The day started off
drizzly in Waitsfield. This has unfortunately become a common pattern. There
was the faintest indication of clearing at about 9 so I packed up my stuff and
headed for Stowe.
I was happy to find the sun shining in a blue sky when I got
there. I headed directly for the north/east end of the quiet path where there
is an awesome stand of willow nicely holding the riverbank in place. Over a 5
year period of time, in this spot and others along the river Stowe planted a
large number of willows to control erosion. The willow at this particular spot
has done a particularly good job of stabilizing the riverbank and also happens
to be growing vigorously. I think the
vigorous growth is due, at least in part, to the fact that it has been cut
periodically .
The quiet path is a great place to walk because it is a)
quiet and b) has a very informative/ educational series of stops along the way
with signage that talks about various aspects of the river; vegetation,
wildlife, river patterns etc. including this one at stop #10 ‘Managing Erosion’
where I had gotten permission from the City Planner to harvest willow for my
project.
The willow was still very wet from the rain and it was
hotter than heck already at 10 am creating a virtual sauna in amongst the
willow. For a couple hours it was just me, my loppers and all the insect life
for the most part. An occasional dog wondered in to see what was going on
before their owners called them back to join them on the path along the edge of
the field.
To say that I was a sweaty mess when I finally emerged is
putting it mildly I think. This was definitely confirmation that the best time
to harvest willow is after leaf drop in the fall and winter. No leaves holding
water droplets that run down your neck. No snails crawling up your leg, or
worse yet, squashed in your hair.
I told Tom I’d take a before and after picture to document
the willow I was harvesting, so…
Before:
And then, after:
Are you able to discern the difference? To begin with, I
didn’t harvest all that much willow, one small bundle worth and I didn’t
harvest all from the same stool either, but spread it out over an 8 foot square
area, more or less.
That’s it. A small bundle of of 30 rods or so, of varying
lengths, diameters and shades of green. I tied them up (with orange baling
twine that Carla had gotten for me! Ahhh. More memories of England.) Put my
backpack on my back and hoisted the bundle of willow up on my shoulder and off
to the car I went hoping nary a bug would try to crawl into my ear along the
way.
I am becoming somewhat of an expert at getting 8-10 foot
lengths of willow into my ’99 Chevy Malibu. The bundles go in, bottom first
through the back driver’s side door and over the reclined passengers seat. The
flexible tops are then ever so gently (and lovingly) eased onto the rear window
ledge.
It’s a good skill to learn how to ‘make do’.
A quick stop for some fruit and juice to renew my energy
stores and I was soon enjoying the walk from parking lot to project site X2 to
get tools and willow there.
My goal for the afternoon was to replace the willow for the
criss-cross weaving on the south side with some of the pretty green stemmed
willow i’d just cut. Ideally, of course, you don’t want to be redoing things
too much. It’s just that when I saw how pretty the green willow was I’d just
harvested I thought it would be a nice contrast to the other willow and alder.
The next couple of hours were spent weaving the south side
criss-cross pattern and clove hitching all the joints together with my green
biodegradable twine. Just like John Waller. I know I keep saying that, but,
well, when you learn from a traditional master craftsman, you want to carry on
the same traditional methods as much as possible.
It is terribly exciting how much interest folks have in my
work! I spend a goodly amount of time when I am on site, just talking with
people, explaining my inspiration, answering questions, sharing my passion for
willow and the traditional green wood crafts I’ve learned to make. If you know
me, you know that if I’m good at anything, it’s talking with people, right? I
adore connecting with other human beings, I really, really do.
It makes my heart sing.
Folks want to take pictures of the structure… of me with the
structure… of them with the structure. As they bike on by they call out things
like ‘beautiful’, ‘awesome’, ‘wow!’, ‘that’s pretty’, ‘very cool’, ‘nice work’,
‘really nice’, ‘interesting’, to name a few. It does much to raise the sagging
spirit of someone who is tired and sun baked and sore and thirsty to hear such
encouraging and positive words.
Thank you all. You know who you are.
This particular day too, a gentleman named Stewart stopped
by took a few pictures and chatted for awhile. Before he continued on his way,
he reached into his pocket and pulled out a special gold US Zachary Taylor$1
coin, handed it to me and said it was for ‘good luck’. I appreciate so much the
positive intention and good will behind his expression, and the gift of the
special gold coin.
Ending, day 4.
love, love, love-
susie
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