Artist at Exit 0 Riverblog

The river has pretty much crested and now it’s a matter of waiting for the water to recede.  Of course, all bets are off if we receive any more sustained downpours.  I know this is only anecdotal, but it seems everything is a weather event these days.  What ever happened to the gentle, soaking rains free of high winds and hail? 

The river may be muddy, but I do love the clarity of the air after a big storm moves through the valley.  It’s air as it should be, which is more than we can say about the water.  All manner of artificial debris is floating around with the bark rolled off the logs.  I bet I’ve seen ten plastic barrels go by the last three days.  Lots of people have been curious about the river and for the most part the fishing has been good too.  I’m getting that feeling that the spring migration is coming to a close and I can concentrate on making art again.

The above image is the largest of three caches of polystyrene foam I have hidden in the woods prior to this flood.  It doesn’t matter now because I’m sure that most of this is gone.  This site was swamped by water and I might come across some of this stuff later.  I was hoping to make a few more larger figures, but I will have to wait.  I will wager that since I started this project I have lost over a dozen such collections to the river.  As much of this stuff as I have removed from the park…there will always be more after the next inundation.

For now, I will explore what else the park has to offer and see if a few stray migratory birds have lingered in the interior.  I’m still hoping to see that pelican again.  The water will recede and the land will dry out.  The landscape will be rearranged and the drama of change is part of the fun…that and checking out the latest oddities to be washed up in the park.  As for the Styrofoam, what was lost is too easily replaced.

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