March 1, 2022 by drkottaway

Take down

This is a beautiful living cedar.

Unfortunately, the trunk, twenty feet high, had split in half in high winds. So now it was a very dangerous very tall living cedar that is going to come down and is right next to a house.

An expert was consulted. He said the tree could not be taken down intact. Each of the four tall trunks would have to come down individually. This is terribly dangerous, because felling trees is dangerous enough, but when you are up IN the tree, it is worse.

There are four men and me. I am there with a camera. I do not help at all, I just try to stay well out of the way.

I am filming with a zoom lens from a nearby hill. They are trying to control the direction of the fall. Not on me or the house or any of them.

One down, three to go. When the top starts falling, it accelerates very quickly and crashes. He is trying to stay out of the way.

Going up to attach the cable high up to guide the fall direction.

The falls take out smaller trees, but are controlled. It is raining.

The last one is down. The trunk is still alive, with the split.

When the last trunk fell, it swung towards me and they shouted “Run!” It had slipped of the trunk and can’t be controlled as well even though there was a cable and a machine pulling in the desired direction. I ran and I am still here, thankfully.

Clean up on another day and the cedar goes to the sawmill.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: WAR. I wish we were all just working and there was no war.

No names or faces, because you know, those loggers are shy and wild, right?

February 25, 2022 by drkottaway

reappearance

I post this poem a year ago in February. It comes back up today. My sister was born in the year of the dragon, so I think of her and miss her.

There appears a flight of dragons without heads

The flight appears
the dragons have lost their heads
they flame indiscriminately
but since they have no heads
the flame does not appear here

they loop in the air
in formation
and are beautiful
nearly silent
no heads to scream
just their wings
on the wind

we stand transfixed
and watch them

the flight
the dragons
who have lost their heads

written February 17, 2021

The headless dragons make me think of the leader dragging countries into war. I hope that other leaders do not follow.

February 24, 2022 by drkottaway

soft

The Ragtag Daily Prompt today is hard edge, but this photograph gives me the opposite feeling. Oh, I am sure there are edges in the distant mountains and the rocks are hard and perhaps there is a cliff beneath the water, but my photograph feels soft.

We had snow in the night, but it is still dark out. Very cold, but the snow is soft.

February 22, 2022 by drkottaway

beach find

Is this a hunk of gristle, from Dungeness Spit?

No. Seaweed.

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: gristle.

February 21, 2022 by drkottaway

Dungeness Spit

I had an errand in Sequim yesterday. I finish quickly and the sun comes out. I head right for Dungeness Spit.

I did not hike that far, only for a couple of hours. It was really beautiful and I hit it when the tide was finishing going out and started back in. Do pay attention to the tides if you go there!

I could see Victoria from the spit.

It is so beautiful with the sun coming through the forest too.

I am thankful for a beautiful and vibrant spring day. “Spring?” you say. Yes, look. On the hike back through the woods, the leaves are out and even some new flowers. Spring starts early here!

For the Ragtag Daily Post: vibrant.

Resources: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/dungeness-national-wildlife-refuge

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/dungeness-spit-trail

February 20, 2022 by drkottaway

rebel ducks

Yes, ducks with Mohawks, these ducks are rebels and rascals. I saw a gang fishing, probably without a fishing license, out at Fort Worden this week. They couldn’t be bothered to notice me. Hopefully they didn’t notice that I was capturing their picture.