions do you have about this poem?  Ask me.
There are three stanzas here: what should we notice about that?
How many sentences are there in this poem?
How do the number of sentences relate to the flow of the poem?
What would happen to the poem if we just had the last stanza?
Or, what if we had stanzas 1 & 2, but not 3?
Do you like this poem? Does it work for you?  Why or why not?


--2.  Turn to Sara Teasdale’s “Night Song at Amalfi”:
How does this poem feel different from McKay’s poem?
What or where is “Amalfi”? Do you know? Can you guess? Does it matter?
What’s the story?
Characters? Scene? Action?
What’s the mood? How can you tell?
What questions do you have about this poem? Ask me.
There are three stanzas in this poem: what should we notice about that?
Do the sentences end with each stanza or flow into the next stanza?
What would happen if we changed all the “night” and “dark” references to “day” and “light” references?
What would happen if we changed all the “I” references to “he” or “she” or even “they”?  What about “we”?  How would this be a different poem?

--3.  Turn to Mary Wroth’s  Sonnet # 1 from Pamphilia to Amphilanthus:
What’s the story?
Who are the characters that we get?
Who is the son of Venus?  Who or what is Venus, by the way?
What seems to be motivating Venus?
Or, what's with all the burning ?  What burns? What does this burning mean?
What’s the situation?  The physical scene if we were making a video?
What questions do you have about the poem?  Ask me.
A sonnet is a poem of 14 lines, but notice how the units of the poem work:  1-4; 5-8; 9-14.
          How can I tell that these are the units here?
Does it help to read the poem in those units, pausing after each part to check what it seems to mean?  (I hope so.)
What is a “martyr”?  How is the speaker’s heart “martyred”?
What is the tone of the last three lines?  How can we tell?
Is this love, this being a lover a good thing to the speaker?
We have a dream vision in the poem: why use a dream to express what’s going on?

Clay: Figures of Speech

Exercises with models: 2008 or 2009, I believe.

Clover Dreams

Green fellow, sleeping off the shenanigans.

Scupture mix; copper carbonate oxide.
Figure exercise w/ model: 25 minutes.

Reprise: Exercise In Blue

Salvage / Boat:
sculpture mix; blue slip; twig; string; and copper wire.

Old project; mistake, improved upon.
Still cheers me.

Practice Session: "A Hazy Vision"

A HAZY VISION

Foot, bare; hand, inked;
Tongue, Latin and Greek;
Books, piled; treasure, child;
Fountain, Irish; wishes, so fair;
Song, sublime; wildness, rhymed --

Her measure, untapped;
And the course, unmapped.

--MD


An exercise in verse; an exercise in vision.
Composed/posted 12/23/12;
Revised 1/10/13.