HEARTS & CORDWOOD

/ janpriddyoregon

Gary is filling the gap in his woodpile he so carefully straightened and vacuumed. He used to object if I called our cords of firewood “his” but no more. He has never allowed anyone to help him cut, clean, stack, or rearrange that pile. Photos follow.

Back to from, left to right: rough quartz, basalt, quartz (agate), sandstone, three white milky quartz (agates), green seaglass, jasper, purple jasper, and green glass. The glass on the left was what Gary found and gave me for Mother’s Day last year. He found the one on the left this morning.
These are what I call “pinkies”showing peach and pink. Some lean to gray or white or burgundy, and a rare few are completely translucent.
A tall vase (one of three) with seaglass in many colors.
Close examination shows even the “colorless” glass has many colors.
This is the vase I am currently filling. The jar at right has pumice from Mt. St. Helens exploding in 1980.
Seaglass in my grandmothers’ cut glass berry bowls. Some of the pale green is from broken glass floats, but most of this is broken bottles. Cobalt blue is old and rare and I always place it on the outside of the glass containers so it will be visible, which makes it look more common that is is. I have always suspected that brown glass (dark orange) is most common, but it is also thin and breaks down quickly, and is hardest to see.

The largest glass we have found has been complete glass floats of a few inches to nearly a foot in diameter. There were many in the house I inherited and Gary found more. The last one was found by me, what’s called a rolling pin. All were pale green. Purple glass has been found on our beach, but not by either of us. A neighbor sneaked off with at least one float and we gave one away. I had one in my bedroom growing up. The actual seaglass above is mostly from broken bottles in shades of colorless, blues, aquas, greens, and browns. We have found other colors—pale pink and yellow—only rarely.

The latest cord is excellent dry Douglas fir. Only a bit of it has bark, which we avoid burning, so Gary’s splitting off the bark into the green bin. It will become compost. Behind Gary, at the back of this scene and outside in the drive, is the rest of the wood he’s stacking today. A cord of firewood makes a stack 4′ x 4′ x 8′. This wood won’t be needed for a couple of years. He just finished the job as I post this.
Among my favorite finds. This morning I found the little peachy one (a pinkie) second from the right at top. I have found only one or two flat smooth, transparent pinkies and greens. If I still had a jewelry studio, I would set the one I found this morning in gold—the green one next to it too.

6 thoughts on “HEARTS & CORDWOOD”

  1. last year at the Astoria Scandinavian festival , I noticed some of the people there who I knew had troll blood pulsing through their veins–as I look at this photo of me next to the wood pile I can’t help being suspicious that I too have troll blood pulsing through my veins which accounts for a whole lotta things that we will talk about at a later time–happy mothers day–gary–b.s. I guess I’m finnish with the wood pile for this year–kiitos

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    • No, sadly not, and I thank you for asking. The Daughters collect rings to wear strung on chains and cords about their waists (their fingers are too slender), and that detail is not even in the book.

      Many things from my life have found space in the book, including conversations and food and foraging, the muzzles of horses and moo-cows, grief and mothering, birthing and fear. My interests are broad and I researched what I didn’t know. The Mothers are various and from different backgrounds. At least one is deeply religious, but others are believers in one faith or another. My respect for religion goes way back to my childhood. They come from various professions and wildly dissimilar landscapes. All of this has been fascinating to me. I have enjoyed “playing with my imaginary friends” as a novelist teaching in my MFA program used to say.

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