DAY 239

DAY 239
11.29.07
TREE 163

I went to John Torstrick’s place tonight to discuss design ideas for the CD art for the live festival he did the recording for.  On the way back home I stopped at the rest stop to climb a tree.  When I stepped out of my truck the cold hit me.  I could see my breath and my hands started to ache.  I tried some vigorous body movements to warm up, but nothing was helping.  I knew once I started to climb I would be too focused to feel the cold, and by the time I got to the top I’d be warmed up anyway.  I went to the bathroom then walked to the left of the building.  The trees there were pretty small so I walked behind the building and then to the right of them.  There were a lot of trucks at the stop but no cars besides mine. 

I walked to the field where the tree I had climbed before was located.  I remember all of those trees varying possibilities.  One in particular seemed especially good tonight.  But it was dark and I wanted to be 100% sure I hadn’t climbed this tree so I ran to the first tree I had climbed here a few weeks ago.  Sure enough, I was right.  So I ran back and jumped into the low limbs.  I climbed up the branches pretty quickly.  There were plenty to choose from and a decent path.  At the top the cold air felt great. 

I tied my ribbon and got out my camera.  I got some great long-exposure shots of the cars going by on the highway. 

I love the night shots as long as I can steady my camera.  Sometimes I’m perfectly still but I’m so high in the tree the limbs I am on are thins and sway easily in the wind.  This causes blur, but I have utilized that to make some interesting shots.  I stabilize that camera against the branch and as the shutter is open, the branch sways.  The result is a clear limb with a blurry background.  Anyway, I searched for a leaf to collect.  This tree was 99% bare.  I think I saw maybe three or four.  I pulled one limb in close and pulled off a leaf, but I wasn’t even sure if it was attached.  It could have come from a nearby tree, blown over, and got stuck.  It could happen.  It is hard to even say what kind of leaf it is since it is so wrinkled and brown. 

Then my feet started to hurt from standing in the crotch of a limb, so I started to climb down.  It went quick and was fun to move from branch to branch in the dark using more senses, like touch, to evaluate safe limbs.  I got to the ground and was pumped.  There is something really great about climbing in the cold.  I’m warm, I feel good, and the crisp air is refreshing.  Good climb.

12-3-08:  I like how I describe a technique to get a good picture then I have no example to show you.  And by "like" I mean it was a stupid thing.  Sarcasm doesn’t always work in the written word.  What I can show you are the design ideas I created for the CD.  Unfortunately the CD was never made.

This was the cover and back side.  I did another design when John didn’t like the one above.  I can’t find it though.  Would have been nice to have done the design for a CD.  Oh well.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving I played a game of football with my brother, Charlotte and some friends of hers, Drew, and Krisjans.  It was really nice to see Krisjans, it had been years since the last time.  Anyway, we were planning to play two hand touch.

But Julio was nice enough to lend us flags which ended up making the game a bit more difficult.  You’d be right there grabbing and just miss that damn flags.  We played two games and we ran our asses off.  The day ended when I collided with this girl Andrea.  Our faces hit and she had on so much make-up I had a layer on my face from that one hit.  My brain was jiggled and my head was hurting.  We called it a day and I think we were all ready to be done.  We gathered our things and started to walk back to the cars.  I got my camera and started to look for a tree.  I tried one but it was too large and I was too tired to shimmy to the lowest branch.  I found another tree nearby that was nice and tall with a low branch to climb in.  I went up and Drew, Krisjans, and my brother all watched and chatted for a while until they just got tired of waiting in the cold early evening.  I went up and up, kind of slow, but I made it to the top. 

The clouds in the distance were beautiful with colors from the setting sun. 

I tried to get pictures of the field we played on and of Walden Elementary school which was just below me. 

I was really tired and climbed back down ready to relax and clean up. 

Later that night a bunch of us went out for dinner and then played pool at a bar.  It was a good night.