On the Road Again 2013 #4

I have been on the island for just over a week and  have done almost nothing. That is not entirely true but it feels that way. I have been to the beach a couple of times, socialized a few times with my son's friends and their kids, spent a fair amount of time playing with my grand sons and finally typing up my blogs already posted and piles of emails etc. I have as well started working on the design for my newest walking stick/cane.

The sticks are always a challenge both in terms of design and implementation. I am always
aware that the vision that gets shaped in the wee hours of the morning as I lay in my bed, unable to sleep is both impractical and for someone of my limited artistic and carving skills, somewhat impossible to achieve. But the more critical factor in deciding how it will turn out is the wood itself. I am never sure what type of wood I am gong to get to work with. I am always amazed at how beautiful the end product is as it gets sanded and oiled. But sometimes when I am carving the stick the beauty of the wood (and on occasion) the design is not readily apparent. Of course the little drops of blood from the countless nicks on my fingers seldom add to the beauty. This year I am attempting to do a cane with a dragon for the handle and dragon/snake  scales down the shaft. It should not surprise anyone that figuring out how to do that has me stumped. It is clear in my head how it should look but what is in my head and how to get the stick to look like that are about a million miles apart. Still it keeps me busy.

Keeping  busy seems to be important. I think I have lost some of my capacity to do nothing. I do wish that I could get it back. I suspect that I would feel as if I had accomplished something if I felt like I did not need to accomplish something.

The weather on the island has been hot (some might even argue that there were a few day when it was too hot) with no rain on the horizon. Which is of course great for all except for those who worry about, monitor and on occasion have to fight forest fires.