Saturday, December 28, 2013

Out to the Swell

Out to the desert, past the mountains and through the inversions. We had ice and snow, sun and a goodly amount of solace to celebrate another year of being a family on the edge of the civilized world.
That's what it means to be a Burningham, I reckon, to be comfortable at the periphery and happy in the knowledge that even if we aren't exactly acceptable, we've got some excellent friends and family, and we're happy to be a part of their lives.
It's sure nice to go out to the wilderness and play, though.







Thursday, December 26, 2013

Christmas

Christmas was spent at the cabin up the hill. Warm and hopeful with a newly installed stove and a newly installed baby, hikes and fresh air made the long night and late morning splendid.







Monday, December 16, 2013

Brynni's Number N-n-n-n-nineteen

None of them received a hero's welcome.
But we headed up to Steve and Kathy's house to skate, though. 
Happy, happy, Bryn.



Saturday, December 7, 2013

Ianto Vigge


On the selfsame day as Miya was born six years before, the Drie gave birth to a boy we named Ianto.
With a weight of twelve pounds and thirteen ounces and a height of twenty-five inches, he made quite an initial impact around here. 
Glad tidings to the world from our place to yours.



Sunday, November 24, 2013

The Sun or Deer

The abstract becomes terrible, 
especially when unable to taste salts in the ocean
full gone toward a notion and grasping hope having become 
tuneful and fearful at last,
the other as a shared notion is
stacked and multiplied, clipped and untoward as humans can be
toward another whose face, 
like mine,
quests for a opening, bright door.

In meeting and recognition of smiles,
we shore up faith, 
images to be fulfilled and walk on and on and outward
toward the sparkling and unhinged night-
our world is not for the night, but rather the day when 
the exchange is open
and, in meeting and rejection of expressions, 
entropy within an inherently emotive system
enthrones the fastest, remorseless runners.

Up from the earth and outward n tight circles
dogwood, lilacs, and willows wait
dormant and smooth, perpendicular to the mother
and with sweet juices reserved, tuneful and without fear, 
they wait for the sun or the deer
mindful of nothing but a state of faithless eminence
in truth, we are all immobile
and as abstract as they,
though free to pretend toward something else 
that will be destroyed.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Tall Paul

In my little brother's words, from a post he put onto the BookyFace the situation my dear old dad's dealing with:

On November 8th, my dad was almost killed. I'm not trying to be dramatic or crass. I'm stating a fact that my dad, for all intents and purposes, could be dead right now. But he is not. Instead, he continues to be an example to me of hard work in the face of adversity. He has a shattered pelvis. A broken femur. 7 broken ribs. A broken sternum. A collapsed lung. He tore a hole in the sac surrounding his heart. He was knocked unconscious. His left knee won't move. But here he is, 13 days later, enduring pain, smiling in a picture for me. Glad you're still with me, dad. And I want to say "thank you" to everyone for their thoughts and prayers during the past two weeks. Believe me; they were felt and appreciated. Miracles happen and prayers are answered.

So there you go. They're down in Phoenix and I'm here doing my thing with my small-town BurningNation, trying to keep the ship afloat. I sure appreciate those two men and what they do for their families. I wouldn't be doing what I do without them.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

All That Remains

The season's period of reflection and sleep is becoming active, or should I say, dormant. Many deaths and near misses coming to my awareness these days, touching my heart. That's the way the cold months are, much of the time; I reckon some day when we come back to a full realization of how connected we are to environment and the greater cosmos, we'll understand how important light and warmth and hope are to the human condition, not just as commodities and products to sell and trade.
How will we ever make it through this flux and ebb, this uncertainty and imminent death of front lawns and hibernation of porches? Eventually, we won't, that's the eminent truth of it, but my immediate hope is to make sense enough of the situation as it is that I can learn from what's going on enough to incorporate the lessons into our family's ethos and mythos...

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Another Dragon- A Poem for EvenSong and the Full Moon

 I
A neglected god, autonomy chimes like a grandfather clock,
needing constant attention and, at least, another timepiece
by which to set it-
while on that cold, still morning, just down the stairs and accompanied
by the smell of black coffee and
a warmed woolen rug kicked over the heat vent,
a deep thrum of six strokes resonates deep behind  
my sternum, a reassuring pat of the hand.

II
Another and often marauding, silvery dragon,
wandering uphill and yet afoot,
seems at this hour to be half-asleep and forgotten
while we, at breakfast,
talk of what we hope to know,
where we want to become,  and why this is all quite good;
but our deeper thoughts, just beyond?
Upon the snows of tomorrow
and the expectant hopes of November and December,
even with plain expressions of current tragedy
and the blurred face of an unsure  cold new year ahead.

III
Again, the clock strikes the half hour away in the living room.
This occasion will soon be past;
work or school,
the solving and procrastinating of problems
manufactured to take the place of sovereignty and the morning
and to steal the chime of that clock,
but never forget the pat of that hand
or that shimmering dragon as he awakens and finally takes wing,
breathing a terrible fire
and eventually,
burning both that clock and that hand.


Saturday, November 16, 2013

The Stove's In (Finally!)



Jesse finished the install of the stove we put together last year but didn't get 'round to until this summer. Not much time for that type of thing this year, but the kids squeaked this one out just in time for the new winter's  reign.
The stove burned hot, by the way. It should be a good way to keep things warm up there; better than that old crummy fireplace, at least.



Sunday, November 10, 2013

Autumnal Strawberries and Roses


Not very much growing now, but here and there, things show color and
progress toward the next generation. We've been looking for some new ideas and methods for the next season.
Mostly, we need to work on microclimates and plant progression, but as we think about how to make it work, this year is making me think about what might be possible for us in extending seasons and livability...

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Lilacs Lose All Them Leaves


Another milestone for the season- the lilacs have lost almost all of their leaves almost overnight. A few days of very cold temps in addition to a night or two of high old winds equals, well, this.
I wasn't quite ready for it, but it's gonna happen, with or without my volition.
The Sheep are relatively non-plussed, though. They're gonna be plenty warm enough.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Ryan's Birthday, Today.


Ryan celebrated another birthday on Friday, and along with Matthew over there, I think we did a fine job of telling him that we care and will continue to do so.


Oh, and just up the street from his house, the very next morning, I saw about the coolest man-made thing I've ever seen in my whole life.
Good eighteen hours spent, in my book.


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Yellerstone '13

"
 The Yellowstone trip pert near didn't happen this year; as the Washington Furlough Feakshow dragged on and the BurningFunds dwindled all-too-quickly heading into the second half of the month, we figured that we ought to just head up the mountain or out to the near desert for a couple of days to save money, time and stress points.
I really wanted to go, though. The northlands called and this fall season brings many, many changes to the BurningHome, so I figured that if Jess or Bryn wanted to head up to the Absarokas or the Beartooths for a couple of days, maybe that'd be a good, quick, and dirty outing to the sacred lands and enough to keep my heart beating through another long winter...
The night before our break away, we monitored the imminent budget agreement with relish and mounting giddiness. The parks would be opening the following morning, and we could cross through the mighty 'Stone as we wished and when we wanted.
The trip was refreshing and with almost every weather condition imaginable for this time of year. We saw snow, sun, rain, and wind, and even a little bit of each in most every place we stopped. Good people, splendid air, happy animals, and great food. It couldn't have been better at what it was. I'm terribly glad my two eldest wanted to and were able to come along. Best company, ever.













Sunday, October 13, 2013

Autumn Ales

A beautiful day for an autumn ale. Up to the cabin to use a bit of canal creek cave water for a batch of Punkin Ale; the brew was true and while we weren't toiling over the fire or the mash tun or cracking grains, we had some resplendent hikes and a goodly sum of the last batch of Nut Brown to make the session glide by quite nicely.
A month or so from now, we'll see how this holiday libation has been enacted.



Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Sage for Life




Out at lunch wandering around the hills for an hour or so, I saw sticks and wire and clouds and an overall change in the air and on the ground.
The wind blew and the sky whorled while I chose and cut sage...

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Broken Valves and Final Peaches




Those PVC valves with the red handles? Not built like they used to be. I burst a brand new replacement for one that had been though nine years in place. The adjacent new old stock valve that I installed a couple of weeks ago was just fine for a third night of hard frost. Funny stuff, plus it made some lovely ice sculpture on the gate close by.
By the way, there's the last of this fall's fresh peaches. They went down very well and with many thanks...

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Long Day and a Short Hike


It's a season for preparation and laying up in store, so here we are after a day of cleaning and organization, of gleaning and seeing what we have and don't have ready for the winter, so up the mountain we went in the back of the 'Runner for a short walkie.
I love nothing more than to listen to their banter and hold their hands as we enjoy the leaves and scents of this time of year; it takes me back to the original love of what autumn and winter brought me when I was much younger and a little more hopeful.
It's a good, good thing for the heart of a man.


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October Outing




Jerusha's birthday. A day of clouds and calm before another shift in the weather and the progress toward the reign of the Pleiades and Orion in the coming long nights.
The aspens are changing according to the dictates of individual organs, so the hikes need to be taken before these high places are under a blanket of next year's snow.