Welcome to Ithilien

There are two perfect places in the world - Sisters, Oregon and the Land of Ithilien. For one reason or another, I decided to build my cottage in Ithilien. It's a small cottage - two rooms, a wood burning stove, clapboard siding. I'm not a very skilled builder though, so the wind comes through in the winter and I had to buy a sub-zero sleeping bag. But I made the place myself and that means something. If I have to fix it, at least it's my own work I'm fixing.

There is a small trout stream nearby. I suppose if I fished it every day religiously I might occasionally catch a monster. But it's not really that kind of trout stream and I'm content to catch my breakfast every now and then. More often than not I just sit on the porch and watch the mist rise from the water. Watch the hatches. I like to keep a pen with me in case a poem or a fragment of a poem comes to me. I don't have a dog or a cat. That would be just a little too much trouble for what I'm doing out here. I did bring my camera, though. I certainly couldn't do what I'm doing out here without one.

So, what am I doing here?

Well, I'm not Thoreau. I did not come here to live deliberately. Quite the opposite. I came to live far less deliberately. I came to escape deliberation. I came to live as it comes. I came to watch and to record. I came to smoke my pipe. I came to learn how to brew ale. I came to forget what I have learned. I came to remember what I have forgotten.

You're welcome to stay for a while, though I would ask that you bring a tent and pitch it at a comfortable distance. Do stop in for coffee in the morning. Or for dinner. Or for a glass of wine in the evening. If you brought your own fly rod and you have a good day with it, stop by mid-morning and show me what you caught. If you had a bad day, maybe I could let you know what has been hatching. Hell, dig worms and fish with a bamboo pole. I don't care. I'm not that kind of purist. (Afterall, I've got an old gas powered generator that I have to fire up from time to time to recharge my laptop battery.) Besides, bamboo poles and tin cans of worms are evocative in their own way. There's also a nice trail leading to the foothills that takes off right from behind my cottage. It's a great hike. Take it slowly. You might see a couple of my carvings along the way.

If while you're here you happen to pass a remark or ask a question (and please do), more likely than not I will answer you with a koan, a proverb, a photograph, or a moment of silence. I'm not out here to debate or philosophize. I'm out here to live.

The Seekers