Continuum, Continued

Over the last few weeks, while the weather was remarkably kind, I’ve continued to work on an extension to Timelines, the trail that explores ideas about memory, history and our relationship to the land. I wrote about the initial work on Continuum in my last blog post, almost a month ago. Since then, lots has happened.

We added a wonderful tree trunk bench alongside the stream, right next to the old lid from a sap bucket that was used, who knows how many years ago, when maple syrup was being made at Orin’s Sugarcamp. (There are multiple posts about this installation, another part of Timelines. You can read about it here and here.

I gathered remnants of that maple syrup-making operation found along the trail and arranged them in a haphazard way next to the newly-chipped path.

At the top of a rise in the open field, we erected Tree Square, a new, very simple sculpture that shows the squared-off heart of a tree trunk, surrounded by the side pieces that were removed.

The raw wood will turn grey over the winter, allowing it to blend in even while standing out.

We removed brush that was hiding some of the ancient trees along the wooded part of the trail, like these two Elders, one living, one dead.

Simply trimming back the brush revealed more treasures, like this gorgeous stump and the ancient tree behind it.

The trail now leads past an area where trees have been cut, leaving stumps as their only testament.

The area looks bleak, perhaps, but the stumps as well as the young trees that will be planted are all part of a process.

The area looks bleak now, but the stumps as well as the young trees that will be planted illustrate different times in an evolving process.

Rocks outlining the shape of maple seeds, or keys, or samaras, are now in place on the slope above the pool we dug this summer.

I need to tweak the shape but the idea is there.

I need to tweak the shape of one of the samaras but the idea is there.

I still need to drill the rocks that will sit at the bottom of the slope, near the water where a stick is now. Doing that is work for the winter months, when it is too cold and snow too deep to work outdoors.

On another front, the napkins I made for the newly-set dining room table on the China Terrace were fired by our local potter, Lucy Doheny. She showed me what to do (I wrote about that here) and then left me to it — and I’m thrilled with the results.