I was riding my bike around the city a warm night this past week and was overcome by the urge to sleep out in the woods. There are'nt to be many warm nights left this year and my spirit has been suffering from an uncharacterist lack of wilderness this summer. So at 10:30pm I packed my tent and sleeping bag in the car and drove to the nearest place where I could find some refuge from modern life. The next morning I awoke before dawn amidst the aromas of fall, packed up my belongings, and hiked around. After a little warm up I packed in the car again and headed to Zoar Valley where I came across many a bow or small game hunter. I snuck back making my own trail and followed the sun to the valley which I skirted until I came to the place I was looking for: a knifes edge passage that can be scaled down to the valley floor. There a beautiful old growth riparian forest greets the adventurer. It's one of the best short hikes that I have ever been on. Definitely food for the spirit. And to see it amidst the glory of fall on a beautiful sunny day was exquisite. Here's a couple photos for you:












By the way if anyone knows what this fungus is, which was dripping amazingly fast (I thought I was being rained on at first), please let me know

Partying hardy last night though I missed that E-strip house party. I guess I had'nt checked the website or seen anyone in a while - I did'nt even know that it was happening. Missed ya'll. :(
Nickel city party was fun though. Here are some pics:



Here I am spreading my Phoenix wings and being touched by a ghost.

The ebeneezer ghost in effect.

no comment needed.

Guess who? ...... Saturn! Getting down. I think his orbit was a little off kilter - esp. after a few drinks.

I found Waldo!!!

So I have'nt posted in a while and it's cause I've been busy, busy, busy. Mostly I've been working. Started a painting job and put in nearly a 50 hour week last week which is definitely a lot for me. That and I've researching and communicating with a prof all the way down in New Mexico trying to formulate a thesis project. She studies the effects of global climate change on wildlife in both changes in populations and in behavior and I will probably study its role in global amphibian declines. Here is a photo I took from the balcony of the building we have been painting on West Ferry. You can see the psych center towers on the horizon on the left side and the church on elmwood and lafayette near the center. Too bad the elmwoodstrip.com house is obstructed by trees.




Somewhere in the midst of working I took a vacation to visit some relatives in Providence, RI. My familly there has a dance theater group there called Everett Dance Theater. They're amazing! I'm always amazed at how creative and exciting their performances are. They were debuting a show when I visited called Home Movies. It consisted of the personal stories of the 5 performers lives weaved together and told through video projected on several screens that could be raised or lowered, through there own tellings, and through dance interpreting these events. It reached deeply and personal enough for me to have some insights into my own life as well as those of the performers (some of whom were my cousins which was fun). If anyone is interested you can check out there website at Also, they are performing Home Movies in New York City on Oct. 14, 15, and 16. Anyone who is inclined or will be in NYC I highly recomend looking into it. You can go to to find out more about the performance and probably order tickets which may sell out early (their performances pretty much always do). Here are some shots from this performance and another.





I was pleasently pleased the other night when I slipped into my back yard and made out in the dark that a new blossom was there to behold. One of those fall bloomers and what a quirky treat it is: Monk's Hood. You can judge for yourself if the flowers really look like monk's hoods. It certainly struck me.

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Lastly, Mathew, I f-ing love the collages that you have been making. I would love to see the book once the alphabet is complete. The crane that you just posted struck my heart particularly deep. Cranes are such a lithe, magestic and to me somewhat mystical animal and you captured this beautifully. Thanks.