I'm not there

Today, I'm down in the shop building boxes to hold more of the specimens that I've collected wandering through Smoke Farm.  But, sometimes the specimens transport me to the farm and things that I should be thinking about while I'm there arrive here. Specimen 61 is a no trespassing sign that I found half buried in the cobbles of the lower beach.  It is scratched, bent, and has a good dozen BB marks from someone's shotgun.  I'm pretty sure I know where the obnoxious thing came from, and he's not getting back - it is a specimen.  It's currently one of my favorite finds.  It brings to thought the connections that people form.  In this case, the connection with property, which is dramatically different than a connection with land.   One thing that I detected very early on at Smoke Farm was that the people here had a connection with the land and while they do own the property, they seem to own the property because of the land that it is.  The land is not fenced, it is not signed, but it is carefully maintained, watched over and respected - more than anything, it is respected.  I've met people from three different government organizations on the property.  They show up to do restoration, or to verify that the river gauge is working, or to look for spawning salmon.  They are looking out for the land as well.  I've talked with them and walked along to see what they do.  They know where that sign comes from too.  They know because they aren't allowed on that property (see - it is no longer land).  Having and owning might not be the same thing.

Artwork and that neighbor kid, again.

Until March 24, the first 39 specimens and some other stuff are on exhibit at the Anchor Art Space in Anacortes.