You'll need a shoe and a dry stone wall.
(also..The better the wall looks, the better the wine will taste.)
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Garden Path
Walk with me
along this stepping stone path
that leads across a small brook
up to my house
and then
meanders back through
a mosaic of colourful foliage,
ending up
somewhere down our
lane
where it is nicely wrapped up
in a
rainbow
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Cold Hands
Cold hands
Cold stones
Chilled rocks
Chilled bones
Ice gripped
Winterlocked
Freeze dried
Snow blocked
Unloved
Unyielding
Not the season
to be building.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
New tombs with a view. An overview and the inside scoop
A tomb with a view
A recent article in independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/a-tomb-with-a-view
' Tim Daw, 52, has been granted planning permission to create a (164ft) walk-in stone burial mound at his family farm near Devizes. Several members of the public have already signed up to have their ashes buried there. It will contain seven circular chambers lined with niches for storing ash-filled urns. When full, the barrow could house the remains of up to 2,400 people.
Mr Daw, who works as a steward at Stonehenge, plans to start construction shortly. He will charge up to £1,000 for a "family niche" holding six to eight urns. The working barrow will be constructed of local materials to a design of his making. The entrance will be aligned so that the sun shines down the central chamber on the Winter Solstice.
The council said it was an 'unusual application' but has granted permission."
The All Cannings Long Barrow will be made from local sarsen stones, similar to those used at Stonehenge and Avebury. This part of Wiltshire, the North Wessex downs, is sprinkled with sarsen stones, left behind after the last ice age.
Britain's best-known burial mound is at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk – where a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon king was found buried in a wooden ship, surrounded by priceless grave goods.'
Interestingly the DSWA of UK has a notification about this upcoming project in their winter issue of Waller and Dyker
However...somewhere in Lancashire in this grove of trees is a new underground tomb that has already been built!
Thanks to Chris Bestwick for this recent photo he took of it.
We hope to see more pics of 'Pikefield' when the site 'greens' over where we constructed this new 'ancient' tumulus last summer.
Here's the inside scoop
Chris Bestwick photo
Monday, January 6, 2014
Imperfect snow flakes.
Hi John:
I couldn't help but forward the blog post I received this morning. You with a dewy cobweb yesterday and now her with snowflakes - it all seemed relevant.
Willa
New post on Lagniappe
when-a-snowflake-whispers-in-your-ear-listen-up/
When a snowflake whispers in your ear, listen up.
by marionowen
Isn't it cool how answers show up in the most unusual ways…when we have burning questions, problems that need solving, or lessons to learn? Allow me to share a story with you...
The center "eye" in this split star is the connecting column which joins two partial, or split crystals. Here's the theory: The two plates start out symmetrical, but as soon as one edges ahead, it starves the other of water vapor and retards or alters its growth. The asymmetrical results can be quite beautiful.
Call me crazy, but I love freezing my arse off to photograph snowflakes.
In that way, nothing's changed since the 1980s, when I first started photographing "sky flowers." I was shooting film back then, and I faced one obstacle after another. For example, Canon hadn't released the queen of macro lenses, the MPE-65mm yet, so I used a reversing ring to marry a 50mm lens onto the front of a 200mm lens. (To my non-photographer readers, stay with me on this). Though I achieved an impressive 4x magnification (200/50=4), it was not always with impressive results.
They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?
~ Jeanette Winterson
My early (1999) attempt at preserving snowflakes using Formvar resin.
I also dabbled with preserving snowflakes in liquid Formvar resin, which crawls on the surface of the flakes to make a kind of plastic shell, a permanent replica. Later I'd photograph the specimens under a microscope.
Then there were lighting issues. Snowflakes are clear ice. Without decent light, there's not much to see. Trouble is, if I tried to light up snowflakes with incandescent flashlights, the crystal structure melted like warm Jell-o. High-powered--and cool--LED flashlightsdidn't come on the scene until 1999, so I was limited to daylight hours. Even then, beautiful snowflakes didn't always cooperate (fall on cue) between the hours of 10 AM and 3 PM. Remember, we're talking short, winter days in Alaska.
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
~ Voltaire
And trying to get everything in focus? Depth of field was an enormous challenge, especially for triple-decker snowflakes, and obstinate ones that landed cockeyed on the glass slide, as if propped up on an elbow. Focus-stacking software such as Helicon Focus hadn't been developed.
A near-perfect symmetrical snowflake; actually, this is a stellar dendrite (classic-shaped) snowflake. Dendrite means "tree like", so stellar dendrite snow crystals have branches and side branches. This is the most popular and recognized snow crystal type, sometimes growing to large and extravagant crystals in conditions of high humidity.
Then digital cameras came along, and thankfully, many obstacles melted away.
[For those of you dreaming of photographing snowflakes, here's my current setup: A Canon 5D MarkIII mounted on one end of an extension tube, with a microscope objective (lens) on the other. These days I use LED flashlights to highlight the crystal facets without worrying about melting my subjects.]
I was very excited, thrilled, actually, at the prospect of finally being able to single out, and photograph with confidence, the most perfect and beautiful snowflakes in the world.
Yet, something didn't feel quite right.
Look closely at the center of this snowflake. What do you see? The father of snowflake photography, "Snowflake Bentley", often looked for familiar shapes and patterns within the center plate of snow crystals. Milk bottles, mittens, and flowers, as seen here.
Were only perfect snowflakes worthy of attention?
Am I limiting myself?
Will I overlook something in the process?
And am I judging nature?
What does perfect mean, anyway?
Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.
~ Henry David Thoreau
If you're like me, you grew up believing that all snowflakes were 6-sided symmetrical shapes; like something created by clipping triangles and diamonds from folded paper. So I carried that belief into the field, as I scrutinized a fresh batch of newly fallen snowflakes. I discarded ones that didn't measure up, and photographed just the perfect flakes.
Not any more.
I've learned to let go of the myth (and all the expectations) and accept that there is perfection in imperfection. I needed to relax and practice Slow Photography.
It makes me think of a wonderful little book, What the Road Passes By, with photographs by Dewitt Jones, a top professional photographer whose thoughtful columns in Outdoor Photographer kept me renewing my subscription for years.
There are times in my life, sometimes with a camera, sometimes without, when the world is so achingly beautiful, when everything holds such meaning, that I am incapable of any expression except tears of joy. The boundaries of my being begin to blur, whatever separates one thing from another begins to dissolve, and in that confluence of light and line and law, lies an experience for which I have no words.
Sometimes photographers set the bar pretty high in a quest to produce the perfect shot, the Pulitzer prize-winning image. As a result, I think we pass by, not just a lot of great images, but meaningful experiences that are meant to be the rule, not the exception.
The snowflake below is far from symmetrical, but for me, time seemed to stop as I brought this regal beauty into focus.
This is probably one of my favorite snowflakes. The soft hues, contrast and regal-ness. Time seems to stand still while I do this kind of work. I take naps, graze a little and photograph through the wee hours of the night and day.
And this snowflake (pictured below), with its warts, pimples and funny arms...
What do you think, is it any less beautiful in its own imperfect way?
Rime or reason: Toward the end of this snowflake's 20-minute journey to earth, cloud droplets bombarded it like buckshot, freezing and sticking to the ice surface on contact. These "water warts" are called rime.
Look, mom, lots or arms! This snowflake is unusual in many ways. For one thing, it's born of at least two plates, visible at the center, and grew at different rates.
(Thanks Willa)
I couldn't help but forward the blog post I received this morning. You with a dewy cobweb yesterday and now her with snowflakes - it all seemed relevant.
New post on Lagniappe
when-a-snowflake-whispers-in-your-ear-listen-up/
When a snowflake whispers in your ear, listen up.
by marionowen
Isn't it cool how answers show up in the most unusual ways…when we have burning questions, problems that need solving, or lessons to learn? Allow me to share a story with you...
The center "eye" in this split star is the connecting column which joins two partial, or split crystals. Here's the theory: The two plates start out symmetrical, but as soon as one edges ahead, it starves the other of water vapor and retards or alters its growth. The asymmetrical results can be quite beautiful.
Call me crazy, but I love freezing my arse off to photograph snowflakes.
In that way, nothing's changed since the 1980s, when I first started photographing "sky flowers." I was shooting film back then, and I faced one obstacle after another. For example, Canon hadn't released the queen of macro lenses, the MPE-65mm yet, so I used a reversing ring to marry a 50mm lens onto the front of a 200mm lens. (To my non-photographer readers, stay with me on this). Though I achieved an impressive 4x magnification (200/50=4), it was not always with impressive results.
They say that every snowflake is different. If that were true, how could the world go on? How could we ever get up off our knees? How could we ever recover from the wonder of it?
~ Jeanette Winterson
My early (1999) attempt at preserving snowflakes using Formvar resin.
I also dabbled with preserving snowflakes in liquid Formvar resin, which crawls on the surface of the flakes to make a kind of plastic shell, a permanent replica. Later I'd photograph the specimens under a microscope.
Then there were lighting issues. Snowflakes are clear ice. Without decent light, there's not much to see. Trouble is, if I tried to light up snowflakes with incandescent flashlights, the crystal structure melted like warm Jell-o. High-powered--and cool--LED flashlightsdidn't come on the scene until 1999, so I was limited to daylight hours. Even then, beautiful snowflakes didn't always cooperate (fall on cue) between the hours of 10 AM and 3 PM. Remember, we're talking short, winter days in Alaska.
No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.
~ Voltaire
And trying to get everything in focus? Depth of field was an enormous challenge, especially for triple-decker snowflakes, and obstinate ones that landed cockeyed on the glass slide, as if propped up on an elbow. Focus-stacking software such as Helicon Focus hadn't been developed.
A near-perfect symmetrical snowflake; actually, this is a stellar dendrite (classic-shaped) snowflake. Dendrite means "tree like", so stellar dendrite snow crystals have branches and side branches. This is the most popular and recognized snow crystal type, sometimes growing to large and extravagant crystals in conditions of high humidity.
Then digital cameras came along, and thankfully, many obstacles melted away.
[For those of you dreaming of photographing snowflakes, here's my current setup: A Canon 5D MarkIII mounted on one end of an extension tube, with a microscope objective (lens) on the other. These days I use LED flashlights to highlight the crystal facets without worrying about melting my subjects.]
I was very excited, thrilled, actually, at the prospect of finally being able to single out, and photograph with confidence, the most perfect and beautiful snowflakes in the world.
Yet, something didn't feel quite right.
Look closely at the center of this snowflake. What do you see? The father of snowflake photography, "Snowflake Bentley", often looked for familiar shapes and patterns within the center plate of snow crystals. Milk bottles, mittens, and flowers, as seen here.
Were only perfect snowflakes worthy of attention?
Am I limiting myself?
Will I overlook something in the process?
And am I judging nature?
What does perfect mean, anyway?
Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand.
~ Henry David Thoreau
If you're like me, you grew up believing that all snowflakes were 6-sided symmetrical shapes; like something created by clipping triangles and diamonds from folded paper. So I carried that belief into the field, as I scrutinized a fresh batch of newly fallen snowflakes. I discarded ones that didn't measure up, and photographed just the perfect flakes.
Not any more.
I've learned to let go of the myth (and all the expectations) and accept that there is perfection in imperfection. I needed to relax and practice Slow Photography.
It makes me think of a wonderful little book, What the Road Passes By, with photographs by Dewitt Jones, a top professional photographer whose thoughtful columns in Outdoor Photographer kept me renewing my subscription for years.
There are times in my life, sometimes with a camera, sometimes without, when the world is so achingly beautiful, when everything holds such meaning, that I am incapable of any expression except tears of joy. The boundaries of my being begin to blur, whatever separates one thing from another begins to dissolve, and in that confluence of light and line and law, lies an experience for which I have no words.
Sometimes photographers set the bar pretty high in a quest to produce the perfect shot, the Pulitzer prize-winning image. As a result, I think we pass by, not just a lot of great images, but meaningful experiences that are meant to be the rule, not the exception.
The snowflake below is far from symmetrical, but for me, time seemed to stop as I brought this regal beauty into focus.
This is probably one of my favorite snowflakes. The soft hues, contrast and regal-ness. Time seems to stand still while I do this kind of work. I take naps, graze a little and photograph through the wee hours of the night and day.
And this snowflake (pictured below), with its warts, pimples and funny arms...
What do you think, is it any less beautiful in its own imperfect way?
Rime or reason: Toward the end of this snowflake's 20-minute journey to earth, cloud droplets bombarded it like buckshot, freezing and sticking to the ice surface on contact. These "water warts" are called rime.
Look, mom, lots or arms! This snowflake is unusual in many ways. For one thing, it's born of at least two plates, visible at the center, and grew at different rates.
(Thanks Willa)
Sunday, January 5, 2014
My Web Page *
Photo by John Shaw-Rimmington
“No human face is exactly the same in its lines on each side, no leaf perfect in its lobes, no branch in its symmetry. All admit irregularity as they imply change; and to banish imperfection is to destroy expression, to check exertion, to paralyze vitality. All things are literally better, lovelier, and more beloved for the imperfections which have been divinely appointed, that the law of human life may be Effort, and the law of human judgment, Mercy.”
― John Ruskin
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Disconnect
Hmm, so much for sociable media. I wonder if humans are evolved enough to handle the immediacy of carelessness with which our modern technology affords us. It is a sobering thought that we as a species may not actually be ready for the Internet. Powerful interactive tools make instant information available to one another without any guarantee there's enough inner wisdom and integrity to handle it. When this happens, things start to come apart.
The running joint in a dry stone structure such as Skara Brae may eventually become a problem, perhaps after a few more 1000 years. Relationships by contrast are far more fragile. There is a serious disconnect that runs though the structure of our media-driven community that will need repairing before it's too late.
Friday, January 3, 2014
2014 Calendar
I was pleased to discover that H T M Insurance put out a calendar this year highlighting stonework in twelve Ontario locations within about a fifty mile radius of Cobourg. The June page features work at Ferris Provincial Park, near Campbellford, Ontario, Canada where our organization 'Dry Stone Walling Across Canada' ( fomerly the Dry Stone Wall Association of Canada) has been involved in the restoring of heritage dry stone walls and organizing teaching this historic craft in the park for the last six years.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Feeding from our hands.
I suggested going for a walk to my family and to my surprise they took me up on it. We bundled up and drove to a favorite trail that runs along the lake shore. We plodded in single file over the icy path still strewn with fallen branches from a late December ice storm.
It was even colder than I had expected. Maddy was shivering. I reminded her that cold was really a 'non thing'. It was merely the absence of heat, so in a sense you couldn't actually feel 'cold'. I don't know if it helped.
We trudged on.
Last week our annual Christmas Day dog walk with Farley and Claire, along this same trail, had to be cancelled because of the storm. It didn't seem very magical without them.
Then in a clearing, off in the distance, we saw a man standing completely still in the snow . He appeared to be feeding birds, right out of his hand. We approached slowly not wanting to disturb what was going on. However, even when we got closer we could see birds continuing to come to feed, one at a time and then quickly fly away. It was magical.
They were chickadees, he told us. He came there most winter days to feed them. They seemed so tame and yet they were wild. We stood right beside him and watched spellbound. After a while I asked if he thought someone else might be able to feed them the same way . He said he thought so and offered us some seed. I took off my glove and he poured some into my hand. I stretched out my arm and waited. My hand got cold very quickly.
After a short while of standing perfectly still, a tiny, delicate, trembling, fleck of feathered life flew in and, perching on my palm for a brief moment, fed from my hand. It was more than magical.
Maddy then tried her hand at feeding the Chickadees.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Recycled Snow
Jake Sandison, an avid dry stone walling enthusiast here in Ontario, sent me an email yesterday saying...
<<< Best of the season to you... Just thought I would pass along a photo of the fruits of an afternoon spent with my 6 and 8 year old.
Small recycle bins are very handy!I will wall in the rest of the fort later :-)
Hope you are well. Jake >>>
Thanks Jake. We always appreciate seeing fruits in the winter.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Does it matter who's fault it is?
They never stop. But who's to blame ?
Surely scissors and paper have 'faults' too?
Friday, December 27, 2013
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Happy Walling Days
A week ago Port Hope suffered a major three day ice storm and there has been no power here for five long cold days.
Temperatures were minus 20 last night.
No power meant we had no heat, no light, no phone, no internet and no way to recharge computers.
I thought it best last night to temporarily shut down 'Thinking' while I dealt with continuing 'emergencies'.
I'm sorry if you found your access denied to this blog earlier this morning.
Hopefully we will be back running smoothly again tomorrow with a stack of 'Boxing Day' specials. Lots of thawed meat too!
Until then, Merry Christmas and to wall a goodnight.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
On the Day Before Christmas
On the First Day Before Christmas
Whatever did I see? -
Twelve Loads-a-Heaping...
Eleven Dollies Dancing...
Ten Tramp Picks Prying...
Nine Helpers Hearting...
Eight Follies Fooling...
Seven Steps-a-Spinning...
Six Feather Wedges...
F-i-v-e, Gold Worthies...
Three French Ends
Two Corbelled Domes...
And a...
(wait for it)
Part-Arch in a Pair of Trees
( Here's the full arch.)
Monday, December 23, 2013
On the Second Day Before Christmas
On the Second Day Before Christmas
Whatever did I see? -
Twelve Loads-a-Heaping...
Eleven Dollies Dancing...
Ten Tramp Picks Prying...
Nine Helpers Hearting...
Eight Follies Fooling...
Seven Steps-a-Spinning...
Six Feather Wedges...
F-i-v-e, Gold Worthies...
Four Walling Herds...
Three French Ends
Two Corbelled Domes
Sunday, December 22, 2013
On the Third Day Before Christmas
On the Third Day Before Christmas
Whatever did I see? -
Twelve Loads-a-Heaping...
Eleven Dollies Dancing...
Ten Tramp Picks Prying...
Nine Helpers Hearting...
Eight Follies Fooling...
Seven Steps-a-Spinning...
Six Feather Wedges...
F-i-v-e, Gold Worthies...
Four Walling Herds...
Three French Ends
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