Yesterday, I participated in the "ArtCrawl" at the Studios of Key West. Painters, writers, musicians, etc. gathered in the morning for a community breakfast, then we headed out into Key West to create. We had from 11am to 4pm to make the art, then back to the Studios to display what was created.
I headed to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, and turned my experiences there into a poem, as required. I had a lovely little adventure, and was impressed with marvelous work from all the participants. Below is the poem of the day, and a photo.
Strange Joys: Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, Key West
By a cocktail-colored ocean on a pine-shaded shore
there are people dragging lounge chairs
as they go stinking of suntan oil
cool Europeans with glancing eyes
scaring the mourning doves and butterflies
and deep-stomached Southerners
telling where they’re from
and what they know
they drown out the pelicans hitting the water
I care little for snack shacks or snorkel gear
showers we don’t need why
can’t we smell like sea?
I find the natural path,
sure my love lies beneath seven-year apples,
sea-grapes and salt-myrtles
At the trail’s end stands a blacksmith’s forge
circa 1862; true story:
there’s a dwarf and a girl in boy’s clothing
antique-style, they are pounding
crude hooks, nails, and forks
for no reason
These are people I can stand
making tools with their own small hands
using their muscles to pump bellows
swinging the hammer to ring
upon the anvil
these are my kind
practicing of ancient crafts
shaping instruments on half-forgotten paths
the falconers, fire-dancers, sword-fighters
and candle-makers
Like we shape our poems, our paintings,
our songs out of leaves and sand
out of flowering grasses in the dune
we pluck our strange joys hot from the oven
and lay them in the salty air
I've been working with "Bonnie," a broadwinged hawk, who is a permanent resident of the Key West Wildlife Center. She was hit by a car and lost an eye, which means no depth perception, which means severely diminished hunting ability. I am teaching her to sit comfortably on a glove, hopefully to someday take her to schools, etc., as an educational bird. So far, I can get her to stay for up to 10 minutes at a time. I am addicted to my daily time with Bonnie. It is just amazing to have this breathtaking wild creature perched on my arm.
- Music: Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap
This Broadwinged hawk got itself in quite a predicament:
With the help of some bolt-cutters, I was able to extract the bird.
We brought it back to the Wildlife Center for examination. Its wings were a little stiff at first, so we let it rest and stretch out in the avian hospital. Remarkably, the hawk was uninjured by its ordeal. I treated it for mild dehydration and released it later that afternoon.
Atlas moth from Malaysia, second in size only to the Hercules moth. 
I want to talk about butterflies. Not because they’re pretty and dance in air and drink flowers, but because there is a moment in their lives when they break down into "cellular soup;" they become a liquid surrounded by exoskeleton.
They have cool names from the Iliad, like Morpho Agamemnon, Hypna Clytemnestra, and Adonis Blue.Pupae hide disguised as curling leaves or golden rain. A chrysalis is harder than you'd think, and sometimes you can feel the creature moving inside. The finale of its life in splendid color lasts but a handful of days.
After months of voracious eating the Atlas moth emerges from a cocoon to find it has no mouth. But change is never easy.
When we destroy the work of Nature, we become an empty husk--never flying, ever-hungry. EVERYTHING was made with love.
Poison Dart Frogs
Butterflies, frogs, and many other creatures are disappearing from the planet because of deforestation, use of pesticides, and GMO's
- Music: Rocking Horse by The Dead Weather
Last night was One Night Stand at the Studios of Key West. The idea is this: On a Friday night, 5 writers, 25 actors, 5 directors and 5 set designers come together. The writers pull actors and a director out of a hat. Each playwright must use the same first line, the same last line, and a common prop, revealed after the actors and directors are drawn out of a hat. Then, the playwrights have until 6am to write a ten-minute play. On Saturday morning, the sleepless playwrights meet with directors and set designers, then the actors show up. They have all day to rehearse the play, which then is performed Saturday p.m. The whole process takes 24 hours. It is amazingly challenging!
Last year, I was an actress, which was harrowing enough. This year, I volunteered to be a writer, which was a lot harder, but also more rewarding. One Night Stand is amazing in general, because you have all the island's most creative people in one space all focused on a common goal. This year, the 200 seats sold out in 3 days!
So, our first line this year was: "Um, I have a confession to make, Pat." Our last line was: "I don't know. Maybe you shouldn't."
The common prop was a twelve-pack of toilet paper.
So I went home and started writing soon after I knew who my cast and director were and the common lines and props, at about 7:30pm. I was very excited to see in my cast a few actors I knew were strong performers, and even more excited to draw the name of my dear friend Cricket as a director, because I knew she would never drop the ball and would bring her own creativity and drive to the project.
By 9:30pm, I realized no muses were going to zing me with something inspirational, and I just had to write something. The best strategy with these pieces seems to be keep it light and funny and let the actors be goofy. I came up with a very bad day on the set of Wheel of Fortune: Vanna is in a catfight with a contestant who wants her job, Pat has been ordered by the producers to let her talk (despite the fact that she can't think of anything to say) and there is a mummy on the set (dressed in toilet paper) who followed an archaeologist contestant from Egypt--and he is hungry for Pat Sajak's brains.
Okay, Shakespeare it wasn't, but what do you want at 2 in the morning? I finished at 3:30am, and tried to catch a few hours sleep before heading back to the Studios at 8am.
After the morning meeting, I went home to get some rest. It was so cool to come back hours later and see what the team had created out of my script. Though we didn't win the prize for best play, the audience laughed and enjoyed the piece. Whew!
As with last year, I am so glad I challenged myself, and so proud of everyone involved. I can't wait until next year's One Night Stand! (okay let me get some sleep first.)
Now I just need to get my body clock back on schedule. It's been many years since I stayed up all night, and bouncing back sure isn't as easy as it used to be!
- Music: That Beep by Architecture in Helinski
Here's a photo of one of the pair of juvenile green iguanas who have been hanging around in our yard lately. A lot of people complain about 'em, and I know they are technically an invasive species---but I think they're cool! 
The Aquarium's first baby green herons of the year hatched over a week ago. They nest in the Atlantic Shores exhibit, and I was finally able to get some good pictures of the nestlings from the observation deck with my new camera. The Nikon "CoolPix" I got for Christmas took great photos, but it was flimsy and broke easily. Hopefully, this G.E. will be a bit more thick-skinned!
Here's a little cutie checking me out:
There's two babies!
I've been busy saving the world shooting zombies on my Wii, playing House of the Dead: Overkill. It's a fun, easy first-person shooter with good graphics. My only complaints about the game are that the "boss" monsters are not challenging, and there are too many cutscenes--I want to PLAY, not WATCH A CARTOON!
- Music: Microcyte by Beast
Yet again, the holidays were low-key for Andrew and me. I used to think to myself, when we would work through the holidays and / or not be able to afford travel to see our families "There will be plenty of holidays." Now, with three of my grandparents dead, Andy's all gone, and our parents, aunts, and uncles getting older, I'm starting to realize I don't have unlimited Christmases. I really missed them this year.
I got a Ninetendo Wii for Xmas! Yes, I am a thirty-six year-old woman who still enjoys video games. It started with an Atari when I eleven. Then, it was Ninetendo and the Mario Brothers games in college, then a Playstation and the Oddworld games. My last system was a Playstation 2, and I loved the games on this system, especially Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Silent Hill 3, Fatal Frame 2, and Resident Evil 4.
The fun part of the Wii is the motion-controlled remote control. Unfortunately, it seems like the game-makers aren't quite sure what to do with this technology, and the games fall flat. I've had fun with Wii baseball and tennis, but adventure games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Tomb Raider: Underworld bombed. I've ordered a Japanese game called Okami that's gotten raves, so we'll see.
I also got a new digital camera that I'm very happy with. Here's a couple of my first photos:
Bouganville in my yard
An anahinga dries its wings while a coot floats by in a freshwater pond in the Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park.
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