Woad (II)

2011: Clay

I've always loved the play of water over clay.

The Superior View

Street shots: Last evening in Edinburgh.

Just looking about.

Understory

What do you see?
What's happening?
How does the shot feel to you?

___

Or, is this is a crime scene photograph?
If so, what's the crime?
What happened?
Or, is it about to happen?

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Story-thoughts always make me happy.

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"Why do you think in terms of crime, Matt, especially crime stories?" a friend asks.

Family tradition?

Literary tradition?

Even Homer's epics are crime stories, if you want to take that angle . . . .

The Winding and Unwinding

THE WINDING AND UNWINDING

The shape of your thought
Entices me
Quite as much as
The thought of your shape.

Clay-minded,
Bloody-brained,
Fickle as a stick in water:
I swim towards you.

I reach for you
Again and again and again
In thought, in force,
Not withholding aught
Save what wyrd demands
From each of us.

The winding and unwinding
Of time and tide,
Again releasing,
Again embracing,
Tasting and chasing,
Like river-otters sliding
Down the sloped bank.

The winding and unwinding
Of time and tide:
The rounded lift and heft,
The nipple’s assertion,
The twinned-blood rising
Like the swift pull
Of the river’s pulse
And penetration --
Flowing,
Falling,
Following –-

That shared current
Streaming just past the shore,
Stranding us between
Just enough
And quite enough.
___

Coda:
Laughing lips sip --
Swallow -- another draft.
Glasses, glances,
Clash and chime,
Toasting the new year.

Harken to the hearty
Admonition:
Draft, not drift.

--Matthew Duckworth

Kayaking With Whales: 7/30/14

I've recently posted the most dramatic photosfrom last Wednesday's go-out from Moss Landing here, here, and here, but I want to present more shots -- less dramatic shots, mostly -- that I still will return to with awe and appreciation.  At the time I was busy paddling and observing and reacting, frankly, to the dozens of whales that kept feeding on the anchovies in the area, sharing this space with the seals, the birds, and the kayakers.  Only afterwards has it really sunk deep how special the bounty of the day really had been.  I'm fairly sure my kayak-partner, JP, has had much the same reaction.  Excitement then; awe, afterwards.

Here are some shots of those whales from the 30th, a wealth of whales.  I was using an amphibious Canon Powershot D10, which works best 8-10 feet from one's subject, underwater or in dry air, and so I missed too many shots or marred too many shots with a faulty zoom or just not enough reach, as it were, technically.  JP had a similar problem with his GoPro, that middle distance being required, and yet neither of us wanted to get too close, neither of us wanted to bother these glorious creatures.  We hung back or paddled away from any possible collisions or crowding, choosing respect over getting the shots.

The morning paddle:

Our initial view beyond the harbor mouth: what luck, a whale!

Shots from the afternoon paddle:

Postscript:
When JP and I returned a few days later with family to kayak again with the whales, we only saw three whales or, more likely, the one whale three times, and only in glimpses.  A let-down, certainly, at that time, but later that day, JP reminded me what a glory of a day we had despite not seeing the dozens of whales we'd seen on the 30th (and which I am showing evidence of with the photos below), what a glory of day we had because in the Moss Landing Harbor we paddled by and observed harbor seals, sea lions, otters by the dozen, terns, pelicans, and other rich life, beside what we saw outside the harbor as we paddled further, probably, away from land than I'd paddled before, the swell light and easy, almost flat, looking for whales, and feeling we'd missed out, even though the sea lions and the birds and even an otter or two could be found out there, you know?

Kayaking: Whales Feeding Near the Jetty

Folks on the jetty were treated to a feeding show for over two hours that I witnessed with whales feeding within 10-30 yards. Jeff and I were about to head back into the harbor at the end of the afternoon paddle when two humpbacks in tandem lunged forth and then another humpback spouted right behind us! Too cool!

We didn't get any shots of that finale, but here are two more of my shots of a humpback feeding a little earlier.

Kayaking: Humpback Whale off Moss Landing

No zoom here, so this whale was even closer than it looks in the photo!

And I had back-paddled before taking the shot because I could see bubbles and possibly a back beneath and just in front of my kayak.

And, JP reminds me:  "And just picture how much whale there is below the surface: more than 2/3s of the humpback lies ahead of its 'hump' & its ventral fins are about the length of the tail section that's visible here."

A very special moment on a very special day:  I felt blessed.  Still do.

Recommended Reading: Nicola Griffith's "Hild"

A new and quite fine historical novel about 7th-century England and a very remarkable character.